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The Packers didn’t come out of the Tampa Bay game very healthy. We actually lost several key players. Packers Nation started  worrying about the season (myself included) but it turns out that we overreacted a little. Good news is coming out of Green Bay on every injury sustained in last week’s game.

The most significant injury in the game was Aaron Rodgers. This morning McCarthy reported that Rodgers has a shoulder sprain. As long as McCarthy isn’t sugar coating things Rodgers should be able to play this weekend. At this point Rodgers thinks he will be able to play but McCarthy won’t say for sure if he is going to play or not until today and tomorrows rehab. I think we dodged a bullet here but it better have shown Thompson that he needs to pick up a veteran quarterback. The best thing for the Packers would be for Brohm to magically come up with an injury so we can stash him on IR. We can then sign a veteran to be Rodgers backup for at least this season. The Packers need to add another quarterback since I think the Packers have no shot of ever winning a game with Flynn or Brohm behind center.

The second most serious injury was to AJ Hawk. Jay Glazer reported yesterday that AJ Hawk tore his groin which would have put him out for the season. Jay Glazer’s sources were obviously wrong on this one since McCarthy said it is only a strain. Hawk might miss this week’s game but at least it isn’t the season ending injury that Glazer predicted. Hopefully we can get Hawk back as soon as possible since based on current play he is easily our best linebacker.

Another serious injury was sustained by Cullen Jenkins. Cullen Jenkins is suffering from a pectoral strain. At this point McCarthy really didn’t say anything about his availability but at least he shouldn’t be out more than a couple weeks. Cullen Jenkins has had a good season this year and is playing the second best of any defensive lineman on the roster.

Nick Collins appears to be suffering from the same injury as last week. I am guessing he will be able to play this week as well as long as he doesn’t have a set back. I hope Bigby is able to come back though since it appears that Aaron Rouse could miss some time. Aaron ROuse ahs also struggled this season so it will be nice to get Bigby back as soon as possible.

The final injury update I have for you is that supposedly Justin Harrell is actually progressing well. According to Pro Football Weekly Justin Harrell is in the best shape he has ever been in while with the Packers. While I am not going to put a lot of confidence into this report it will be great if it is actually true. The Packers have shown that they need help at the defensive tackle position. Our defensive tackles are being run over and another body in the picture could never be a bad thing. While I don’t think Harrell will have a great season, I think just having another defensive tackle will be huge.

The final news I have today actually doesn’t deal with injuries at all. Derrick Frost has played far from good. There were rumors that he might be cut but it appears that he will be getting another week. If he suffers again though I think he will lose his job. A familiar face could become his replacement. While Jon Ryan is currently on the Seahawks, the Seahawks are currently looking at replacements. Since there probably isn’t much as far as free agent punters I wouldn’t be surprised if the Packers resigned him. If you are thinking that Jon Ryan wouldn’t want to come back he has even said that he would gladly come back to Green Bay if the Packers wanted him back. Wouldn’t that be weird if Jon Ryan was cut and resigned in the same year?

Despite losing the football game you can’t be too upset with the Packers performance. The starters only played one series while the Titans played into the third quarter. Obviously the Titans were going to win. When the Titans starting receivers are facing our 7th and 8th CBs I wonder why they were able to move the ball. Since our backups had to face their starters you can pretty much only judge this game on individual performances. So here are the pros and cons as far as players performances go.

Pros

While only getting one play you can’t be disappointed with the Packers starting offense. If you only get one play and that play is a touchdown there is no way you can complain about the performance. Rodgers threw a perfect pass and Jennings made a nice catch. It didn’t hurt that the Titans defense totally blew the coverage though. The one thing I did wish was that Ryan Grant would get at least one run since he know has had zero runs this entire preseason. I hope he will be ready for next week.

Bishop, Hodge and White have all been great on defense. Thompson is going to have a very hard decision before him in the next two days. At this point all three players have played well enough to deserve a spot on the roster. With their performances I could possibly see the Packers keeping 7 linebackers even though it is too many linebackers in my opinion. I think the only way at this point we can let one of them go is if we get a good trade out of another team (preferably for a defensive tackle). I thought the linebackers would shine in this game and they sure have.

If Bishop, Hodge, and White’s performances weren’t enough we got some great performances out of Havner and Lansanah. Havner made two great special team plays. Lansanah made several nice plays on defense. At this point both have a very slim chance of making the roster. I don’t think Lansanah has a chance (hopefully he will make the practice squad) but I think Havner actually has a very slim chance. If Havner makes the roster it will be because the coaches think he is as good of special teams player as White is. The chances of that are pretty slim in my opinion.

Jon Ryan has had a great game. Ryan boomed punts and had great hangtime on all his punts. Jon Ryan also showed that he has pretty good running skills for a punter since he ran a bad snap 35 yards. Hopefully we won’t have to see that when the regular season begins. Hopefully Ryan can continue this consistency and learn how to punt in the winter.

I think Kregg Lumpkin earned a job on the roster with today’s performance. While he didn’t have any great plays he showed consistency. I also love that he refuses to go down. Usually it takes two to three players to take him down. You can’t not like a player that gives so much effort to gaining every last yard.

I thought Matt Flynn actually had a very good game. He struggled a little bit at the beginning of the game but he really picked it up later in the game. He ended up throwing two touchdowns and almost led the team to victory in the last two minutes. Flynn probably gained a lot of confidence from that drive and hopefully that confidence will help him this season since I think he won the top backup spot tonight.

Tramon Williams proved tonight why he is the number 3 cornerback. He had good coverage the whole game and made several nice plays on the ball.

Other surprises include Joe Porter (had some very nice breakups and has a chance of making the roster), Joey Haynos (had some nice catches and blocks), Michael Montgomery (he had a sack, some nice tackles, and got pressure on the quarterback), Jeremy Thompson (while he only had one tackle this was easily his best preseason game),

Cons

Our backup offensive line really needs some work. Especially the backup tackles. Breno Giacomini lost his chance to make the roster in my opinion. He really didn’t have much of a chance to make it in the first place but his performance tonight ruined that chance. I could see him making the practice squad though since he does and the size and phsycial ability to be a pretty good offensive lineman as long as he can learn the technique. Orrin Thompson also lost his job in my opinion due to tonight’s play.

Vernand Morency really blew it tonight in my opinion. He had the perfect opportunity to make the roster but he blew it in my opinion with his pretty poor performance. Herron and Lumpkin had a much better game in my opinion.

Brett Swain had a pretty poor game in my opinion. While he did have a touchdown reception he totally ruined that goodwill with the rest of the game. Swain dropped several passes and showed he is one of the worst punt returners I have ever seen. How in the world do you call a fair catch when no one is within 15 yards of you?

Scorpio Babers will not be making the team. He blew way too many coverages and he really didn’t have much chance to make the roster in the first place.

Other Observations

The Packers will probably be looking for a new long snapper since JJ Jansen was hurt in the game and it looks like he will be missing some time if not the whole season.

I thought Brian Brohm had his best game yet. He didn’t play great but I think that was at least partially due to the poor offensive line play. Brohm just needs to develop in my opinion. He also needs to work on holding onto the ball.

Pat Lee once again had an up and down game. He made some nice plays but also blew some coverages. At this point I don’t think he will be anything more than the fifth cornerback but I do see the potential to be a very good cornerback in this league.

I think Aaron Rouse really needs to replace Nick Collins as the starter. Nick Collins totally blew a coverage tonight. Some people think Aaron Rouse shouldn’t start yet due to mistakes in coverage. This preseason I have seen Nick Collins blow more coverages than Aaron Rouse has.

So who did you think had a good games and who had bad games? Who do you think won or lost a starting job with today’s performance? Also be sure to check back tomorrow when I have my final 53 man roster predictions.

I’m sorry I couldn’t get this out earlier but my internet has been down most of the day. Today I have three links today for reports on today’s practice. Green Bay Press Gazette, JS Online, and Packers.com all have reports on today’s practice (the last open to the public before Friday’s game). While it doesn’t seem like a lot happened today in practice there are a couple things to bring up.

Jermichael Finley seemed to have had the best practice on the team. Finley seems to be developing and I think he could have an influence on the team this year. While he won’t make a ton of big plays this season, I think he will have a couple of deep passes and could be a threat in the end zone. Finley had two red zone TDs. Hopefully Finley’s success in the red zone continues since the Packers could use another red zone threat.

It appears that the Packers will be missing quite a few starters for Friday’s game. AJ Hawk, Ryan Grant, Scott Wells, Ryan Pickett, Justin Harrell, Daniel Muir, DeShawn Wynn, and Charlie Peprah all seem unlikely to play on Friday. While I don’t usually worry about minor injuries, I am really starting to worry with so many key players out. At this point I am starting to worry that Hawk, Grant, and Pickett might not be able to go when the season begins. I hope I am wrong but if none of them are ready to play the Packers could be in a lot of trouble.

Rodgers accuracy continues to shine as he made another 45 yard pass into the small net. Rodgers has shown on the practice field that he has the accuracy to be a QB in this league, he now needs to show it on the field though. If Rodgers can get enough time in the pocket and can relax I think he will be a very good QB for us. If Rodgers can’t settle down or the protection doesn’t improve soon I think the Packers could be in some trouble.

Aaron Rouse made another play in practice. With another INT I need to say that the Packers are really making a mistake of not even giving him a chance at the starting job. While McCarthy has said that there is technically a competition for the starting safety job you can tell that there isn’t one. Rouse has played much better than Collins could even imagine and he is still not starting. I don’t know why McCarthy can’t give Rouse a shot with the starters to at least see what he can do. I think Rouse and Bigby could make a great tandem at safety as long as they can improve their coverage at least a little since last season.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a preview of Friday’s game and also two new features that I will be starting.

With the latest from training camp what are you expecting out of Friday’s game? Do you think the Packers will redeem themselves or will they struggle once again?

There was one practice today. The Green Bay Press Gazette has a post explaining what happened during the practice. Here are my thoughts on what they are reported:

• James Jones’ fumbling problems returned today during practice. I wouldn’t put too much stock in it though since I don’t think it is anything to worry about. He struggled with fumbles early last season but he worked through them in the second half of the season. I don’t think the problems have returned (or at least I hope they haven’t).
• Aaron Rouse impressed everyone once again. Wherever a play is made he seems to be in the vicinity. He actually recovered the James Jones fumble (it was caused by Blackmon).
• It’s not surprising that Will Blackmon is one of the kick returners but what does surprise me is that Jordy Nelson is the other returner. I guess he must have shown something returning since I personally wouldn’t have picked him as one of the returners.
• Once again there was a fight on the field. While I don’t think people have to worry yet since I think the fight was caused by the heat, if the fights continue everyday I think the Packers could be in trouble.
• Josh Sitton was supposedly impressive again today. I doubt Sitton will do enough to win a starting job but he is showing why he deserves to make the team. It’s always great to see when later round picks take advantage of their opportunities to impress the coaches.

Just to remind everyone I will be heading to Green Bay tommorrow to attend the Family Night Scrimmage. Since I am not a season ticketholder (I really wish I were though) I have always like the Family Night Scrimmage. I am even happier this season since I actually got first row seats this year so if you watch the scrimmage from home be sure to look for me. Tommorrow I will have an article about what you should look for in the scrimmage. I also might be able to provide a link on where to actually see the scrimmage on the internet for those of you who don’t live in the Green Bay area (I am not positive about this since it was breifly talked about on the TCR (a Green Bay show that highlights what happened on training camp every day). Check back tommorrow for both things and everyone can rejoice that Packer football has finally returned after such a long break that seemed to last forever.

From reports around the internet it sounds like yesterday’s practice was very interesting. I personally wasn’t able to go so I got all my information from the following three stories. Two are from the Green Bay Press Gazette (Offense Finds It’s Groove, and Night Wrap-Up) and one from JS Online (Friday Camp Report). So here is what stood out to me in the three reports.

• It seems like the offense is finally starting to get going. This is actually pretty normal since offenses always take longer to get going in training camp than defenses do. It seems like the first and second teams are both improving quite a bit.
• Jermichael Finley appeared to have a good day. From what I way of Finley on Wednesday I think he will be a good player. He is a rookie tough so you need to suspect some growing pains and mistakes. If Finley can continue to excell by getting off the line quickly I think he could really help out the Packers’ offense this season.
• Brian Brohm seems to be developing pretty quickly. Brohm didn’t look bad in Wednesday’s practice but I think he does need a little work with his timing since he did have some INT problems. I think he will naturally develop that timing and he should be fine.
• Will Blackmon and DeShawn Wynn both sat out the practice with injuries. Neither injury appears to be serious but they do worry me a little since both have an injury history. Hopefully both can recover from their injury since both have quite a bit on untapped potential.
• Rodgers apparently didn’t have a great practice. Packer fans should worry though since Rodgers will have some bad practices. In my opinion it is better if he struggles in practice and learns from his mistakes instead of making the mistakes in an actual game. I don’t think people should worry since I think it was just a bad day and he will rebound.
• The Packers supposedly have a 3-3. Supposedly Poppinga ended up lining up as a DE. While I don’t know how successful the scheme will be I really like that Bob Sanders is finally willing to open up the defense and try something new. In the past the Packers have suffered from having too bland of a defense and hopefully this shows that the defense is going to be willing to take some chances.
• Rouse continues to make plays with another INT in yesterday’s practice. I think Collins should really start looking over his back since I think Rouse is coming really close to taking his job.
• Two scuffles broke out in practice. While most people will think of this as a bad sign I will take a positive out of it. The players are obviously playing with a lot of energy which is always good for a football team.
• The Packers offensive line appears to be improving quite quickly since they are starting to dominate in the one on one drill. Barbre still seems to be the best fit for the starting guard spot. I also heard that Josh Sitton is really impressing the coaches so that is also a positive.