Coach Jim Harbaugh addressed the media on Friday before his team boarded a flight for Wisconsin for Sunday's season opener at Lambeau Field.
Are you guys ready to go? What’s the feel like before you head off on your flight?
“Yeah, that’s the feel. We’re ready to go. Guys have worked their tails off. But not much left to dissect, or to really talk about. It’s time to go do. And compete, compete, compete. And we feel like our team’s ready to do that.”
Are you guys going to take the practice squad on the road like you did last year?
“Yes.”
Do you think that had a good affect on former 49ers WR Joe Hastings when he finally got in? You know he was used to that whole routine and all that?
“We do. We do. We believe it’s a good thing. We believe it’s a thing where you’re treating these guys like future starters on future championship teams.”
What are you going to list RB
“Believe questionable. They’re going on the trip, and we’ve still got 48 hours.”
And if obviously Ted can’t play, are you looking at WR
“You’ve watched a lot of games, right? Not a state secret.”
What about kickoff?
“Well, if you don’t know that one, I won’t reveal that one either [laughs]. Put bamboo shoots under my nails and say. Yeah, that one may not be as easy to figure out. So, we’ll let Green Bay figure that one out.”
What has Kyle Williams done for your confidence in him in his role as punt returner since the NFC Championship game?
“Well, we’ve always been extremely confident in Kyle back there as a returner, both as a punt returner and a kickoff returner.”
Have you seen the progress that you’ve wanted to see during practice?
“Yeah, our guys have worked their tails off. They’ve studied extremely hard. Their preparation has been rock solid.”
You guys have had a pretty good year on the road last year, with 6-2 on the road. How difficult is that? What’s the biggest challenge of winning on the road and why do you think you were able to do that last year?
“Well, I think good teams win on the road. And there’s definitely experience, guys that have been there before. Smart guys, tough guys, confident guys. And that’s something to build off, as a foundation, that experience last year. Not a vehicle that you can ride, but a foundation you could build from.”
Was Packers DB Charles Woodson on the Raiders when you were there coaching?
“Yes.”
So, he’s been in the league obviously for 13, 14 years. What does he still offer the Packers? And what does it do for their defense to move him to safety?
“He’s a very, very knowledgeable, savvy, strong player. Got very good coverage skills. And I think that’s probably one of the big things, covering tight ends, covering backs, slot receivers. Charles is more than capable of doing all those things. And then, whenever you’ve got the ball around him, that’s where he is so dangerous because he’s so strong. His ability to whip the ball out, club it out, create turnovers, is something that’s been well documented. And we have got to be really good when we’re around him with the football, protecting it.”
How anxious are you to sort of unveil your new toys, unwrap them, for the NFL to see. Now you have WR
“Never really go into analogies of people as toys, or whatever else people like to—barnyard analogies or whatever. These are men. These are competitive men. They’ve worked their tails off, and always, always my favorite thing is to watch our guys compete on Sundays.”
How much harder are the expectations now this year just because of what you guys accomplished last year? You stood before us on this Friday last year, there had to be a sense of unknown. But, how much better do you feel about your team and all the expectations that are harder because of what you guys did last year?
“Like we said before, the last year is a good foundation. Definitely feel like we know our guys, they know us. Those things are advantages. Angle of approach, how people do things. You’re doing everything for the second time. Just about everything that you’ve done. So, that’s a foundation that you can build from.”
Rephrasing the question – how anxious are you to see your new men and some of the guys acquired to add a little zing to the offense? How anxious are you to see them in action?
“The 10 out of 10 scale, I don’t if it goes to 11 out of 10. I think it’s just 10 out of 10. As much as you can be. As excited as you can be to watch your guys compete. Guys that have busted their tails, and there’s me using a farmyard analogy [laughs]. So yeah, excited. As much as I can be.”
Just with Kyle, at this point, everything that happened is so far in the past.
“We don’t – why even bring that up? Why would we be talking about this? When is enough, enough? ”
I’m not bringing it up to say—I’m just saying is there any need to say ‘atta boy’ and ‘go get ‘em’ as his coach? Or have you been impressed with the way that his mind is, that you think he’s moved past that?
“I just asked you, why do you bring that up? Why do you continue to ask that question? What is the reason?”
Lastly, just a quick impression on the Packers defense. Have you been watching a lot of tape from them from the last few weeks?
“Yes.”
Your thoughts on them?
“Extremely good defense with a lot in their package. They too have experienced players, players who’ve been there before. Played in big games. Confident, confident players. A diverse scheme that they’re really good at executing. We’re going to have to be playing at our best. Can’t turn the football over. Can’t be making mental mistakes. Can’t be getting penalties. Now, those things may occur, but that’s what we’re striving for when we go out there in this game and play in this game. And it’s going to take that. It’s going to take a high level of execution and being on it to be able to move the ball against this defense.”
