Dressed in black and irked about getting to Ireland later than he would have liked, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spoke to the international media Friday at a resort hotel where the team is staying ahead of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
“It is what it is, but if the schedule had been a little different — if I could have chosen it — maybe we get over on Monday [and] Tuesday is the day off,” Rodgers said during a pre-practice news conference Friday, according to ESPN. “Good to get out, see some things. It’s a beautiful country, it seems like, from pictures.”
Rodgers & Co. touched down in Ireland a little after 8 a.m. local time Friday. The four-time NFL MVP is aiming to lead the Steelers to a victory at Croke Park, as Ireland joins the league’s growing list of host countries; the NFL is staging seven international games this season, and this is the league’s first regular-season game in Ireland.
“When I first got in the league, there was an occasional game in Canada,” Rodgers added. “But now we see games in so many different countries. It’s fun to be able to be part of a game here on this island.”
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Names on practice jerseys in Irish
In a nod to local culture, the Steelers switched up the language for players’ names on their practice jerseys Friday.
The names were written in Irish. “Mac Ruairi” was the spelling for Rodgers’ shirt.
“I have a family history going back to Ireland and Scotland. I’ve always wanted to get over here,” added the quarterback, who wore a black T-shirt at the news conference before changing into his white No. 8 jersey for practice.
The Rooney family traces its roots to Newry in County Down and late Steelers chairman Daniel M. Rooney was U.S. ambassador to Ireland from 2009-12.
“I know how much this means to them and how much a win here would mean to the family,” Rodgers said.
Defensive tackle Cam Heyward called the Irish names on the jerseys “a nice touch.” The veteran was also impressed by team president Art Rooney II’s address to the players this week.
“It meant a lot,” Heyward said. “I got to see Art get excited. He was carrying his hurling stick around. I was one of the only ones who knew what a hurling stick was, so I didn’t feel like a fish out of water.
“He just explained the importance of this game, the incidents that have happened at Croke Park before, and how it’s just a sacred field.”
Strategies on kickoffs still evolving
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, a member of the league’s competition committee, said the new kickoff rule is doing “exactly what we intended it to do.”
“It’s putting some excitement back in the game. It’s adding some quality plays to the game,” he said.
There’s still plenty to learn, he added.
“We’re all learning and growing regarding best practices schematically, how to strategize, things to do, how to position players,” Tomlin said. “Some of the size of the players in certain positions has changed. We’re all absorbing a lot of tape and we’re all learning and growing as we go.”
The team has been practicing receiving tricky bounces.
“That’s certainly a component of it for us and has been,” he said.
There’s already been a big blunder — two weeks ago, kick returner Kaleb Johnson turned his back on a live football. Seattle‘s George Holani recovered the ball at the back of the end zone for a touchdown in the Seahawks’ 31-17 victory over Pittsburgh.
Walkthrough at Croke Park? Nah
Tomlin said the team won’t be visiting Croke Park before the game. “As long as the field is 100 yards and all that stuff and the conditions are the same for both teams, we care very little about that,” he said.
Fancy hotel
The Steelers are staying at the five-star Carton House Hotel in County Kildare. It’s a 1,100-acre walled estate that features two 18-hole golf courses. It was the site of the Women’s Irish Open in July. It’s also where the Irish men’s national rugby team meets for training ahead of their games.
Irish rugby star Bundee Aki was on hand Friday as Steelers players made their way to the practice field.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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