Opening Remarks:
Good afternoon. We look forward to this great opportunity with Green Bay coming in on Sunday. We are excited about that opportunity and looking forward to it. We know that they are an outstanding football team. You know that they are the number one scoring team in the NFL and Aaron Rodgers is having a great year. They have many, many talented targets to go to. They have a defense that is plus-15 with 22 interceptions and they lead the league in that category as well. They have given up some plays over 20 yards in the pass game and that is something that we all can take note of. They are an outstanding defensive pressure team. They have multiple formations and spread the ball around as an offensive team. Their special teams have been greatly enhanced by Cobb, a player that has demonstrated so well in kickoff return and punt return. It is a short week for us but an exciting week for us.
Q: Is B.J. Raji more outside now than last year?
A: Yes, they play him at one of the end spots now.
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Q: Has that been a difference in their rush defense?
A: They have three massive bodies inside now. They complement each other, play well together and feed off the rush of the outside with Matthews. They have a lot of inside pressure with the inside backers Hawk and Bishop.
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Q: Will it be hard to get the defense's confidence level back up after Monday night's game?
A: They can see the tape but I think the challenge is there. This is pro football and you have to move on to the next one. We will put together a good scheme. The guys will be excited about playing and we will do the best we can to put ourselves in the best position to help where we need to help and do the best job we can. There are a lot of people that tried to play them manned up and we will try to do some of that as well.
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Q: Are you worried about their confidence, especially on a short week like this week?
A: We will bounce back and that is the thing I believe in. That is what we preach. It is a time for us to be bold and not sit back and listen to what all of you are saying. Rather, just to come out fighting and that is the position we will take.
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Q: What was the issue with the man coverage in Monday's defeat against the Saints?
A: It was not one thing; many times we are a step behind. That is the best way I can say it. When you look at it on tape, we were a step behind on making a good play or we were a step behind in order for somebody else to make a bigger play. That is a very simple explanation and I understand that but that is what I saw. I am trying to look forward.
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Q: When you talk to your team are you telling them to not look at the undefeated record?
A: No. We are blatantly honest about that.
Q: Do you stress that as a part of the challenge?
A: Oh yes, that is a part of the challenge. That is the challenge. You can read all the 1's and 2's (in the statistical rankings) and what have you, but the fact of the matter is that three times on the road they had close football games. That is what we have to cling to.
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Q: Is it similar to when you faced New England when they were undefeated?
A: No, only the fact that it is an undefeated team. It is a different circumstance when we played but it is the challenge of playing a team that is obviously a very good football team. That part is consistent.
Q: Will you show tape of the New England game?
A: No.
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Q: What have you seen from Rodgers this year?
A: You can ask anybody in this room that one, that is the talk of the town and rightfully so. We just faced a quarterback who is on a record pace and this quarterback is as well. He obviously has all types of numbers and he has run the ball 42 times, which shows that he is athletic and moves out of the pocket. He does the things he has to do and he can stick the ball into tight spots. He is on when recognizing that a defender is off and he will get the ball in the receiver's hands very quickly whether it is now or a stick or something of that nature. He is obviously playing very, very well.
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Q: Can you speak to the versatility of Kevin Boothe?
A: Whatever we've asked Kevin to do this year, under any circumstance, whether it be during the game, a couple of days before or even with a week's preparation, he's done a good job. He's a guy who is very, very smart, adapts himself to whatever circumstance and position we ask him to play and did the same thing the other night – played well the other night.
Q: Have you brought Chase Blackburn back yet?
A: By four o'clock, I believe.
Q: What do you expect from his play?
A: He's still in great shape. We've worked him out before. He has knowledge of our system. He can play in the depth of our system right away. He's also a contributor on special teams, which is good timing with regards to that as well.
Q: What move will you be making in order to make room for him?
A: Will Beatty will have to go on IR.
Q: No chance of him coming back for the playoffs?
A: Not to the depth of what the doctors are telling us it will take before it's safe for him to get into that kind of contact.
Q: We saw Strahan here…
A: I haven't seen him yet. He's out here in the hallway. I was trying to see him, but he was giving lectures.
Q: News on Osi Umenyiora?
A: Nothing other than the fact that he's injured and I can say day-to-day all I want, but chances are he will not make this one.
Q: Will JPP playing exclusively outside help the pass rush?
A: Just having JPP on the field is going to help the pass rush somewhat. The play he made the other night on the fake field goal was outstanding. You're not going to see that kind of effort.
Q: Other injuries – Boley, Bradshaw?A: Boley and Bradshaw are going to get worked out, see where they stand. Herzlich has an ankle injury and you'll see him around in a boot and what have you. We're going to kind of wait and see what that looks like.
Q: What about Victor Cruz with the hip?
A: It may slow him down for a day, but after that I think he'll be fine.
Q: Manningham?
A: We're going to try to see what he can do. They'll reduce his reps. I think he wants to go. It's just a matter of does he have swelling in the knee and we have to see if he can play with it and will it respond.
Q: What's the difference between seeing Green Bay off a devastating loss last year and seeing them off a devastating loss this year? What makes you think this team will respond better than last year's did?
A: It's two different situations, two different teams. There may be similarities, but there are different people on this team and the circumstances are different in terms of where they are and where we are. They won it all last year, winning 10 games like we did in '07.
Q: With Osi out, will Kiwanuka play more on the defensive line?
A: We always have him prepared to do that. He does do that in certain situations and we're always prepared to have him play in that spot.
Q: Will Boley and Bradshaw practice?
A: They're going to have an opportunity to work out with the trainers, highly secretive, and then they'll come and tell me.
Q: The offense hasn't scored a touchdown in the first half of the last three games.
A: We wanted to start fast last week. We talked about that. We did start fast. We just didn't finish the job at the other end of the field. You've got all the facts, you're right. I think that, as I've said before, it would have been great to finish that one off and score there and have the momentum going for us. It didn't happen. We did a lot of good things throughout the course of the game though. Didn't score as many points as I would have liked to have scored, but we did quite a few good things.
Q: Is your offense equipped to control the tempo game?
A: We'll we are equipped to do that. It's just the mix has to be right. I think, let's put it where I said it before. You're talking about a team that is very explosive on offense as well. The back and forth of this thing is you have to have stops in order to be in position to play the way you want to play.
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