NEW YORK – September 7, 2011 – Due to President Barack Obama’s speech, four widely-distributed NBCUniversal cable channels – VERSUS, USA, Syfy and G4 – as well as NFL Network will all begin coverage of NFL KICKOFF 2011 PRESENTED BY EA SPORTS, the pregame show to officially celebrate the start of the 2011 NFL season, at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

NFL Kickoff 2011, which has been extended to 90 minutes, was originally scheduled to air on NBC but is now being preempted due to President Obama’s speech, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. NBC will join NFL Kickoff 2011 in progress once its coverage of the speech has concluded and VERSUS, USA, Syfy and G4 will resume their regularly-scheduled programming shortly thereafter. NFL Network will carry NFL Kickoff 2011 in its entirety.

The President’s speech is not expected to conflict in any way with NBC’s Thursday night coverage of the first game of the 2011 NFL season, scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET and featuring the last two Super Bowl champions -- the New Orleans Saints at the Green Bay Packers -- from historic Lambeau Field.

NFL Kickoff 2011 will feature musical performances by award-winning artists Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 from a stage adjacent to Lambeau Field. The musical performances are part of the celebration to kick off the 2011 season and to honor the Super Bowl champion Packers.  This is the 10th consecutive Kickoff celebration to start the season and the eighth consecutive year the NFL has saluted the Super Bowl champions with the opening game in their stadium on a Thursday in primetime.

The 90-minute pregame celebration will also feature Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football commentators Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Peter King and Mike Florio live from Green Bay as they examine the impending 2011 NFL season.

On Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET, NBC is adding a one-hour NFL special to preview the season. It will look ahead to the first full Sunday of football, address the season’s major story lines, feature a Bob Costas interview with New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, and show unseen musical performances from NFL Kickoff 2011.

NBC concludes NFL Kickoff weekend on Sunday, September 11 with Football Night in America (7 p.m. ET) followed by Sunday Night Football (8:30 p.m. ET), featuring the Dallas Cowboys at the New York Jets, airing at their traditionally-scheduled times.
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The National Football League and Green Bay Packers announced today special pregame activities for NFL KICKOFF 2011 that will precede the New Orleans Saints-Packers game at Lambeau Field on Thursday, September 8 at 8:30 PM ET (NBC, Westwood One Radio Sports).

Grammy nominated platinum recording artist JORDIN SPARKS will sing the National Anthem from Lambeau Field.  Growing up the daughter of former New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Phillippi Sparks, Sparks has a lifelong connection to the NFL.

 
For the first time, 32 legendary NFL alumni, one representing each team, will be part of the pregame celebration at Lambeau Field.  The alumni will hold their team’s flag and form a chute on the field with players representing the NFC on one side and AFC on the other.  Hall of Fame quarterback BART STARR will walk through the gauntlet onto the field holding the Green Bay Packers flag followed by the Super Bowl XLV Champions running onto the field.  A huge banner will be displayed on the field celebrating the Super Bowl XLV championship as the team is introduced.  Following the introduction of the Packers, the 2010 championship year will be unveiled on the interior stadium wall and celebrated with a brief fireworks display.

The team flags then will be flown by each team at their stadium during their first home game.

The NFL alumni scheduled to be on-hand at Lambeau Field to hold their team’s flag include:

* Arizona Cardinals, Ron Wolfley (RB)
* Atlanta Falcons, Steve Bartkowski (QB)
* Baltimore Ravens, Matt Stover (K)
* Buffalo Bills, Andre Reed (WR)
* Carolina Panthers, Muhsin Muhammad (WR)
* Chicago Bears, Richard Dent (DE)
* Cincinnati Bengals, Ken Anderson (QB)
* Cleveland Browns, Kevin Mack (RB)
* Dallas Cowboys , Jay Novacek (TE)
* Denver Broncos, Randy Gradishar (LB)
* Detroit Lions, Charlie Sanders (TE)
* Green Bay Packers, Bart Starr (QB)
* Houston Texans, N.D. Kalu (DE)
* Indianapolis Colts, Bill Brooks (WR)
* Jacksonville Jaguars, Don Davey (DT)
* Kansas City Chiefs, Willie Lanier (LB)
* Miami Dolphins, Dwight Stephenson (C)
* Minnesota Vikings, John Randle (DT)
* New England Patriots, John Hannah (G)
* New Orleans Saints, Deuce McAllister (RB)
* New York Giants, Harry Carson (LB)
* New York Jets, Al Toon (WR)
* Oakland Raiders, Ted Hendricks (LB)
* Philadelphia Eagles, Eric Allen (CB)
* Pittsburgh Steelers, Dermontti Dawson (C)
* St. Louis Rams, Aeneas Williams (DB)
* San Diego Chargers, Junior Seau (LB)
* San Francisco 49ers, Dwight Clark (WR)
* Seattle Seahawks, Cortez Kennedy (DT)
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mike Alstott (FB)

*Tennessee Titans, Eddie George (RB)
*Washington Redskins, Larry Brown (RB)
 
It was previously announced that KID ROCK, LADY ANTEBELLUM and MAROON 5 would perform prior to the game on a stage outside of Lambeau Field as part of NFL Kickoff 2011 Presented by EA Sports.  This is the 10th consecutive Kickoff celebration to start the season and the eighth consecutive year the NFL has saluted the Super Bowl champions with the opening game in their stadium on a Thursday in primetime.
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With a guy like Matt Hasselbeck you are going to face on Sunday does it get your competitive juices flowing?
“Yes, a little bit. Just because you know what a guy like that is capable of. He’s played for a long time. I have a lot of respect for Matt. I’ve known him for a long time too and so we’re definitely friends off the field. Yes, I’d say that anytime you play a quarterback of his caliber, you know what he’s capable of. I certainly remember the last time of a Matt Hasselbeck-led team. That was in the playoffs. I think he played a stellar game. If there wasn’t already enoguth motivation to go out and play well, you certainly will have that extra competiiveness because you’re going up against a top-tier quarterback.

Do the playoff scenarios also give you motivation?
“Yes, I think we’ve been locked in and focused epecialy since we know we the fourth quarter of the season coming up, the last four games of the regular season, so we feel like there’s a lot of football to be played, a lot of progress to be made. The opportunity with a win, an Atlanta loss to win the division, that’s one of the first steps in achieving our goals.”

Are there a couple of things you can attribute to the last four games after the performance in St. Louis?
“Obviously that put us at 5-3 with an extremely tough stretch ahead of us, entering the month of November when we made a big emphasis on this is when the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders. We see the contender, but we have to go out and prove it. We had a game coming back here, a divisional contender, Tampa who had beaten us a few weeks prior and at Atlanta, Giants Monday night, Detroit Sunday night. All of these teams were or are in contention. All these teams know how to win. We knew we’d have to play our best football. I think a lot of things, it’s that point in the season number one. Number two, you’re coming off a couple of disappointing losses, where you feel like that’s not good enough. That’s not our brand of football. If we’re going to fix it, it’s time to fix it. I think we’ve done a good job of it.”

This is the only game of the last month of the season that’s outside. Is there an adjustment necessary for it?
“You try to draw anything from within a game that you think is maybe a little different or significant. The fact that in the month of December you are going somewhere that you can get some cold weather, that kind of thing, maybe just the fact that we played a couple home games here and some away games at domes as well, this is one of the outdoor games, one of the few outdoor games over the last few weeks that we play, so obviously you have to think that in the future to go where we want to go, we’re going to go outside and play in tough conditions for our offense and defense and win against quality opponents in their neck of the woods, in tough conditions, so this might be one of those games that we need to make sure we’re ready for.”

Can you talk about what you see on film of the Titans defense?
“I see a defense that plays with a lot of attitude. When you look at them statistically it’s pretty impressive. They’re sixth in the NFL in fewest points allowed and seventeen (in net yards). They’ve held a number of their opponents to under 17 points. It’s a mix of veterans and really young talented players. You see them playing very aggressively, swarming to the football, some things that are a little bit different. Being an AFC team you see them once every four years, it’s not like you see them all the time, so there’s a little extra preparation to go through that. It’s a team that’s playing well right now. They’re right behind in the AFC playoff picture. It’s a big game for both of us.”

Can you talk about if this game goes along with the theory of when you play a specific team at a certain time?
“Yes, I know what they saying, because I heard it a month and a half ago. They were talking about getting their run game going. Right now they’re running the football extremely well. Matt Hasselbeck’s making plays. The defense is playing well, so it seems like they’re playing some of their best football. I’d like to say that we are playing some of ours. It will be a great game.”

What do you see of Colin McCarthy on film?
“He makes a lot of plays. He seems like a very smart player, beyond his years even though he’s a rookie and has started only a few games, but he’s impressive. In talking to

Jimmy Graham a little bit who played with him at the U. He says he’s pretty impressive, smart, physical, intense. It shows up on film.”

Have you seen a progression with this team and Sean Payton since 2006?
“I’ve definitely seen a progression, just like I’ve seen it with every player and coach since 2006. I think we’ve all grown a lot, grown up a lot together from that first team meeting when Sean first addressed the team. I don’t know. There’s no short answer to that”

Is Sean more receptive to suggestions or more flexible?
“Yes, I think he’s always done a great job of listening to the veteran guys and leaders on the team. I think he’ll be the first to say that at some point in the season, the team takes over. Leadership takes over. Players take over. It becomes a player-led team. You find your identity and go. You police yourselves. You don’t need to be told what’s right and wrong. If guys get out of line, it’s not coaches getting on them. So, I think that’s all helped us become better leaders. That’s something he’s done from a leadership standpoint for others and helping us all. There are so many things. I’d say Sean is a great balance of certainly being a head coach, being ultimately the guy who has the power and what he says goes. There are times…Today, we were in pads for the first time since training camp. I don’t care how banged up we are, we have to show some toughness. There are times where during the season we are banged up and need to get healthy before this game, you go to Sean and say you think it’s appropriate to do this and you give the point, he agrees. That takes time to gain that type of relationship. I think we have enough of those guys on the team that he knows they’re hard workers and do the right thing. He knows when it’s time to go pedal to the metal. He also knows the time to back off”

Do you follow the Chris Paul saga and have thoughts on him and his situation?
“I’ve had a chance a few times to be around Chris. My experience around him is awesome. I love watching him playing the game of basketball. I think he’s certainly one of the best point guards in the league. You can tell he’s a leader and guys follow. He has so many intangibles that you recognize just by watching him play the game. You compare the point guard position to the quarterback on a team. As far as off the court, he seems like a guy who has it all together. He’s very smart, carries himself I think to a high level, to a high standards. I know his foundation has done a lot of things here back in North Carolina I believe, he went to Wake Forest. He just seems like a solid guy as well as a great basketball player.”

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Opening Statement:
“

Turk McBride (left ankle) did not practice, Mark Ingram (right toe) did not practice, Jonathan Casillas (right knee) did not practice, Scott Shanle (left shoulder) was limited, Sedrick Ellis (left hamstring) was limited, and Jon Vilma (left knee) was full.  Today was mostly third down like all Thursdays.  We went outside.”

Do you feel like you haven’t been outside in a while?
“It’s been a while.  I don’t know how long.  I thought the work we got was good.  I think the temperatures were similar to what we’re going to see on Sunday.”

Was that what you were aiming to do with practicing outside today?
“Just to create that (type of) environment.  We’ll try to do the same tomorrow.”

Are you going to try to do that Saturday in Tennessee at their stadium?
“We are going to go to Tennessee and do it.”

How much will you practice in Tennessee?
“It’s more of a half an hour walk-through and just kind of getting used to the field conditions and really the turf there.”

Are you not worried about getting out of your routine for Saturday?
“We’ve done this before.  I would say this has been something we’ve done at least half a dozen times.  In fact, in ’09 it became a pretty standard routine for us with quite a few places where we just ended up having what we would have here Saturday morning and flying out at 1:00pm, flying out earlier and having it at the stadium we were going to.  I would say it’s probably part of ‘Plan B’ in regards to a second routine.”

Do you ever feel like the Saints don’t received enough credit for being enough of a physical football team?
“I think it comes down to winning and losing.  Certainly that was an important element of what we were able to accomplish a couple of years ago.  I think it’s been an emphasis for us certainly this year in regards to how we want to play.  We’ve had some good road wins really.  Cincinnati last year was a physical game on the road, but I think you try not to as best you can to allow that.  I think the points of emphasis we make each week within the framework that we’re playing and the conditions we’re playing in, we pay close attention to.  There are some games that kind of unfold in a certain way that dictate you run or throw more, or defend run or defend pass more.  We just have to be ready to adapt and handle that.”

Did the preseason game against the Titans help you out at all?
“I think from a standpoint of personnel, it allows you to see a team up close and personal and recognize some of the strengths and weaknesses.  To me, it seems like that was two years ago.  Every once in a while, you have a preseason game that you repeat and play that team again in the regular season.  It seems to happen every other or every third year.  I do think that, probably more than anything else, helps you with personnel and your evaluation of certain players.  Our scouts do a lot in the preseason when they’re looking at a team that comes in during the preseason because we’re looking at rosters and who’s cut.  I think from that element, it does.”

When you said it’s a point of emphasis a minute ago, did you mean to be more physical?
“Just in regards to running the football.  I was using the running game as that example.  We point out week-to-week it’s one of the most important elements to winning and losing is winning that battle and understanding the importance of playing very physical football.  It’s the very nature of the game.  It’s necessary in order to win.  Regardless of the type of offense or defense you have, that element has to exist if you’re winning.  It will be an important element in this week’s game.”

Did you feel different last year going into your games compared to this year with the running game?
“I think there’s more teeth in your play-action pass.  There’s one element to being able to control a game sometimes and that’s being able to rush the football.  It’s harder to do when you want to control a certain tempo or how you want to play in the second half.  It’s an important element we think (is) to winning.  Those totals each week might vary, but the ability to be two-dimensional as opposed to one-dimensional I believe is important.  That doesn’t mean there are weeks where there are a lot more throws or more runs, but I think that it’s an important element to what you do to defenses and what they have to do (to you).  You hear a lot of the times defenses talk about making an offense one-dimensional and I understand that.  It’s important that we don’t allow that to happen.”

You’re not saying you want to get 150 yards every game running the ball, but you want to run efficiently?
“Yes, it’s interesting how these things tie together.  You want to be able to operate with efficiency on (both) first and second down.  The one thing we’ve done this year as well is we’ve picked and chosen opportunities to run the ball on third down, not necessarily third and one, probably more this year than we have in a while where that too can help your conversion rate and third down efficiency. But I think those early downs of staying ahead of the chains and putting yourself in manageable third down situations, there are some games where your third down attempts are low and you had a very productive game offensively and that means generally on first and second downs you were getting first downs.  I think it all fits together and that’s who we want to be when we look at our goals and make up our offense with our personnel.”
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Are you going to go to the Sugar Bowl game to watch Virginia Tech?
“I’ll be there.  We’re hoping we’ll have a bye, but you don’t know.  What we’re doing is going to come first.  I’ll find my way to get to the game.”

What are your thoughts on Matt Hasselbeck?
“He’s a friend until we play.  I think he’s as good as any veteran quarterback we play with understanding the game.  He plays with a lot of instincts, which when you do that you take coaching out of it.  The really good players take the robotic coaching out of it because they can play the game.  Drew (Brees) does that so well.  (Tom) Brady does that well.  A guy that’s played as long as Matt takes a lot of the things that you try to trick up and he can figure those things out.  It doesn’t take him very long.  He’s played the game for a long time because he’s smart and he’s productive.  We have our work cut out for us.”

Does that Seattle game still sit in the back of your mind?
“I’m sure if you talked to any of our guys throughout the course of the week, they’ll tell you I’ve been on them hard.  He’s in a little different system now.  He still controls it there.  I know a lot of those guys up there, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been in that building.  It’s been 11 years since I’ve been in that organization.  Six of those coaches played for me and three other ones coached with me and one other one I hired and was with me with the Redskins.  There’s familiarity there.  Once you get inside the white lines, the players play the game.  That’s why it’s fun really with the guys we have here is that good coaches understand that you don’t take away player instincts.  As we continue to grow here, the more instinctive our players play here makes me look like a better coach.  You don’t want to fill their heads with so many things.  I tell them all the time I don’t want to coach robots.  This is not a video game.  There’s human error, human element, and everything in the game.  You guys have to be able to make decisions on the fly and on the run.  Our guys are growing in that way and hopefully they grew a lot from that game last year.”

Can you talk a little about Chris Johnson?
“He picked a nice month to start finding his stride.  Not only just him, but also the guys around him.  You have to be so sound that he’s one of those few backs that can take it the distance against you.  You make a mistake similar to some of the other guys we’ve played, you can have two guys at the point of attack on block, and he shimmies and shakes their ankles off on a move and it doesn’t matter how many players are there.  We’re going to have to swarm him and do a good job with that.  You pick your poison when you’re putting more people to stop him and less people on stopping the pass.  There are all those situational things you have to do, but he’s very talented.  He didn’t get all that money unless he’s talented, and he’s very talented.”

Is your run defense also having its best month?
“We’re improving each week without all the early stuff and early preparation.  We’re improving in those things.  With the multitude of packages we’ve played, we’ve kept guys healthy that way.  Like I spoke earlier in the year, one of the things was that we have a couple of older players in certain positions we try to not have and not play as much early in the year so they can play in the month of December.  They’re playing pretty well.”
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