Zero2Cool
14 years ago
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/104664029.html 

Landover, Md. It's gotten to the point where a player as important to the Green Bay Packers' offense as Jermichael Finley is wondering whether he made a mistake attempting to tackle a Washington defender after a fumble.

The way things are going with the injury-riddled Packers, any wrong move could cost you a season.

"Donald (Lee) had fumbled, and I was going after that tackle," Finley said, recalling the second play of the game. "When I was going (after it), I was thinking, 'Should I really tackle that guy?' There's something crazy about that episode. In the back of my mind, I was like, 'I shouldn't do this.'

"I went out there and the back of my leg popped."

Now the Packers, like Finley, are going to be holding their breath that a scheduled MRI doesn't show a torn right hamstring.

Originally, the word disseminated in the press box was that Finley had suffered a knee injury, but he said in the locker room that it was more like a hamstring pull.

He said an X-ray was negative and that the doctors were fairly sure it wasn't a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which would end his season.

The ligament in the back of the knee is the posterior cruciate, which could sideline Finley for a while if torn, but until he undergoes a magnetic resonance imaging test it's all just speculation.

What doesn't qualify as an educated guess is the position the Packers find themselves following a 16-13 overtime loss Sunday at FedEx Field.

When your starting running back (Ryan Grant, ankle), starting right tackle (Mark Tauscher, shoulder), starting inside linebacker (Nick Barnett, wrist), starting safety (Morgan Burnett, knee), top cover linebacker (Brandon Chillar, shoulder) and power fullback (Quinn Johnson, glute) are out to begin with, it's a critical situation.

When your quarterback (Aaron Rodgers, concussion), best offensive option (Finley, hamstring), best pass rusher (Clay Matthews, hamstring), best run stuffer (Ryan Pickett, ankle), best special teams player (Derrick Martin, ankle) and backup tight end (Donald Lee, shoulder) and linebacker (Frank Zombo, knee) all suffer injuries, it constitutes an emergency.

When you consider that Finley and Barnett could join Grant and Burnett on injured reserve, and Rodgers is going to have to pass a series of tests before he'll be cleared to play against Miami next week, it's a full-fledged crisis.

"I've not been part of anything like this that so many guys are injured," said Pickett, who left the game in the first quarter after his right leg got crushed from behind by the pile, causing a severe sprain that knocked him out of the game.

"It's never been this bad. I've never experienced it in my 10 years."

Pickett said X-rays on his ankle were negative, but he'll be in line at the MRI machine on Monday morning with Finley, Matthews, Lee and Martin.

Matthews pulled the left hamstring that forced him to miss a long stretch of training camp. Lee did not return after apparently hurting himself on a 5-yard touchdown catch and Martin left the locker room on crutches after aggravating an injury he had surgically repaired in the off-season.

Injuries were not an excuse for losing to Washington on Sunday, especially when you consider the Packers gained 427 yards and didn't allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter.

Rodgers, according to coach Mike McCarthy, probably suffered the head injury on his final play from scrimmage, an interception thrown in overtime, so it was not a factor in him throwing just one touchdown pass.

Injuries are, however, a black cloud hanging over the team as it faces arguably its toughest part of the schedule. It hosts Miami next week and division rival Minnesota the week after, then travels to face the New York Jets before returning home to face the Dallas Cowboys.

It isn't until that stretch is over that the Packers get their bye week.

"I guess the (injury) bug is on us this year," Finley said.

Heading into this past week, the Packers had done a decent job managing injuries, but now McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers are going to have to be even more creative in filling spots.

Not having Matthews, who left in the fourth quarter after pulling the same hamstring that kept him out of three weeks of training camp each of the last two years, was a huge blow. It meant the defense went from sacking quarterback Donovan McNabb to just pressuring him.

Matthews said he didn't think the pull was bad and that the medical staff was being smart in holding him out because it didn't want him to be out for an extended period again. Philadelphia drove 53 yards for its game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter and 24 yards for its winning field goal in overtime.

"It's very difficult, especially when you think you can some way change the outcome of the game," Matthews said. "I felt like I was having a pretty good game getting after the quarterback.

"It's tough, very tough. You want to have your best playmakers out there, especially when it comes down to that last drive."

Capers was able to use a combination of Zombo and Brady Poppinga to fill Matthews' spot. But it obviously wasn't the same as having him out there. Poppinga even filled in at inside linebacker and got his first sack of the season on a middle blitz.

"I saw some good things out there today," Capers said. "It's too bad. With all the injuries we had, give them credit they made some critical plays at critical times.

"We had our opportunities. When they got there's they converted them, and when we got ours we didn't."



I think he meant Washington, not Philadelphia.
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wpr (55m) : yooper
Zero2Cool (55m) : next is create topic from headline
Zero2Cool (55m) : new site has recent topics and headlines now
buckeyepackfan (1h) : Micah wearing #1, Packers offered it to him. Curly only one to wear #1
Zero2Cool (2h) : Micah said he told Rasheed he's gonna get some practice. LT1 yeah?
Zero2Cool (2h) : Patriots release Jabrill Peppers Before 2025 Season
Mucky Tundra (3h) : yooper!
Zero2Cool (4h) : Never. But gonna be looking different in few days :D
yooperfan (5h) : Whew, I got it back. I was afraid that I lost this site for good.
Zero2Cool (5h) : Harrisburg Packers
Mucky Tundra (6h) : Yes
Zero2Cool (6h) : No.
dfosterf (7h) : The man carried us a lot of the time
dfosterf (7h) : I think a Kenny Clark tribute is in order
Zero2Cool (15h) : new site, text editor gooder even on phone
beast (15h) : Oh yes, sometimes they make using a cellphone tough. I just wanted to make sure it was the correct article, & thank you for pointing it out.
jdlax (17h) : I can't believe one of my teams went out and wablammo just up and acquired one of the best players in the world overnight
dfosterf (21h) : I do very much appreciate when Beast and others pick up my slack 😊
dfosterf (21h) : I accept Beast's admonishment regarding my failure to link stuff I reference. I simply never learned to link from my cell phone.
beast (22h) : That's not what your she said 😌, she said keep going 😏
Mucky Tundra (29-Aug) : Anything over 4 hours means he needs to get to the hospital
Mucky Tundra (29-Aug) : Someone might want to check on Hafley and make sure his erection has gone down
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : LaFleur texts "bleep me I cannot sit down"
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : YouTube has had me last hour or two lol
Mucky Tundra (28-Aug) : Ugh this trade happened right as my shift started and it's killing me
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : Parsons wore 23 in high school.
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : Packers just cost Lions more money with Hutchinson too huh
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : That is fair by me.
buckeyepackfan (28-Aug) : Kenny Clark is the player, 2 1st rnd picks
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : umm... what?
wpr (28-Aug) : I am stunned
Mucky Tundra (28-Aug) : RICKEY SCOOPS WAS RIGHT AGAIN!!!
Mucky Tundra (28-Aug) : ITS HAPPENING
buckeyepackfan (28-Aug) : DEAL IS DONE
buckeyepackfan (28-Aug) : MICAH IS COMING TO GREEN BAY!!!!!!!!!
wpr (28-Aug) : Me do-ed it gooderly,
Zero2Cool (28-Aug) : Bahah, I was like WTF why isn't anyone posting on PP.com ... oops no one has permissions
dfosterf (27-Aug) : tell her I reckon
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Micah Robinson cut. Probable PS player tomorrow. Has to call mom back and t
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : New site so much better. Might make switch and deal with it.
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Mecole Hardman to our practice squad
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Nick Nieman from Texans our 5th linebacker. Special teams signing
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Looks like we signed Clayton Tune as QB3
wpr (27-Aug) : TKT people lose their minds over QB3. Point is almost none of them are ready that's why they are on the PS and other teams don't take them.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Unfortunately he doesn't seem ready to be an emergency QB.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : As a Canadian and a follower of Canadian University football. I am rooting for him
dfosterf (27-Aug) : I bet a lot of us will follow the Taylor Elgersma journey with interest. Personally, got a Kurt Warner vibe goin' on. I like him
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Not sure if either will be claimed though.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Tune or Hooker would make sense
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Clayton Tune cut by the Cards? Don't know if that's the guy, we shall see
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