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View Full Version : Finley to have surgery; Lee out a couple of weeks.



denverYooper
10-11-2010, 12:06 PM
Looks like it's a good thing we have 4 TEs.

Finley's going to have knee surgery per M3's presser. It's a knee scope, looking like ~3 weeks downtime for him.

Lee is going to be out a couple of weeks.

Quarless had better keep the big boy pants on.

gbpackfan
10-11-2010, 12:09 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Joemailman
10-11-2010, 12:13 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.

mraynrand
10-11-2010, 12:16 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Thanks for that pick-me-up (It's good that you are omnipotent and not omniscient)

mraynrand
10-11-2010, 12:16 PM
Looks like it's a good thing we have 4 TEs.

Finley's going to have knee surgery per M3's presser. It's a knee scope, looking like ~3 weeks downtime for him.

Lee is going to be out a couple of weeks.

Quarless had better keep the big boy pants on.

Bring back Havner!

Airin' Rodgers
10-11-2010, 12:16 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.

+1.

Just have to find a way to stay afloat and sneak into the playoffs. Then anything can happen. Good thing 9-7 might do it this year, I hope.

Wins: Dolphins, Lions, Vikings, Niners, Bears, Giants
Losses: Jets, Pats, Vikings, Falcons, Cowboys

Hopefully they can find a way to 10-6

packers11
10-11-2010, 12:19 PM
I honestly just want the packers to sneak in the playoffs - HEALTHY...

If they could get in at 8-8/9-7/`0-6 with no more injuries, they could go all the way... Its not like Lambeau would help the passing game when it gets 10 degrees out come playoff time anyway...

Airin' Rodgers
10-11-2010, 12:20 PM
A tidbit of good news. Chillar returns to practice this week

gbgary
10-11-2010, 12:21 PM
the season's not over but it is in jeopardy. all we need to concentrate on is the nfc north. we're 3-2 right behind THE BEARS. if the O can get untracted and we get semi healthy we'll be ok. there's still 3/4 of a season to go.

vince
10-11-2010, 12:24 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.
:bclap: This team has obviously had horrendous luck with injuries. Now is the time for real fans to rally around them, not dump on 'em when they're down.

packers11
10-11-2010, 12:24 PM
there's still 3/4 of a season to go.

Thats the part that scares me... At this rate the packers will be calling me for a tryout ... This better not turn into 2005 all over again

gbpackfan
10-11-2010, 12:30 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.
:bclap: This team has obviously had horrendous luck with injuries. Now is the time for real fans to rally around them, not dump on 'em when they're down.

I'll be there every Sunday cheering just like you guys. But if you think the Packers are a team that can make a deep playoff run, you're sorely mistaken. TT came into the season with HUGE holes in the roster and injuries have made more. Some he could have fixed, RB, some he can't. Either way, we're fucked. It's the harsh truth. Sorry. How many of the next 4 games are we going to win? Really. I can't see us winning one of them. Our OLB are ZOMBO and JONES. Nice pass rush. I could go on and on, but most of you want to drink the kool aid. I'll let you live in fantasy land.

packers11
10-11-2010, 12:32 PM
pft.com


Jermichael Finley and Nick Barnett are scheduled for surgery

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 11, 2010 1:22 PM ET
MRI Monday is here in Green Bay, and the early results could be worse.

Packers linebacker Nick Barnett and tight end Jermichael Finley will undergo surgery. Barnett was hoping to avoid surgery, but he will be out a while. Some reports have suggested he could return in 6-8 weeks, while others worried his season was over. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said they will know more about Barnett's prognosis after surgery.

NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reports that Finley will miss roughly three weeks with a "minor knee scope." McCarthy only said he'd be surprised if the injury was season-ending. Backup tight end Donald Lee will miss a few weeks.

McCarthy said Aaron Rodgers will at a minimum miss practice time after suffering a concussion on the final play of Sunday's loss to Washington. He admitted Rodgers could miss this week's game.

Special teams ace Derrick Martin has a "significant" knee injury that will knock him out more than a few weeks. (Sounded possibly season-ending.) McCarthy said it's too early to tell if linebacker Clay Matthews and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett will play this week.

Matthews' hamstring strain is reportedly not as significant as the one he had in training camp.

Add it all up, and there are really no awful surprises for the Packers. Barnett's news was expected. Rodgers, Matthews, Finley, and Pickett should be back at various points in the next month.

In the meantime, the Packers just need to avoid falling into a big hole

vince
10-11-2010, 12:35 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.
:bclap: This team has obviously had horrendous luck with injuries. Now is the time for real fans to rally around them, not dump on 'em when they're down.

I'll be there every Sunday cheering just like you guys. But if you think the Packers are a team that can make a deep playoff run, you're sorely mistaken. TT came into the season with HUGE holes in the roster and injuries have made more. Some he could have fixed, RB, some he can't. Either way, we're fucked. It's the harsh truth. Sorry. How many of the next 4 games are we going to win? Really. I can't see us winning one of them. Our OLB are ZOMBO and JONES. Nice pass rush. I could go on and on, but most of you want to drink the kool aid. I'll let you live in fantasy land.
No one has any misgivings about the state of the roster right now. Neither does anyone want to hear whining and crying about the season being over. There's a tough road to hoe for the team. Don't pile on when they're obviously severely challenged. There are plenty of Bear and Viking fans that will do that already. That's just my opinion on it.

Packgator
10-11-2010, 12:46 PM
Finley's going to have knee surgery per M3's presser. It's a knee scope, looking like ~3 weeks downtime for him.

As long as the scope doesn't reveal anything worse. Let's hope not.

Fritz
10-11-2010, 12:48 PM
Nobody's saying much about Derrick Martin's injury, but I think it's significant, given that he was supposedly the team's best ST player (on a unit that isn't that great already) AND that he's a safety - that same position that's missing Bigby for another what, three weeks, and Burnett for the year.

I'm not giving up on the season, but I admit to being down about this team. Even with all the injuries, Crosby had a chance - two chances - to steal a win for the team, and he couldn't do it. The way you make up for injuries is by having other people step up and make plays. Crosby had the biggest chance to do that, and he didn't.

I'm not down ON the team, but I'm down about the team.

vince
10-11-2010, 12:49 PM
TT came into the season with HUGE holes in the roster
I probably shouldn't do this, but I'm curious about where all those HUGE holes on the roster were coming into the season.

get louder at lambeau
10-11-2010, 12:49 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.
:bclap: This team has obviously had horrendous luck with injuries. Now is the time for real fans to rally around them, not dump on 'em when they're down.

I'll be there every Sunday cheering just like you guys. But if you think the Packers are a team that can make a deep playoff run, you're sorely mistaken. TT came into the season with HUGE holes in the roster and injuries have made more. Some he could have fixed, RB, some he can't. Either way, we're fucked. It's the harsh truth. Sorry. How many of the next 4 games are we going to win? Really. I can't see us winning one of them. Our OLB are ZOMBO and JONES. Nice pass rush. I could go on and on, but most of you want to drink the kool aid. I'll let you live in fantasy land.

The Packers are #2 in the NFL with 21 sacks right now, and two of them came while Matthews was on the sidelines this week. Even if you take out Matthews league leading 8.5 sacks, the Packers would STILL be #7 in the NFL in sacks.

So you're crying in your beer over lack of pass rush and lack of running game after THAT game? And who's in fantasy land? Maybe if you were bitching about something that made sense, but you're not.

SkinBasket
10-11-2010, 12:50 PM
TT came into the season with HUGE holes in the roster and injuries have made more. Some he could have fixed, RB, some he can't. Either way, we're fucked. It's the harsh truth. Sorry. How many of the next 4 games are we going to win? Really. I can't see us winning one of them. Our OLB are ZOMBO and JONES. Nice pass rush. I could go on and on, but most of you want to drink the kool aid. I'll let you live in fantasy land.

Motherfucking TT should have signed every FA this past offseason, then traded most of them to build a roster with ProBowl players at every position and several in back-up roles. I mean, it's what any other decent GM would have done! This is ridiculous! Even a monkey could build a roster that could absorb 3-9 mid/long term injuries to contributing players!

denverYooper
10-11-2010, 12:50 PM
Packers tight end Jermichael Finley will have arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and will miss anywhere from three and six weeks, according to a source.


Now it's 3-6 weeks... whooo boy.

Tarlam!
10-11-2010, 12:51 PM
Can you imagine the motivation in the locker room if they can get past this adversity, and somehow sneak into the playoffs, with a pretty healthy roster going in?

I think they'd be a hard team to stop.

Patler
10-11-2010, 01:02 PM
Quarless may be a pleasant surprise, and might show Donald Lee to be unneeded by three weeks from now. That might open a spot for one of the PUP guys.

Bulaga had some rough spots, but overall was effective. I don't think they are any worse off than with Tauscher. In fact, Tauscher might have a tough time getting back into the starting lineup now that Bulaga has been given an opening.

Neal already has been a pleasant surprise, so with Pickett out the D-line might not be much worse than when Neal was out.

Bishop had a decent game, and will be different than Barnett; perhaps worse in some aspects, but maybe better in others. He knocked people around yesterday. Chillar reportedly is back at practice, so that helps.

Surprisingly, even with Mathews out, the D applied some pressure and had at least one sack.

The running game showed signs of life, just as it has during the midstretch every year under MM. Still don't know if Starks will provide a spark or not, but we will find out soon.

This becomes a critical stretch. If they can stay above .500 at the end of the next 4 games, hopefully players will be coming back and they could get on a roll going into the last 5-7 games. With experience gained by Quarless, Bulaga, Neal, Bishop, various backs, and the defense learning ways to pressure the passer w/o Mathews, they could be a lot better team in weeks 12-16 than they have been so far.

Joemailman
10-11-2010, 01:06 PM
Packers tight end Jermichael Finley will have arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and will miss anywhere from three and six weeks, according to a source.


Now it's 3-6 weeks... whooo boy.

Four more games before the bye week. Most likely scenario is that they bring him back after the bye. I'm interested to see what Quarless will be able to do now that he's a part of the game plan. He looked dangerous yesterday.

vince
10-11-2010, 01:09 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ5YiQqrZCk

sharpe1027
10-11-2010, 01:16 PM
Quarless may be a pleasant surprise, and might show Donald Lee to be unneeded by three weeks from now. That might open a spot for one of the PUP guys.

Bulaga had some rough spots, but overall was effective. I don't think they are any worse off than with Tauscher. In fact, Tauscher might have a tough time getting back into the starting lineup now that Bulaga has been given an opening.

Neal already has been a pleasant surprise, so with Pickett out the D-line might not be much worse than when Neal was out.

Bishop had a decent game, and will be different than Barnett; perhaps worse in some aspects, but maybe better in others. He knocked people around yesterday. Chillar reportedly is back at practice, so that helps.

Surprisingly, even with Mathews out, the D applied some pressure and had at least one sack.

The running game showed signs of life, just as it has during the midstretch every year under MM. Still don't know if Starks will provide a spark or not, but we will find out soon.

This becomes a critical stretch. If they can stay above .500 at the end of the next 4 games, hopefully players will be coming back and they could get on a roll going into the last 5-7 games. With experience gained by Quarless, Bulaga, Neal, Bishop, various backs, and the defense learning ways to pressure the passer w/o Mathews, they could be a lot better team in weeks 12-16 than they have been so far.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? I can keep telling myself that for a few more games. I just hope they don't get "killed" in the short term. :wink:

vince
10-11-2010, 01:18 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkh8nkKPW0&feature=related

steve823
10-11-2010, 01:33 PM
Quarless may be a pleasant surprise, and might show Donald Lee to be unneeded by three weeks from now. That might open a spot for one of the PUP guys.

Bulaga had some rough spots, but overall was effective. I don't think they are any worse off than with Tauscher. In fact, Tauscher might have a tough time getting back into the starting lineup now that Bulaga has been given an opening.

Neal already has been a pleasant surprise, so with Pickett out the D-line might not be much worse than when Neal was out.

Bishop had a decent game, and will be different than Barnett; perhaps worse in some aspects, but maybe better in others. He knocked people around yesterday. Chillar reportedly is back at practice, so that helps.

Surprisingly, even with Mathews out, the D applied some pressure and had at least one sack.

The running game showed signs of life, just as it has during the midstretch every year under MM. Still don't know if Starks will provide a spark or not, but we will find out soon.

This becomes a critical stretch. If they can stay above .500 at the end of the next 4 games, hopefully players will be coming back and they could get on a roll going into the last 5-7 games. With experience gained by Quarless, Bulaga, Neal, Bishop, various backs, and the defense learning ways to pressure the passer w/o Mathews, they could be a lot better team in weeks 12-16 than they have been so far.

Im hoping for this. I think Bulaga needs to take over for Tauscher. Tauscher and Clifton are both playing like crap, but Clifton is playing better out of both of them (which doesn't say much)

vince
10-11-2010, 01:43 PM
Both have been consistently listed on the injury report this year. I don't know what's happened to Lang, but I hope he's ready to go too. Cliffy's knee isn't likely to ever get to 100% this year.

channtheman
10-11-2010, 02:47 PM
Is there any reason why Lang can't go at RT and Bulaga at LT with Clifton sitting as a backup? Surely Lang can't be as bad as Tauscher was and this would give Clifton a needed break.

HarveyWallbangers
10-11-2010, 02:53 PM
Finley missed the game at Lambeau against the Vikings last year also. He has bad timing on his injuries.
:D

pbmax
10-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Suck it up you bunch of pansies! Only losers quit at the second sign of trouble. What a bunch of fair-weather clowns!

Most of their trouble in both losses was self-inflicted. And if nothing else, being hampered by injuries should get everyone's head out of their collective hindquarters thinking about glory and post-season honors and their next contract. No one gets paid taking a team with Super Bowl aspirations and turning in a 6-10 season.

The Dolphins are the ones in trouble, not the Packers, even if Flynn has to QB. Anyone really like Chad Henne that much better than Flynn? Plus they will have zero tape on him throwing every other pass to Crabtree and Swain (like Rodgers, I expect Flynn has developed a Ruvell-Aaron love affair with the bottom of the receiving depth chart).

McCarthy will finally adjust to his new set of circumstances on offense by Week 8, if history holds. Just buckle your chinstrap and tough it out here in non-contact cyberspace.

By the way, Dom Capers deserves a gold star as well as a football for that effort Sunday.

Its like old timers week in here with lost posters showing up after a loss to spread some truth now that they have a result which measures up to their pre-conceived notions of the coach and GM.

vince
10-11-2010, 03:33 PM
Suck it up you bunch of pansies! Only losers quit at the second sign of trouble. What a bunch of fair-weather clowns!

Most of their trouble in both losses was self-inflicted. And if nothing else, being hampered by injuries should get everyone's head out of their collective hindquarters thinking about glory and post-season honors and their next contract. No one gets paid taking a team with Super Bowl aspirations and turning in a 6-10 season.

The Dolphins are the ones in trouble, not the Packers, even if Flynn has to QB. Anyone really like Chad Henne that much better than Flynn? Plus they will have zero tape on him throwing every other pass to Crabtree and Swain (like Rodgers, I expect Flynn has developed a Ruvell-Aaron love affair with the bottom of the receiving depth chart).

McCarthy will finally adjust to his new set of circumstances on offense by Week 8, if history holds. Just buckle your chinstrap and tough it out here in non-contact cyberspace.

By the way, Dom Capers deserves a gold star as well as a football for that effort Sunday.

Its like old timers week in here with lost posters showing up after a loss to spread some truth now that they have a result which measures up to their pre-conceived notions of the coach and GM.

Just put me in coach! Rub some dirt on it and bring 'em on!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/twernke/Packers/bilde.jpg

red
10-11-2010, 04:00 PM
The season is over. No running game, injuries stacked on top of injuries, Crosby missing FGs again, special teams suck, no returner, etc. Super bowl or bust. I guess we got BUST.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure the Packers don't give up as easily as you do. They're 1 game worse than the best record in the NFC. Things don't look good right now, but the situation isn't hopeless. Enjoy your extended off-season.

+1.

Just have to find a way to stay afloat and sneak into the playoffs. Then anything can happen. Good thing 9-7 might do it this year, I hope.

Wins: Dolphins, Lions, Vikings, Niners, Bears, Giants
Losses: Jets, Pats, Vikings, Falcons, Cowboys

Hopefully they can find a way to 10-6

i'd be shocked if we won the next two weeks as depleted as we are right now. and if a-rod misses the next game then i don't see us having a chance. the queens game might turn out to be a nightmare with our second teamers trying to play their #1's

mraynrand
10-11-2010, 04:06 PM
i'd be shocked if we won the next two weeks as depleted as we are right now.

You never know. as depleted as the Packers are, the best weapon against Miami might be to keep on punting to 'em and watch their special teams implode! Come to think of it, that game could be a battle of two special teams competing for the honor of "worst in the NFL!!"

mission
10-11-2010, 04:26 PM
Suck it up you bunch of pansies! Only losers quit at the second sign of trouble. What a bunch of fair-weather clowns!

Most of their trouble in both losses was self-inflicted. And if nothing else, being hampered by injuries should get everyone's head out of their collective hindquarters thinking about glory and post-season honors and their next contract. No one gets paid taking a team with Super Bowl aspirations and turning in a 6-10 season.

The Dolphins are the ones in trouble, not the Packers, even if Flynn has to QB. Anyone really like Chad Henne that much better than Flynn? Plus they will have zero tape on him throwing every other pass to Crabtree and Swain (like Rodgers, I expect Flynn has developed a Ruvell-Aaron love affair with the bottom of the receiving depth chart).

McCarthy will finally adjust to his new set of circumstances on offense by Week 8, if history holds. Just buckle your chinstrap and tough it out here in non-contact cyberspace.

By the way, Dom Capers deserves a gold star as well as a football for that effort Sunday.

Its like old timers week in here with lost posters showing up after a loss to spread some truth now that they have a result which measures up to their pre-conceived notions of the coach and GM.

Nice post. I've actually been here reading all the threads and pretty much at a loss of words. I'll start typing something -- something bad about MM usually -- and decide not to post it.

It is what it is. I feel sorry for most of the players. This team can rebound but it won't be because MM suddenly undumbifies himself.

get louder at lambeau
10-11-2010, 05:25 PM
Its like old timers week in here with lost posters showing up after a loss to spread some truth now that they have a result which measures up to their pre-conceived notions of the coach and GM.

It's not just here. It's happening in both of my forums too.

pbmax
10-11-2010, 06:43 PM
I actually think the Redskin game was as close to proof of concept as you can get to testing a GM in the Packers front office situation.

Some of the players had letdowns, and the coach could have made a couple of changes to get more points, but the Packer backups were outplaying the Redskin starters well into the 2nd half. Long enough to have a big enough lead.

Somehow, I doubt that sentiment will be universal. :lol:

hoosier
10-11-2010, 06:46 PM
Suck it up you bunch of pansies! Only losers quit at the second sign of trouble. What a bunch of fair-weather clowns!

Most of their trouble in both losses was self-inflicted. And if nothing else, being hampered by injuries should get everyone's head out of their collective hindquarters thinking about glory and post-season honors and their next contract. No one gets paid taking a team with Super Bowl aspirations and turning in a 6-10 season.

The Dolphins are the ones in trouble, not the Packers, even if Flynn has to QB. Anyone really like Chad Henne that much better than Flynn? Plus they will have zero tape on him throwing every other pass to Crabtree and Swain (like Rodgers, I expect Flynn has developed a Ruvell-Aaron love affair with the bottom of the receiving depth chart).

McCarthy will finally adjust to his new set of circumstances on offense by Week 8, if history holds. Just buckle your chinstrap and tough it out here in non-contact cyberspace.

By the way, Dom Capers deserves a gold star as well as a football for that effort Sunday.

Its like old timers week in here with lost posters showing up after a loss to spread some truth now that they have a result which measures up to their pre-conceived notions of the coach and GM.

You forgot to mention Kuhn carrying 33 times for 80 yards. :lol:

MichiganPackerFan
10-12-2010, 11:26 AM
I was pretty down yesterday about the injuries, but today I'm feeling better.

The biggest thing that went wrong on Sunday was 1) injuries 2) too much beer and sun and fun at the stadium to fully appreciate the 50 yard line seats!!! I don't get to go to many games, but there's so much to see it seems like it's really hard to watch the actual game.

Tried to watch some of the game on the dvr yesterday, but the second half was painful.

I'm thankful that TT has refused to sacrifice the future by bringing in vets for draft picks, right now, we still have a lot of young bodies on the field that might give us a chance despite a horrible year for injuries. I've read that the D-line played really well and it did seem like they were getting to McNabb quite a bit. Games are won on the lines, so this could be a huge positive. I can't imagine the WR drops will continue forever. Tramon has been as on as Woodson has been off. Bigby and Harris will be back soon.

I don't see that the season is over, but I don't think there's any team that can sustain as many injuries as we have.

Freak Out
10-12-2010, 11:34 AM
Things are going to work out ok.....we'll be a game back at the bye and will rally hard after.

Cheesehead Craig
10-12-2010, 11:50 AM
I actually think the Redskin game was as close to proof of concept as you can get to testing a GM in the Packers front office situation.

Some of the players had letdowns, and the coach could have made a couple of changes to get more points, but the Packer backups were outplaying the Redskin starters well into the 2nd half. Long enough to have a big enough lead.

Somehow, I doubt that sentiment will be universal. :lol:

Sometimes it takes the old man's wisdom to show the way.

Nice post.

denverYooper
10-12-2010, 12:21 PM
I actually think the Redskin game was as close to proof of concept as you can get to testing a GM in the Packers front office situation.

Some of the players had letdowns, and the coach could have made a couple of changes to get more points, but the Packer backups were outplaying the Redskin starters well into the 2nd half. Long enough to have a big enough lead.

Somehow, I doubt that sentiment will be universal. :lol:

I mentioned something similar in the Weird Season thread. The fact that there was not a ton of drop off until we lost Finley and Matthews speaks to the Packers' roster depth IMO. And I'm not sure they can't get by with Quarless qua Finley Lite for a spell. The kid has some nice hands and decent speed. He needs some work on his blocking but they really need him to be their pass catching TE for what they try to do on offense.

Bulaga is better than Tausch. Period. A couple of false starts but you get that from T these days. He's much better in the run game and at worst a push in pass pro. They didn't give him much help on Sunday and reps are only going to raise his game.

I sure hope they plan on using Starks as they used Grant and will feed him 20 times a game. I hope that he's the player they must think he is because if he steps in and steps up, IMO we're looking at a good run. Grant's loss hurt us big time.

Fortunately Matthews's injury is not serious. He is the difference between the defense being ok and it being very good. The D-line is playing some very good ball right now, he is the finisher behind a killer-looking unit of Neal/Raji/Jenkins. That unit playing well and that helps everyone on that D but Matthews is our Polamalu.

I realize that there is a high correlation between starter minutes lost and teams failing to reach the postseason. This could indeed send our season into the crapper. However, this *could* work out for this team. Part of the reason is that I think this forces some needed personnel changes -- Bulaga being the main one -- and maybe we see that some of our backups are *better* than the old guard. I still feel like some of our core vets are the ones failing to execute at crucial times. Maybe they've gotten lazy with expectations or they're just losing a step. Too bad some of our ST staff didn't get injured in the offseason; maybe they could have forced changes there also :).