Raiders week: Back at it + Tuesday practice repo

[packers11]

Raiders week: Back at it

By Greg A. Bedard
Tuesday, Dec 4 2007, 03:40 PM
Green Bay - After a few needed days off after the brutal stretch of three games in 11 days and my first shoveling experience in at least a decade, both the Packers and I swing back into action with an abbreviated 70 minute practice set to start at 3:45 p.m.

Check back in later to see what's going on with the Packers after their tough loss to the Cowboys.

I'll be interested to see what happens along the offensive line and in the secondary.

Daryn Colledge, of course, got benched against the Cowboys, but they've shown a willingness to give him second and third chances. Will there be a fourth? Or will they just go with Junius Coston at right guard and Jason Spitz at left guard?

And then there's the in flux secondary, which saw Jarrett Bush get benched and Nick Collins look very, very rusty. Will Aaron Rouse be given a chance to compete with Collins at free safety? Will Atari Bigby, who seems to have plateaued, start to feel heat from somebody behind him?

Of course, we'll be keeping an eye out on the injury front with Charles Woodson, KGB, et al.

I know the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers conceivably have a shot at overtaking the Packers for the crucial second seed in the NFC playoffs, but I wouldn't be too concerned about them. The Seahawks and the Bucs are part of the group after the Cowboys and Packers that are more inconsistent than Bryant Gumble doing play by play on the NFL Network.

Personally, I'd like to see the Packers take some chances on the offensive line and in the secondary (Rouse at FS, Collins at SS) in these final four games so the Packers know exactly what they can do once the playoffs start.

We'll let you know what happens.

[packers11]

Raiders week: Tuesday practice report
By Greg A. Bedard

Tuesday, Dec 4 2007, 04:44 PM

Green Bay - The Packers won't be out on the field long inside a cold Hutson Center, so let's get to it:

QB Brett Favre (elbow, shoulder) was not on the field. According to the Packers, he is in New York accepting the Sportsman of the Year Award from Sports Illustrated. Aaron Rodgers got, I think, all of the snaps while Craig Nall studied hard;

CB Charles Woodson (toe) was on the field but did not take part in team drills. He did look good doing individual drills on the side;

DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee, ankle) was the field but not doing much;

DT Johnny Jolly (shoulder) was not on the field;

RT Mark Tauscher (ankle) was not on the field. Tony Moll took most of the reps there;

S Aaron Rouse (knee) took part only in individual drills. And even that was light;

It appeared that Jason Spitz and Junius Coston was the dominant left/right guard combination. However, Daryn Colledge got more than a few snaps at left guard with Spitz on the right side;

After CB Al Harris departed following jog throughs, the secondary combination was CB Jarrett Bush, CB Tramon Williams, CB Frank Walker, SS Atari Bigby and FS Nick Collins. It appeared that Bush had regained his role as the third cornerback.

I think that's it. Gotta run to McCarty's presser.

[packers11]

"Personally, I'd like to see the Packers take some chances on the offensive line and in the secondary (Rouse at FS, Collins at SS) in these final four games so the Packers know exactly what they can do once the playoffs start. "

That would be an interesting combination... Collins is better than Atari at covering (which isn't saying much)... I think the coaching staff should try this for at least a quarter...

[packers11]

Raiders week: McCarthy Tuesday tidbits
By Greg A. Bedard

Tuesday, Dec 4 2007, 07:22 PM
Green Bay - Here are a few nuggets from coach Mike McCarthy when he met with the media this afternoon:

It has yet to be determined when Brett Favre will practice. "The medical staff would like to hold him until Thursday. Brett would like to practice
(Wednesday). I'll see how he feels in the morning. He's in New York and he'll be getting back late tonight. I'll make that call tomorrow. It's a precaution;"

Charles Woodson tested his toe today. "I'm going to be extremely cautious with Charles as we move forward;"

DT Johnny Jolly was having tests done on his shoulder today. Depending on the results, his season could be over;

S Aaron Rouse is ready to go but McCarthy won't say what he's going to do at the two safety positions. "As far as our football team, we have a number of positions, a lot like the offensive line and corners, where you have players that are similar to where they are in their experience and level they're playing at. We just want to keep it competitive. I thought Aaron Rouse did a very nice job in his two opportunities as a starter. And Atari and Nick, it was not their best outing at safety along with a number of people;"

McCarthy did say the two safety positions are interchangeable;

On the guard situation: "We'll take the week (to decide). We'll continue to work Daryn there. Junius' ankle was bothering him a little bit so it doesn't sound like he's totally out of the woods there yet. Jason Spitz has played well at both right guard and limited time at left guard. We need to give him more practice reps at left guard because he hasn't had them. We'll rotate those three guys throughout the week;"

Much of the practice was spent on correcting the many mistakes the team made against Dallas. McCarthy said the Packers had 21 mental errors. The previous season high was nine;

On Craig Nall: "It was really our plan all along, at this point in the season, to add a third quarterback. Just getting ready for the playoff run. A veteran quarterback, has an idea of the system. He was here before. He's played in games. I just felt like he was the best fit for our stretch right here;"

On meeting Mark Murphy: "Very impressed with Mark Murphy in the time that I was able to spend with him. I thought he was a very down to earth individual. We had a nice visit. Look forward to working with him."

[HarveyWallbangers]

DT Johnny Jolly was having tests done on his shoulder today. Depending on the results, his season could be over;

This would be a BIG loss.

[RashanGary]

Ouch on Jolly. Harrell just isn't the same player and Williams is having problems on 1st down getting pushed out.

It might be best to go with Harrell starting and move Williams into that pass rush role that he's been so successfull with. I thought Harrell did a better job not getting shoved out in the run game. Williams just can't anchor down.

[Bretsky]

DT Johnny Jolly was having tests done on his shoulder today. Depending on the results, his season could be over;

This would be a BIG loss.

Terrible news if true

[RashanGary]

I just listened to the McCarthy press conference. He never said his season could be over. He said he's having tests, that's it. Bedard added the rest

He better cut that shit out, that's the kind of thing that grows mistrust.

[HarveyWallbangers]

From Press Gazette:

Also absent from practice was defensive tackle Johnny Jolly, who was undergoing more tests on his injured shoulder, leaving in question his ability to return this season.

More from Bedard:

Although Favre is sure to return to the practice field, the same can't be said for defensive tackle Johnny Jolly. He had an MRI Tuesday on the right shoulder he injured against the Carolina Panthers. The results are not yet known, but McCarthy had not ruled out that Jolly might miss the rest of the season.

The team originally thought that Jolly's injury would heal in about two to four weeks. However, a source said the injury had not made much progress.

If Jolly had to be placed on injured reserve, it would certainly be another blow to the vaunted depth at defensive line, where the Packers have already lost tackle Colin Cole.

[Fritz]

Justin Harrell better be ready to step it up. He's had two-thirds of a season to heal and learn. Time to play.

Funny how, during draft season, we get all worked up about those first picks in say the first three or four rounds. But here we are in the thick of the season, and the potential loss of a guy drafted in the sixth round is considered, on this thread, a terrible loss.

[RashanGary]

Looks like it might be Justin Harrell time. I'm of the opinion that Williams is better in passing situations so plug Harrell in the way Jolly was used and get Williams back to the role he was so good at. Even though Jolly started, Williams played more snaps. I think that should be the way it goes now. Play Harrell on short yardage and some base. Play Williams more in pass rush downs and some base.

[Bretsky]

Justin Harrell better be ready to step it up. He's had two-thirds of a season to heal and learn. Time to play.

Funny how, during draft season, we get all worked up about those first picks in say the first three or four rounds. But here we are in the thick of the season, and the potential loss of a guy drafted in the sixth round is considered, on this thread, a terrible loss.

I agree; during the draft it's so emotional. As it turns out up to this point we've got next to nothing from our 1st round pick and our 2nd round pick, but our 3rd round pick has been gold. Strange.

Time for Harrell to earn his check

[Bretsky]

Looks like it might be Justin Harrell time. I'm of the opinion that Williams is better in passing situations so plug Harrell in the way Jolly was used and get Williams back to the role he was so good at. Even though Jolly started, Williams played more snaps. I think that should be the way it goes now. Play Harrell on short yardage and some base. Play Williams more in pass rush downs and some base.

I'd agree Williams is better in rushing the passer and when fresh.

The real question is Harrell as good or in the same ballpark against the run

We'll get a good indication of how the coaches feel by seeing his playing time soon.

[HarveyWallbangers]

The Packers held up pretty well against a great Cowboys rushing attack, so that's encouraging. Our pass rush was non-existent, but Jolly and now Harrell likely won't play much on passing downs--since they bring Jenkins inside and KGB off the bench in those situations.

[Carolina_Packer]

Could it be Daniel Muir? Wouldn't that just suck to be Harrell if Muir was more productive? I don't know what kind of an opportunity that Muir is getting. He's definitely not as big as Harrell.