For the second straight year, the Packers coaching staff is coaching the NFC squad in the Pro Bowl. Packers.com caught up with cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. and he sends this update from Hawaii.
We’ve been hearing how cold it is back in Wisconsin this week, but we couldn’t ask for anything better here. It’s been in the high 70s, just perfect. Not too hot, not too cool. You can lay on the beach and not worry about a canopy.
That’s what we’ve been doing the most since we got here – me, my wife and two kids – laying on the beach. I’m not too adventurous myself, but I enjoy watching my kids have fun. They have an opportunity to be here with the other coaches’ kids and the players’ kids and run around. Eli Manning’s daughter’s name is Ava, and my daughter is Ava, so when we’re on the beach calling one of them, both kids are turning around and looking. It’s great letting them experience something that a lot of kids don’t get to experience.
We had a luau last night with a lot of dancing, and I think the rest of the week we’re going to try to go the aquarium and the zoo, and we’ll also try to find a fishing trip for my son. He likes to fish, so we need to get him on a boat and let him throw the rod in the water a little bit.
Our cornerbacks group in the NFC has two of the same guys as last year, Chicago’s Charles Tillman and Arizona’s Patrick Peterson. This year we added Tillman’s teammate, Tim Jennings.
It’s been great to coach some of the same guys again. We played both the Bears and the Cardinals this year, so I talked to those guys before the game. You develop a relationship with them that way, so when we came back out here this year, it was like they’re some of the guys you’re used to coaching. They’re great guys. They listen. Everybody wants to enjoy the moment, so it’s been a good experience.
I have a sense this is going to be a very good game on Sunday. The players are competitive and they know what was said about last year. I can tell a couple of guys, like safety Earl Thomas from Seattle and Adrian Peterson from Minnesota, are going to play hard. Defensively, we’re a little hamstrung, because there are certain things we can’t do (blitzing), but it’s going to be a fun game. I think it will be a show the fans will enjoy watching.
To see a previous postcard from RB coach Alex Van Pelt, click here.
