GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers will leave for Brazil early Wednesday morning. They will play their season opener there against the Eagles Friday night.
The Packers' new kicker, Brayden Narveson, said he's prepared and excited. He told me if Friday night's game comes down to him making a kick, he'll be ready.
“My favorite part about being a kicker is the game is in your hands at some point in time and I love that," said Narveson. "There's no other position, besides maybe the quarterback, that gets to feel that way. You just gotta embrace it. If you don’t want the game in your hands, then you’re in the wrong position.”
Narveson is intentional on making sure that his relationships with the Packers aren’t just superficial.
“Just going to continue to try and learn everybody’s name and build relationships with people,” said Narveson. “I think that’s one of the most important things. Building relationships with people, teammates, coaches, the people that take care of the place. At the end of the day, you never truly know when those relationships are going to come back around."
Narveson tries to keep his approach simple, even when it comes to kicking in a stadium hosting its first NFL game.
“Just gotta prepare," said Narveson. "Like every day you gotta. Every day is a new day. It doesn’t matter if yesterday was good, bad, or indifferent. You gotta prepare every single day the same way. It allows you to be consistent with your work. When you’re consistent with your work, then you’re consistent on game day. We’re going to get out there. We’re going to see what it feels like on game day and go make kicks. At the end of the day, we’re going to go make kicks. That’s what we gotta do.”
As for that long flight to Brazil...
“I’m going to sleep," said Narveson. "I’m going to sleep for the first little bit, and then watch a movie or something like that. Nothing too crazy.”
On the Packers' injury report, rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd did not practice. Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur said there was no setback. It was part of their plan.