Injuries hampered his effectiveness

Green Bay - With a 4-inch thick playbook bursting with opportunity tucked under his right arm, Atari Bigby tried to calm himself.

For the first time in months, I'm nearly healthy.

Deep breath.

I'm going to play the same position as Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Deep breath.

I'm on the cusp of being a big-time playmaker in this league.

Deep breath.

Yes, it's enough to make a guy get too far ahead of himself, which is exactly why the Green Bay Packers' strong safety was making like a yoga student.

"Listen, I'm going to have fun," Bigby said Thursday. "I'm going to have fun in this defense and I'm so excited. I'm just trying to be calm right now just because of this season I'm coming off. That was a humbling season."

That might be an understatement.

After spending most of two seasons on the Packers' practice squad, Bigby finally got a chance to play in 2007. He responded by starting all 16 games (plus two in the playoffs), finishing third on the team with 121 tackles and second with 95 solo takedowns.

Most figured that season would provide the launching point for a breakout '08 campaign for the physical tone setter on the Packers' defense.

But after spraining his ankle in the third exhibition game, Bigby's season devolved into an injury-filled mess. He only played in seven games (six starts). When he did play, he was torched by running backs and burned by receivers.

But he was battered. More so than anybody outside the Packers knew.

"You guys don't even know how bad it was," Bigby said. "But it was something serious. But I wasn't at liberty to explain it."

The Packers, like many National Football League teams, do not like their players talking about the extent of their injuries.

If an opponent knew Bigby's ankle was the ailment that gave him problems all season - more than the hamstring and shoulder injuries that were also put on the injury report - they might alter their game plans to take advantage.

According to the injury reports the Packers filed with the league, Bigby's ankle was only a problem in Week 1 and Week 13. A hamstring injury against Detroit in Week 3 kept him out of the next five games. A shoulder injury was listed as his injury in Weeks 14 and 15 when he did not play.

He was not listed as injured during Weeks 9-12, so he was presumed to be completely healthy.

But he wound up being benched at times in Week 10 (at Minnesota) and Week 12 (at New Orleans) because injuries left him ineffective.

Even when he was placed on injured reserve Dec. 18, the reason stated in the team's press release was a shoulder injury.

Eight days later he had ankle surgery in Charlotte, N.C.

Often, the gray areas left open to teams by the injury report policy can lead to the wrong impression of a player.

"In some ways but you know what, I think if you know a player then you just trust that whoa, that's not the same guy. You know what I mean?" Bigby said. "And the whole season last year, I mean from Game 1 on, that wasn't me. But I try to be a team player and I stuck it out for them even through the pain. I wanted to show them that I was there for them."

Bigby would not say if he had an issue with the way the Packers handled his injury.

"I might go down taking the blame and I might look like a bad player for it but that's me, you know what I mean? That's the way I handle my business," Bigby said. "When I have a guy's back, I've got your back."

Soon, Bigby is going to have his injury woes fully behind him. When that happens, he'll be able to assert himself as a playmaking machine in the mold of Polamalu, who has thrived in Pittsburgh's similar scheme.

It's a role Bigby seems perfect for.

"I think we want to get Atari back to 2007 and that's his goal," said safeties coach Darren Perry, who tutored Polamalu with the Steelers. "He's eager to get back out there, but he knows he has to be a little bit patient and not rush it. Our goal is to get him back to that form and get him comfortable in this system so he can go out and show what kind of player he's going to be."

Until then, Bigby's going to be taking a lot of deep breaths.

"I don't want to talk about what I think or whatever," Bigby said. "I just want to go out and play when it's time."