The good guy reflex

Patrick Taylor waved his arms in the air as he came off the field during Saturday’s Packer game at Lambeau Field.

The running back had lost his shoe on the previous play and he needed help getting it back on his foot quickly.

Before an equipment team member could even respond, Pro Bowl back and all-around good guy Aaron Jones hustled over, plopped himself on the ground in front of Taylor, grabbed the shoe and began sliding it back on.

That’s the kind of alert, selfless, ego-free teamwork we can expect from the Packers this year. Jones didn’t even play in the game, but he jumped in to help anyway because he has that good guy reflex.

If you want to see the good guy reflex in a sound bite, just listen to De’Vondre Campbell, who won the Packers Community Service Award last week and didn’t even realize he’d been nominated. He won the award for his work in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida helping families in need through the De’Vondre Campbell Family Youth Foundation. He also hosts youth football camps and volunteers at Paul’s Pantry.

Surprised and a little taken aback by the award, he said he just strives “to give back in any way I can.”

A.j. Dillon, a teacher’s son, wrote a children’s book this summer and led the goats back onto their perch at Al Johnson’s restaurant.

Jordan Love consistently deflects praise back onto his teammates during postgame interviews and spoke specifically about rookie wide receiver Malik Heath.

“Malik has balled out since he got here,” Love said. “I think the biggest thing since when he got here is just how aggressive he’s been. When he catches the ball he attacks it. That’s his mentality and after he catches it, he’s trying to get those yards. But I think he’s balled out from OTAs to now. He’s taken a lot of leaps just learning the offense and now he’s just going out there and making plays. He’s done a really good job.”

And Anders Carlson? The guy that nailed a 57-yard field goal for the Packers Saturday?

He’s also a great example of an athlete with the good guy reflex.

During his years at Auburn, Carlson was a pretty relentless volunteer. He worked for the Dream Center at the Church of the Highlands, with the Kick It for Kids pediatric cancer program, as a YoungLife leader, for a read-aloud program and with several building and clean-up days and mission trips.

I know kindness doesn’t rank all that high on the list of attributes we look at when we draft our fantasy football teams or make our post-season travel plans.

But, maybe it should.

Selflessness on the field and community involvement off it can lead to the kind of cohesive teamwork that makes everyone play better.

And, it sure does feel good to cheer for the good guys.

Go Pack Go!