Latest / Best of: Features / Cowboys emphasize business trip mentality as they practice in Rio ahead of their game vs. Ravens
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- 0:05Cowboys emphasize business trip mentality as they practice in Rio ahead of
- 0:09their game versus Ravens Written by Mauricio Savaris. This article
- 0:15is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlett. Rio de
- 0:20Janeiro the AP. The Dallas Cowboys began their preparations in Rio de
- 0:25Janeiro on Friday for their game against the Baltimore Ravens, with an
- 0:28eye on They task at hand and not the sights for which
- 0:31the city is known. Brian Schottenheimer the cowboy second year coach who's
- 0:36preparing for his first international game, said players were well aware their
- 0:40visit to Brazil would feel like a business trip. They will play
- 0:44five thousand two hundred miles away from home. It's a little bit
- 0:48different from other road games, Schottenheimer said. We were very upfront with
- 0:52the guys early on. You're not going to have the free time
- 0:55to do what you'd normally do. We're here to get better, grow,
- 1:00learn, and we'll keep putting the final touches on what's been a
- 1:03short week, he added. The Cowboys practiced at the training grounds used
- 1:07by Soccer Club Flamengo in a remote part of Rio about twenty
- 1:11six miles west of they iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain. They'll get their
- 1:15first look at the city's historic Maracana Stadium during a walkthrough on
- 1:19Saturday. The Ravens practiced at the training ground of another soccer club,
- 1:23Botafogo. Coach Jesse Minter has worked in Brazil before. He was the
- 1:28Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator last season, when they opened against the
- 1:32Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo. Minter won't have much free time
- 1:37either, but he is already keen on seeing some of the fans
- 1:40from twenty twenty five. They might not be necessarily cheering for one
- 1:44team or the other. They kind of get excited when both teams
- 1:47make plays. Both effenses and defence have to deal with the crowd,
- 1:51he said the teams arrived in Rio on Friday morning following roughly
- 1:56ten hour flights. Their game Sunday will be one of a record
- 1:59nine international contests on the NFL schedule this season. We have a
- 2:04lot of time between now and kickoff, Schottenheimer said, Quarterback Dak Prescott,
- 2:10who will be playing in his first international game, also said the
- 2:13Cowboys are in a strictly business trip mode, though he noted he
- 2:17has enjoyed hanging out by the pool with his teammates and had
- 2:20tasted some of
- 2:21the local steaks at lunch. It is a place I want to
- 2:24return to as a tourist, Prescott said, adding that he hopes to
- 2:28see the famous Christ, the Redeemer statue from the bus when he
- 2:31heads to the game. What we are, looking for is a win.
- 2:35Prescott said he and his teammates expect to be fully rested by
- 2:38Saturday morning after their long trip. This is a first for the
- 2:42majority of them.
- 2:43Team, Prescott said. It is great to have an extra day to
- 2:46massage the same.
- 2:47Plan. Here excited about our game plan. We've got answers for whatever
- 2:52they're going to do, he added. That just kind of goes into
- 2:55the rules of who we are, not trying to get outside of
- 2:58our box to combat anything they're doing or counter them too much.
- 3:02We want to be the aggressors. We want to make them play
- 3:04on their heels and bring our best game to them. Prescott said
- 3:09even with the business trip mentality, his passion for football is the
- 3:12same. To be here in Brazil where there's big fan group, big
- 3:16fan base and support, hopefully allow a lot of people to see
- 3:19me play and this team play for the first time in person,
- 3:22he said. It is something that I think about each and every
- 3:25game. Who's watching for the first time? Or who's trying to pick
- 3:29up this game, and how can I inspire them? Just allows me
- 3:33to not take any play for granted, to be right where my
- 3:36feet are. The NFL has been playing in Brazil since twenty twenty
- 3:40four, but the two U previous games were at the forty eight
- 3:43thousand seat Neo Chimica Arena in Sao Paulo, a larger market where
- 3:47both games were sellouts. Some tickets remained for Sunday's game. Teams involved
- 3:52in those other games, the Packers, Eagles, Chargers, and Chiefs, had more
- 3:55activities in Brazil. See the AP's full NFL coverage here.