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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Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : WR who said he'd break Xavier Worthy 40 time...and ran slower than you
Mucky Tundra (2-Apr) : Who?
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : Texas’ WR Isaiah Bond is scheduled to visit the Bills, Browns, Chiefs, Falcons, Packers and Titans starting next week.
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : Spotting ball isn't changing, only measuring distance is, Which wasn't the issue.
Zero2Cool (2-Apr) : The spotting of the ball IS the issue. Not the chain gang.
Mucky Tundra (2-Apr) : Will there be a tracker on the ball or something?
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : uh oh
Martha Careful (1-Apr) : Too bad camera's can't spot the ball as well.
Mucky Tundra (1-Apr) : So will the chain gang be gone completely or will they still be around as a backup or whatever?
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : The method for measuring first downs in the NFL will switch from chain gangs to camera-based technology in 2025, the league announced.
Martha Careful (1-Apr) : A big step in the right direction. Just put in the college system is very very good.
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : NFL has passed a rule that allows both teams to possess the ball in OT during the regular season
Zero2Cool (1-Apr) : Touchbacks on kickoffs will now bring the ball to the 35-yard line.
beast (31-Mar) : It might of gotten more popular recently, but braiding hair (even men) in certain cultures goes back for centuries.
Martha Careful (30-Mar) : Is men braiding their hair a new style thing? Watching the NCAA men's tournament many players have done
Zero2Cool (29-Mar) : Ha. Well, it'd be nice for folks to reset their own password. Via validated email 😏
beast (29-Mar) : Monopoly was supposed to be an educational game, that show how evil capitalism was and how we should avoid it
beast (29-Mar) : Lol, I was thinking username would be better, as then I wouldn't have to keep an email up to date lol 😂
beast (29-Mar) : Zero2Cool (25-Mar) : I was thinking email because I think it'll make folks keep it up todate lol
wpr (29-Mar) : sure is
Zero2Cool (29-Mar) : Monopoly is a rip off of The Landlord's Game
wpr (27-Mar) : 28 days until the draft
earthquake (27-Mar) : Which seemed strange to my 9 year old self, that you could be a fan for a team other than the one you play for
earthquake (27-Mar) : Nothing eventful happened, other than it being clear that he was a bengals fan
earthquake (27-Mar) : And we went and hung out with him one afternoon, I must have been 9 or so
earthquake (27-Mar) : That’s wild, when I was a kid my friend lived in the same apartment complex in De Pere
Mucky Tundra (27-Mar) : Only career highspot was a 200 yard rushing game while playing for the Cardinals
Mucky Tundra (27-Mar) : He is a former Packer. Drafted out of Northern Illinois. Didn't do much in GB.
dfosterf (26-Mar) : Despicable
Zero2Cool (26-Mar) : Former NFL. I think Packers too
Zero2Cool (26-Mar) : NFL RB Leshon Johnson has been charged in a massive dog fighting operation, with the FBI seizing over 190 Pit Bulls
Mucky Tundra (26-Mar) : Some real irony of a QB as short as Wilson playing for the Giants
Mucky Tundra (26-Mar) : Giants country, let's be the tall beings of lore!
Mucky Tundra (26-Mar) : Russell Wilson signs with the Giants.
Zero2Cool (25-Mar) : I was thinking email because I think it'll make folks keep it up todate lol
wpr (25-Mar) : I don't think there is a significant difference. I use a user name for many. Others email.
Martha Careful (25-Mar) : email
Zero2Cool (25-Mar) : would it be better to use EMAIL or USERNAME to log into a site?
wpr (25-Mar) : Thanks Zero
Zero2Cool (24-Mar) : New forum has the ability to Thank a post now.
beast (24-Mar) : And the only time they have won the Championship in an even year, was the first time they did, in 2006.
beast (24-Mar) : Since 2007, there have been 10 odd numbered years, Wisconsin Women have won the Championship in 7 of those 10 odd numbered years.
buckeyepackfan (24-Mar) : Congratulations Lady Badger Hockey Team. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!
Zero2Cool (23-Mar) : I don't think it's completed yet. it was just announced last month, right?
dhazer (23-Mar) : did netflix ever release the Packers documentary
Zero2Cool (21-Mar) : And it is glorious!
beast (21-Mar) : Unsigned FA QB Rodgers is supposedly in the Steelers building
Martha Careful (19-Mar) : But I don't own a car! So can I still use it in my apartment?
Zero2Cool (19-Mar) : btw, new site auto updates
Zero2Cool (19-Mar) : Woohoo!
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