Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers said Monday he was not attempting to send a message when he sounded off on some of the team's young wide receivers in comments to the media last week.

The veteran quarterback called out his teammates for giving a 'piss poor' effort in a practice session, but said Monday he hoped the players would take it in stride.

"I hope we're not that soft," Rodgers said, per ESPN. "I hope we can hear comments or read comments and not get offended by things. It's a professional environment; it's not a personal environment. The things I'm saying, I don't have some vendetta against any player. I care about winning, No. 1, and I'm going to say and do the things that I feel like can advance us. It's going to be tough at some points. It's not a popularity contest all the time.

"Obviously, as a human, you like being liked and appreciated, but I'm trying to win games because that's my job."

Rodgers sat out the team's first preseason game last week, but the team's rookie wide receivers saw plenty of playing time in the Packers win over the Tennessee Titans. Fifth-round draft pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the group with five catches for 101 yards and pointed to Rodgers' comments as motivation.

"You know, when the leader says you've got to pick it up, that's what you do," Valdes-Scantling said. "He's one of the greatest to ever do it, so whatever he says, we have to go out and do it."

Rodgers, however, declined to take any credit for a positive outcome on Monday.

"Again, I don't feel like when you make a statement like that that there needs to be some big response or feelings hurt or offense that somebody takes with it," Rodgers said. "If they do, they're taking it the wrong way because this is a professional environment. Like I said, I'm doing things that I feel like are in the best interest of the team from a leadership standpoint, and if no one else is going to stand up and criticize a bad practice, then maybe I need to be the one to do it. So I did it.

"I talked about the carded period that we had. The guys played well in the game, made some plays. It's been a good week of practice, I think. It's been hot, but the guys have been competing and making plays. I don't think that's a response to anything I've said. Now maybe it is for a couple of them, but it shouldn't be. You get to this league, and to stick around, you've got to be self-motivated. So as a leader, you try to inspire, but the motivation to change and to improve has got to come from within."

The Packers host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, which Rodgers said is when he'll make his preseason debut.