Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur met with the media in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Thursday morning. He said the 10-hour flight down went well, and the experience so far in Brazil has been a positive.
“Bom dia!” LaFleur said to open the session. (Translated to “good day!”)
Here are some highlights from the press conference:
On being in Brazil: “We’re really excited to be down here in Brazil. Your country has been great to us, the people have been fantastic. We’re looking forward to making history tomorrow, and really looking forward to playing the Philadelphia Eagles to start off the 2024 season.”
On the experience: “It’s great to be here. Our experience down here has been nothing but positive. The only negative was the long flight, that’s out of the norm for us. We’ve only been here a short time, but the food, the people, everybody has been A-plus. It’s been a positive experience for us. We’re looking forward to it tomorrow. Hopefully all our Brazilian fans will show up and be cheering on the green and gold. Hopefully it’s a homefield advantage for us. It’s been a great experience for us thus far.”
More on playing in Brazil: “It’s an honor to be here.”
On playing Eagles: “When you look at their front, both offensively and defensively, it’s a pretty dominant front. At the same time, I’m looking at our guys, I’m really excited to see what we’re able to do. It’s going to be a great challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
On international games: “It truly is a privilege though. Any opportunity we get to go anywhere, home, away, overseas, it’s a great opportunity for our players, our team to show what we’re all about.”
On last season: “Looking back on it, I probably held them back early on. The more aggressive we got, the better we did. Every season, there’s a learning curve to it. I’m excited about where we are. Tomorrow is going to be a great test to show us exactly where we are. Just excited about this opportunity for our guys.”
On punter Daniel Whelan: “Daniel had an outstanding training camp. Every day, I’m amazed at practice seeing him kicking. He’s dropping bombs out there. It’s spectacular to see. Although I tell him all the time he’s a great kicker, I just only hope we only use him as a holder. Hopefully we’re scoring a lot of points and not punting the ball too much. Knowing that, if we do have to punt, he gives us an opportunity to flip the field, and that’s all you can ask out of a punter.”
On defense’s progression: “All about playstyle. Playing fast, playing physical, going after the ball. Those are hallmarks of great defenses. You have to have an attacking mindset, attacking mentality, to get the ball back to your offense.”
On Thursday’s practice: “More of a ‘shake out’ practice.” Expecting a team and individual period to help “shake” the long trip out of the team.
On the flight: “The flight here was smooth. We were able to get the majority of the players were in the big pods, we had a great plane. The setup was outstanding. It went as good as I ever could have hoped for it or expected it to go.” Credited Matt Klein, Adam Korzun, Bryan “Flea” Engel for the logitics. Also said there’s “nothing better” than a flight home after a win.
