Thumbs up
It may be too soon to exhale, but those holding their breath waiting for Desmond Bishop to mess up and allow a big play soon might run out of air.
Hes three starts into his tenure as Nick Barnetts replacement at inside linebacker and so far, so good.
No one should be surprised that Bishop has made his share of big plays, topped by the 32-yard interception return for a touchdown last Sunday against Minnesota. Bishop has long shown a penchant for making flashy plays. Summer after summer, hes a training camp and preseason stud.
But the Bishop blowup had become all too common in the rare instances when he has gotten to play anything other than special teams. Who can forget his blown coverage against the Vikings in 2008, when he got smoked by running back Chester Taylor, who took a short swing pass and turned it into a 47-yard touchdown that at the time gave the Vikings a 21-10 lead on the way to a 28-27 defeat of the Packers?
On that day, he was filling in for Barnett, who went down earlier in the game because of a season-ending knee injury. But Bishop didnt keep the starting job for the rest of the season in large part because the Packers coaches werent sure they could trust Bishop to make the simple play.
So far, that hasnt been the case. Hes third on the team in tackles with 41 despite the fact that he barely played on defense in the first four games of the season. With Barnett out for the rest of the year because of a wrist injury, the job is Bishops unless, of course, he messes up.
Thumbs down
There couldnt be a worse week for the Packers to have injury problems on their defensive line. Thats because theyre facing a New York Jets team that more than anything else likes to keep the ball on the ground.
In a perfect world, Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers would counter that by lining up in his 3-4 base (called Okie) defense and letting his best run stuffers take their chances stopping LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene.
The problem is, Capers might have to play with a bunch of backups. His best run stopper, defensive end Ryan Pickett, is hobbled by an ankle injury. He tried to play last week against the Vikings but didnt make it through the first quarter. The line could get a boost if defensive end Cullen Jenkins returns after missing last week because of a calf injury, but he might not be 100 percent.
So Capers might be forced to use his nickel defense, which is normally used against teams that like to spread out their formations with three and four receivers, not a team like the Jets that likes to line up in base offense and run, run, run.
Key matchup
Charles Woodson vs. Darrelle Revis
They play the same position, so theyll never be on the field at the same time. But this is a matchup of perhaps the two best cornerbacks in the NFL. Whichever one can make more plays might help determine the outcome of this game. Woodson, the Packers versatile cornerback, won the NFLs defensive player of the year award last season. He was a turnover machine, intercepting nine passes (three of which he returned for touchdowns) and forcing four fumbles. But some, including Jets coach Rex Ryan, felt Revis should have won the award because of his shutdown coverage abilities. He allowed only two touchdowns all last season, including the playoffs.