The Packers’ star quarterback wanted to spend more time in England ahead of his game against the Giants
GREEN BAY — Aaron Rodgers seems a little more excited than his head coach about the Green Bay Packers’ game in London on Sunday against the New York Giants.
So much so that Rodgers would have preferred to spend a little more time abroad.
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Rodgers didn’t complain or question coach Matt LaFleur’s decision to do most of his prep work in Green Bay, but after hearing his coach talk about how difficult the lead-up to this game is, Rodgers seemed a little more entertaining because of the way the coaches stress over every little detail.
“Listen, coaches are creatures of habit, even more so than players,” Rodgers said. “Any time there’s a little adjustment to the schedule, it throws everyone off balance. So I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.”
“We’re all excited. I think the reason I said I wanted to go there earlier was just to experience a bit of that culture, to be able to go out and see some of the sights, interact with fans, come on, go to a pub, drink a beer whatever the local drink is. That’s what we all want to do, those of us who want to leave earlier”.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will play for the first time in their history in London. Getty Images
This week, LaFleur gave a measured response when asked how tough this week is.
“I’m not going to give you my honest answer,” LaFleur said. “I’d rather stay away. It feels like a Thursday night game for us coaches in terms of all the preparation you have to do. But you just do it, so it is what it is.”
LaFleur has twice coached games in London, once during his time as an assistant with the Los Angeles Rams and once with the Tennessee Titans. After reviewing past plans and consulting with members of his staff who have coached these games before, LaFleur decided not to travel until Thursday afternoon.
That means the Packers will travel overnight. By the time they reach London, it will be Friday morning. They have a practice scheduled for 1:15pm London time on Friday.
“Obviously the time we’re leaving could squeeze the schedule a little bit,” Rodgers said. “But that is at the bottom of the concerns.”
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With the Packers and Giants each 3-1, it will be the first time in 32 NFL games played in London that both teams come in with a winning record. Prior to this season, the Packers were the only team in the NFL that had not played a regular-season game abroad. Neither the Packers nor Giants rest next week.
“Right now, just like we’re doing with our schedule, we’re trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” wide receiver Randall Cobb said. “Obviously we’re going to travel tomorrow, which is a little bit different, but I’m just trying to think of going to the West Coast and having an extra day on the West Coast. We’ll see what it takes to go to the other side, but as far as preparation , we are preparing in the same way to find a way to win a game.”
