Mike McCarthy has refuted claims that the Green Bay Packers are not physically tough enough to compete with the top teams in the NFL.

The NFC North champions have been adding to their defense during the off-season while making changes to the offensive line which allowed quarterback Aaron Rodgers to be sacked 51 times last season.

The head coach told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "I think it's a load of nonsense because I think the proof is in the pudding. If you watch the tape and the film and you win 12 games a year and you don't win the Super Bowl, people have to question something. I get that.

"That was the line that some people took and hey, when you play good football teams week in and week out, you're always looking for a hole in your opponent. And sometimes when people don't see too many holes, the easiest and biggest target to go after is a man's will. His toughness.

"Your will and your toughness are challenged every day. So to ever label an NFL football team as not being tough? I mean, there are some teams that are tougher than others. Most teams think they're tougher than everybody else. That's part of the DNA of our sport. But I'm very, very confident in the toughness of our team."

The Packers were knocked out in the divisional round of last season's playoffs.