News Lunch. Food For Thought

A few blurbs coming across the wire on this lovely October Monday...

LB Brady Poppinga left Sunday's game with a knee injury. After surgery this morning, the verdict is a torn meniscus. A rehab timetable is pending, but he'll surely miss several weeks if he's not placed on I.R. first. The roster manager in me thinks he'll be placed on I.R. sometime soon, to make room for either safety Atari Bigby, corner Al Harris, or rookie tail back James Starks. All three players enter their first week of practice eligibility after 6 weeks on the Physically Unable to Perform list. They have the next few weeks to prove their readiness. If they don't look the part, the Packers can place them on I.R. for the remainder of the season.



The team has officially placed injured TE Jermichael Finley on I.R., ending his season. This move was made in conjunction with a front office trade for Jacksonville safety Anthony Smith. The transaction is pretty typical of GM Ted Thompson, who has made a habit of filling mid-season roster gaps with average players who have a history with the team. Smith is a 5th year man who has spent time with the Steelers, Rams, Jaguars, and the Packers. Thompson's solution makes sense for a team looking to put bodies in the secondary while Atari Bigby and Al Harris get back up to speed. Smith is familiar with the system so there's no learning curve, just the small issue of the less-than-stellar play throughout his career.

Many fans are anxiously awaiting the return of veteran tackle Mark Tauscher, who suffered a shoulder strain a few weeks ago. When asked about Tauscher's progress at Monday's press conference, coach McCarthy said, "I would say he is still a ways away, but he is getting better, getting stronger." While alarmists will sound off on sack numbers and poor blocking during his absence, I think it's important to remember that Tauscher has looked his age when healthy this year. He's still sharp but has lost a step. Rookie tackle Bryan Bulaga has done an admirable job, and this playing time is extremely important for his development. Unfortunately for the O-line, there's not much that can be done this season except to pound the fundamentals.

From a roster standpoint, I'm interested to see how the team handles the halfback spot going forward. Unfortunately for fans, McCarthy seems hell bent on giving HB Brandon Jackson 12-15 carries per game and hoping for the best. Meanwhile, the team acquired HB Dimitri Nance and has yet to really give him a shot. Now, with rookie HB James Starks coming off of the PUP list, Green Bay has yet another largely unproven runner. As a recent draft choice, Starks has the blessings of Ted Thompson and will likely get preferential treatment over Nance. However, since Nance hasn't been offered any of the limited gameday rushing snaps, who is to say Starks will be either? Interesting decisions certainly lie ahead for a team that started the year with 2 active HB's, lost one to injury, and gained 2 more.

With so much yet to be determined, this week's practices will get special scrutiny. It doesn't help that next Sunday's contest is a prime-time home game versus the hated Minnesota Vikings. That's all for now. Keep checking back.