HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL
(On tomorrow's game against the Green Bay Packers) "Thursday games come fast. Fortunately, we made it through the preparation. We're ready to roll. Guys were really good about it and we've got the installation in and we're going to take a game plan to it and hope we can play a good football game. We have a lot of respect for the team that we're playing and the players that play it and the coaches that coach it and all that. We're hoping we can make a good showing. Really cranked up that we're here and we're at home with the 12s and all that, so we'll try to make this a very fun night, a special night."
(On playing just four days after a game) "It's a challenge. It's a physical challenge for the guys. Emotionally, our guys handled it great, I think better than maybe we have in other years and the whole conversation has been about the game and all that kind of stuff. It hasn't been anything about the fact that there's a physical challenge to it. Our guys are not tuned into that end of it. But, it is taxing. The other side of it is – there's always a good side to it – we get a break on the weekend. We'll take full advantage of that."
(On if there is a sense of urgency) "Well, it has nothing to do with what happened. It has to do with this game coming up. This is a huge matchup again. It's Thursday night, it's all that kind of stuff. We've recognized that. We have our way of putting it behind us and I think everything, just judging by the way that these guys have been focused and tuned into it, all of their attention is on this game and that's all I can hope for. We know that these games are championship matchups and we're going to take everything we have to have a good showing and we couldn't spend any time on anything other than this preparation and that's what we've done."
(On Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling and RB Aaron Jones) "Yeah, they're impactful players. Aaron Jones has been terrific for their offense. I don't think anybody's averaging more yards per attempt than he is and his explosive plays just add to the difficulties of balancing out how you're going to stop these guys because Aaron (Rodgers) causes so many problems in their throwing game. Valdes-Scantling has just been a big-play guy. He's really fast and he's big and all that. They got a great pick in him. He looks like a tremendous talent."
(On the biggest challenge of defending Aaron Rodgers) "Wow, there is a lot to his game. His instincts are extraordinary and he uses those and they show up in so many different ways. His ability to move in and around the pocket and find more space and create more time is as good as you get. It's not that he moves just to run, he moves to find space and then the whole field becomes available to him. He has an extraordinary motion and release on the football with great arm strength that allows him to use the entire field so when you add those two elements together that he does find the space, creates another opportunity and then has the ability to throw the ball whether he's moving left or right, across the field – it doesn't matter. He just has extraordinary ability, which also is part of the accuracy that is such a strong part of his game. He's also really smart and he's been in the system and he can utilize so many aspects of it during the course of the game. He's just as difficult as you can get. He looks as good as ever and it ain't easy. He's just, he's really good."
(On what worked in stopping Aaron Rodgers in the past) "I don't know. Whatever happened before, it doesn't matter. What we do now, counts. We'll see if we can get close to him. He's pretty darn good at avoiding it so we'll try to make it hard on him. That's the whole idea. He's certainly making it hard on us."
QB RUSSELL WILSON
(On what he remembers most about previous matchups with Aaron Rodgers) "There's obviously been some great games, there's been some great moments. Definitely tough battles, just games that come down to the wire. Aaron's a great football player – one of the best to ever step on the field and everything else. I have a great appreciation of watching him play the game, how he plays it and everything else. Every time you play a great quarterback and play some great teams like the Packers – they have so much history, they know how to do it – every one of those moments you cherish and you look forward to those opportunities."
(On what makes Aaron Rodgers such a good quarterback) "I think what makes Aaron so great is he's clutch. I think that he obviously has great arm talent. He understands the game, he works at it. He knows how to make plays. There's only a few guys in the world, at every position, when you think about guys making plays in tough moments, like how did he do that – he's one of those guys for sure. It's always fun watching him."
(On if he got a chance to study him closely when he was at Wisconsin) "No, not really, no. I was only there for really six months, so I was in class or I was on the football field all day. So, unfortunately no."
(On what is demanded of the team to prepare for a Thursday night game) "I think it demands a few things. First of all, you have to know how to get your body ready. How to just do the simple things right and just making sure that you're getting in the hot tub, cold tub. I swim a lot, just normally on a normal week, but also on a day like today. I just do the little things, making sure that I get my body treated. The most important thing is really the mental side of the game. You have to really kind of visualize everything and why you're doing it. For me, I draw things up a lot. I literally draw and just kind of visualize what it's going to look like and what it could look like and just get prepared for what a Thursday night game may be."
(On if the team is capable of going on a win streak at the end of the season) "No doubt. I think this team is a championship-caliber football team. I think we've shown that in terms of who we've played and how we've played our games, we've just got to finish the right way. We have no fear on this team, we're completely together. We just have to remain steadfast and remain focused on what we're trying to do. We're going to make every attempt to make a championship run and that's our focus right now. We're looking forward to the opportunity."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER
(On what challenge the Packers defense presents) "They do a really good job. The third down stuff that they do, they're very multiple. They bring a ton of pressure. They come from all kinds of different spots. I was obviously with Coach (Mike) Pettine in New York for a couple of years so I know him pretty well. He's got a lot of fun wrinkles that are extremely difficult to pick up so they do a really good job. That's probably the biggest thing that jumps off the film (is) the pressure numbers are off the charts, just what they bring (and) how much they bring percentage-wise. Just a really, really good defense. A good front, a lot of respect for (Mike) Daniels, (Kenny) Clark is playing really well, of course Clay (Matthews) – just a good defense. A really, really good defense (with a) young secondary, but talented. Very, very confident so they're a very, very good group that plays at a high level quite a bit."
(On if Mike Pettine's defense is vastly different from Dom Capers's defense) "I think you definitely see Mike's involvement but certainly it's a lot of Mike Pettine and what you see. Certainly, there's the carryover from what they are in base compared to what they are on third down. The multiple looks that you get on third down are probably up there with anybody in the league in terms of how much different stuff that they do. Of course, Mike is a terrific coach but you can see that Mike Pettine has brought a very aggressive, multiple-look defense in passing situations."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR KEN NORTON JR
(On what Aaron Jones brings to the running game for the Packers) "Well you can see, I just watched a little film – he's dynamic, he's fast. He's what you'd expect out of a NFL running back. You give him some space, you give him some blocking, he has the ability to get through it. He runs hard, breaks some tackles. He does what the NFL running backs are supposed to do."
(On what the most challenging part about facing Aaron Rodgers is) "Anytime you keep an eye on the good quarterbacks, you study them, you watch them over a period of years – it's a combination of things. It's not one thing that makes a guy really good, it's a combination of that and then having the right people around them to receive the ball. It's important that A, you understand who you're going against, the things that he does well. At the same time, he's going to make some plays and you have to try to minimize those plays. They call him a NFL quarterback and he's pretty good because of the things that he does and he's been able to do it for a long period of time."
(On what the emphasis is on not letting Aaron Rodgers extend plays) "I don't think anybody tries to let up. Aaron is good, I think all the teams that he plays against and he extends plays, everybody works on it. Everybody understands what they're going to do, but you never know when it's going to happen. At the same time, it's a part of their DNA, it's something that they do really well. A lot of teams that you play, something that they do really well, everybody has that. He's been able to find ways to extend plays, get out of the pocket. Part of the game plan is always being able to handle that part of his game. With the Chargers and again with the Rams, you're talking about two really good quarterbacks with two really good runners – and they've been really good runners for a while. You can't make mistakes, you have to tackle really well, you have to be really disciplined in the gaps. If you combine it, they just don't run the ball, they pass as the ball as well – so, it's a combination. You just don't get seven yards a carry just by running the ball, you mix it up well. That's just part of what the good teams do, they're able to have a good running game which makes the passing game better."
(On what challenges David Bakhtiari presents) "Just big, strong – just like the big guys are. (He) moves really well, dominant. He has a way of taking over the game on his side of the ball, so we have to certainly keep an eye on where he is, what type of plays they like to run to him. You just have to try to neutralize him."
SS BRADLEY MCDOUGALD
(On the Packers run game) "It's very dynamic. Aaron Rodgers does a great job of getting them in different run looks. He's a veteran, finds the gaps, the bubbles, and Aaron Jones is doing a great job finding gaps. He reminds me of Kerryon (Johnson) from Detroit. He does a great job of giving what the defense allows him. He ran right through the Dolphins and it's just simple misfits. Guys getting out of the gaps, just really great scheme stuff, really."
(On how to stop the Packers run game) "Uh, do the opposite of all of that. I mean, if you just do the opposite of that, you're in the game. You stay in your gaps, we'll do a great job scheming them. Our defense is really built to stop the run. We haven't done that the last couple of weeks, so really just get back to that. Guys just staying in the gap, playing Seahawk football and just tackling."
(On how stopping the run makes his job at safety easier) "It takes the element of surprise away because once you stop the run, you have to start passing the ball. At some point, you have to pass the ball and when you're Aaron Rodgers and you have a dynamic offense like that, you want to pass the ball. You want to get a ton of plays, but the way that you mix it in there is with the run. You start getting the linebackers to bite up and then that opens the passing game up. Once you do that and we take the run and we know they're going to pass it, the linebackers suddenly are sort of able to sink into their zones and the safeties can sit comfortably in their zones. The corners are expecting the ball to come out and we're all looking at the quarterback and we're breaking. Once you're able to take one of those away from the offense, they become single-handed."
(On the lack of turnovers after the early success with takeaways) "Yeah, we're trying to start a new streak, and the offense is too. We want to take the ball away, the offense wants to keep it and what better opportunity than this? Primetime. Obviously, we've got some ball-hawks out here. We just need to get back to playing our game. Rest definitely is going to make that easier for us, but we want to keep Aaron Rodgers in the pocket, though. That's the one thing we are focused on, keeping him in the pocket because we all know how dangerous he is outside of it (and) keeping his eyes downfield and extending plays."
(On young players facing Aaron Rodgers for the first time on a short week) "It's tough, but each team each week has their own challenges. Last week, it was (Todd) Gurley and the play action pass. Each week, it's something. It's tougher when you have a quarterback but when you have a quarterback like him, you're not going to fool him too much so you're better off just doing your job, getting lined up and get somewhere comfortable where you can make the plays when it's time to come your way. We obviously know they want to pass the ball so we're in tune to that. I think we're doing a great job this week on short-week preparation. At least we don't have to travel. We have a lot of things working our way and I think guys will be prepared."
(On why Aaron Rodgers is so good outside of the pocket) "He does a great job. Well, they probably practice this. They definitely have to practice this because our receivers practice extending plays. He's very elusive in the pocket so once he breaks out, he's not really looking to scramble. His first look, he's looking to get the ball downfield and that's when a lot of defenders relax (is) when the first option is taken away. They breathe, like 'okay, I covered the curl but I didn't cover the curl and go.' His eyes are still down and he's just waiting for that small window to open and he loves throwing the ball into tiny spaces."
(On young players benefitting from facing elite quarterbacks week after week) "Almost definitely. Anytime you can go out there and compete against the best in the world and you go out there and you give your best, that's great for anybody. That's confidence because you should walk off the field knowing that you just played against some of the best in the world or you lined up and you go toe to toe with some of the best and you come down to a game-winning decision on the last play of the game. They should start feeling that and they should start seeing that and know how good they are and how good we're going to be. Most definitely. I definitely think this is a good learning experience for all of us, actually."
