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A couple days after the loss to the Minnesota Vikings both defensive linemen Johnny Jolly and Cullen Jenkins were singing a different tune. Both players had made highly controversial comments to the press immediately following the game and tried to make up for it on Wednesday.
After committing a bone head penalty against the Vikings that led to an eventual touchdown, Jolly showed no remorse on Sunday. “I shouldn’t have let my emotions take over on that play,” Johnny Jolly is quoted as saying by Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “Nick (Barnett) made a great play on third down. We could have
been off the field. That gave them an opportunity to get three more
snaps prior to the touchdown they scored. Next time it won’t happen
like that. That was my fault. I take all the blame for it.”
Jenkins, on the other hand, said he felt "handcuffed" by the defensive scheme after the game. "If I had an issue, I should have went straight to them and talked with
them about it and not handle it the way I handled it," Jenkins told Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "So that's
something I need to take responsibility for and handle better,
especially being one of the older guys on this team. I should be
setting a better example." For both players, Wednesday was a step in the right direction.
Over on the offensive side of the football, it appears as if the team is ready to make a change at the tackle position. "Considering Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher were the primary tackles in
practice Wednesday, it would almost seem a given that both would be in
the starting lineup when the Green Bay Packers play at Tampa Bay Sunday," writes Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel. Personally, I'm ready to go with the young guys, but apparently the head coach of the Packers disagrees with me.
Considering the way the offensive line has performed combined with injuries to both of Aaron Rodgers' feet and his mobility, and there's concern that the quarterback may have a hard time staying upright on Sunday. "Thankfully, there's this little thing called adrenaline that kicked in
last week," Rodgers told Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel. "So I'm hoping that kicks in early and won't
be an issue. It's not that bad. And I think by Sunday, it's really
going to be a nonissue." If the Packers are able to get an early lead, it's possible that Packers fans may see Matt Flynn the earliest he's ever been in a regular season game.
More bad news came on the injury front concerning Jason Spitz on Wednesday. “Just kind of not making progress,” coach Mike McCarthy was quoted as saying by Rob Demovsky of the Press-Gazette.
“Hopefully we can continue with his treatment and rehab and hopefully
make some progress. I know he is frustrated. I know Dr. McKenzie is a
little concerned. I say it every time we ask the question about Jason
Spitz, it is a low-back injury so there is that uncertainty there. But
hopefully he’ll start to make some more progress here.” The Packers can't continue to wait for Spitz indefinitely. Either he gets better in a week or two or they'll probably have to place him on IR.
"Jeremy Kapinos won’t
be getting cut this week, but the Packers punter was put on notice by
coach Mike McCarthy on Wednesday that he must improve," writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. Hang time has been one of Kapinos' biggest issues. The coverage units need that extra second to get downfield to get in position to make a tackle.
Waldo of Where's Lambeau? finds that Clay Matthews might be playing the best among all rookie defensive line/3-4 OLB types in the entire NFL.
Chris Lempesis of Ol' Bag of Donuts is upset that the Packers let rookie left tackle Jamon Meredith get away.
Green Bay Packer Nation says all is not lost.
Railbird endorsed video: Enjoy "Sympathy for the Devil" by Yukon Kornelius with members of the Dave Matthews Band, Guster and Barenaked Ladies...