NFC Championship Game Press Conference: Packers Defense "Staying True" to Their Identity

49 of the 53 players on the Green Bay Packers' active roster were full participants in the team's practice on Thursday, meaning that there were four mentioned on today's injury report. Of those four, three are critical starters and a fourth is a key rotational piece along the defensive line.

Before we get to a recap of head coach Mike McCarthy's press conference from this afternoon, here is the injury report.

Packers Injury Report

Limited Participation

DE Josh Boyd (ankle)
RB Eddie Lacy (knee)
QB Aaron Rodgers (calf)
G Josh Sitton (toe)

Here are many of the comments from head coach Mike McCarthy's press conference:

On Eddie Lacy's knee injury:

Eddie's knee is sore. I was just being conservative. I pulled him about the middle of practice. I think Eddie will be ready to go on Sunday. The coach is nervous.

On Bryan Bulaga being healthy and the momentum shift in the week one game when he went out with an injury:

Injuries are part of the game, you have to overcome them. We didn't do a very good job handling that aspect of it. Bryan Bulaga's having a great year ... the continuity that our offensive line is having has been impressive ... I'm very proud of what Bryan's overcome with his injuries ... he's part of an excellent group and he's doing a great job.

Regarding Aaron Rodgers' practice status:

Participated in the second part of practice, went through pass under pressure and the two team periods. Getting ready to play. I don't do comparisons (to last week), he's getting ready to play.

Discussing the decision to fly to Seattle on Friday instead of Saturday:

We have excellent leadership ... these schedules they've been thought out over time, they've been discussed and presented to the players ... everybody's on the same page. We're going through our preparation, the process of it ... number of different reasons, it's a four-hour plane flight

On the leadership in the locker room:

I think the veterans have given themselves more to the football team, young guys are growing ... the culture, the opportunities they've been given, they've taken full advantage of it.

When I look at developing our football team, you can't assign leadership. It's my responsibility to create opportunities for leadership. I think it's worked out great ... we're going to have a team meeting Saturday night like we always do.

Regarding the defense and how it matches up against mobile quarterbacks like Russell Wilson:

We're an athletic bunch up front. It's a fast track up here, you can see that on film ... it's really about staying true to who you are. We're not going to invent anything this week.