Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur met with media in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday morning. He said the 10-hour flight down went well and that the experience in Brazil so far has been positive.
“Bom dia!” LaFleur said at the opening of the session. (Translation: “good morning!”)
Here are the highlights from the press conference:
On being in Brazil: “We’re really excited to be here in Brazil. Your country has been great to us, the people have been fantastic. We can’t wait to make history tomorrow and we’re really looking forward to playing the Philadelphia Eagles at the start of the 2024 season.”
On the experience: “It’s great to be here. Our experience here has been nothing but positive. The only downside was the long flight, that’s unusual for us. We’ve only been here a short time, but the food, the people, everyone was top notch. It was a positive experience for us. We can’t wait for tomorrow. We hope all our Brazilian fans will come and cheer on the green and gold. We hope it’s a home advantage for us. It’s been a great experience for us so far.”
More on playing in Brazil: “It’s an honor to be here.”
On playing the Eagles: “When you look at their front, both offensively and defensively, it’s a pretty dominant front. At the same time, looking at our guys, I’m really excited to see what we can do. It’s going to be a big challenge, but we’re looking forward to it.”
On international games: “It’s really a privilege. Any chance to go anywhere, home, away, abroad, it’s a great opportunity for our players, our team, to show what we’re all about.”
On last season: “Looking back, I probably held them back early on. The more aggressive we were, the better we did. Every season is a learning experience. I’m excited about where we are. Tomorrow will be a great test to show us exactly where we are. I’m excited about this opportunity for our guys.”
On punter Daniel Whelan: “Daniel had a great training camp. I’m impressed every day watching him kick. He’s throwing bombs out there. It’s spectacular. Even though I keep telling him he’s a great kicker, I just hope we just use him as a defender. Hopefully we score a lot of points and don’t kick the ball too much. Knowing that, if we have to kick, it gives us an opportunity to turn the field over, which is all you can ask for in a punter.”
On the defense’s progress: “It’s all about style of play. Play fast, play physically, chase the ball. Those are the characteristics of a great defense. You have to have an attacking mindset, an attacking mentality to get the ball into the attack.”
On Thursday’s practice: “More of a ‘shake-out’ practice. Expecting the team and individual periods to help ‘shake out’ the team’s long journey.”
On the flight: “The flight here went smoothly. We were able to get most of the players into the big cabins, we had a great plane. The preparation was great. It went as well as I could have hoped.” Matt Klein, Adam Korzun and Bryan “Flea” Engel were credited with handling the logistics. He also said that “there’s nothing better” than flying back after a victory.
