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Bye week should boost Pack
Team on way to capturing NFC North
By Ken Ryan
Magically, every team, every season claims that the bye week has come at the perfect time for that particular team. For Green Bay, Aaron Kampman, among others, stepped to the plate.
But maybe there is some legitimacy behind that statement this year for the Packers.
Green Bay, at 5-1 and atop the NFC North by 1 ½ games over Detroit, comes off the bye week. Preparation begins this week for the first of two difficult, but winnable, AFC West road games, a trip to Denver on Oct. 29 followed by a roadie to Kansas City.
Those two games are just the beginning of a tough six-game stretch for the Pack. Following those two games, Green Bay hosts Minnesota and Carolina before heading to Detroit on Thanksgiving and onto Dallas the following Thursday night. The Dallas contest could have major implications for the NFC playoffs.
The Packers will need their top guns to be healthy for that tough stretch. Topping that list of banged-up prime-timers include cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris. Woodson, who sent the Pack into the bye week on a high note with a clutch game-winning 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown to defeat Washington 17-14, has battled a sore back that could use some rest. Harris, who has been terrific, has also battled a sore back and elbow and should be as healthy as possible for the final 10 games and hopefully postseason. With both playing as physical as they do, they need their health.
Other notable players have bumps and bruises. Defensive end Cullen Jenkins has also battled numerous upper-body injuries that could use some time off. Center Scott Wells fractured his eye socket against Chicago and it is clear Green Bay needs him healthy to boost a struggling offensive line.
Tight end Bubba Franks sprained his knee against Washington. The Packers hope to have Wells and Franks for Denver or shortly thereafter.
Most of the time during a game week, the coaches are focused on putting together a game plan against the upcoming opponent.
But during the bye, the coaches got the chance to evaluate some in-house problems that could bite the Pack down the road, most notably a rushing game ranked dead-last in the NFL. If the Packers can develop a run game, their chances of making a deep postseason run will be much greater.
Somehow, the offensive line needs to establish the line of scrimmage. The running back group of DeShawnn Wynn, Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency and Ryan Grant needs to produce a guy that coach Mike McCarthy can count on. That group should all be healthy coming out of the bye and undoubtedly the coaches spent a great deal of time figuring out who should be “the guy.”
We’ll see if the Packers used the time wisely to sharpen the run game fundamentals and get healthy. Last season, McCarthy’s first as the head coach, the Packers won two straight coming out of the bye week. A similar result this season could go a long way in the Packers taking control of the NFC North.
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