Green Bay Earlier this season, it appeared first-year punter Tim Masthay's tenure in Green Bay would be a short one.
He got off to a shaky start and in Week 3 posted a net average of 19.0 yards against the Chicago Bears, thanks in part to Devin Hester's 62-yard touchdown return.
Fans were calling for a change, and coach Mike McCarthy made it clear Masthay needed to improve to keep his job.
The punter did exactly that, beginning with a superlative game against the New York Jets on Oct. 31, when he posted averages of 44.0 (gross) and 41.5 (net) and helped the Packers win the field position battle and the game, 9-0.
At Detroit on Dec. 12, Masthay became the first punter in franchise history to post a 50-yard gross average (50.3) in a game with eight or more attempts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Still, it came as a bit of a surprise Monday when McCarthy said Masthay had a chance to break the Packers' single-season record for net average (since 1976, when the NFL started keeping the statistic).
"Some of our people have looked into that," said special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum. "From what I can tell, the greatest net punt (average) we've had for a season is 37.6."
With only the regular-season finale against the Bears remaining, Masthay's net average is 37.8.
"We need to finish strong," Slocum said. "(Tim) has done a great job the last portion of the season. He has continued to improve and we've limited the number of returns our opponents have had."
Craig Hentrich holds the Packers record for gross average in a season (45.0 in 1997), and Slocum said he thought Hentrich also had the best net average. The team lists only records for gross average in its media guide.
However, according to the statistical reference book "Green Bay Packers: A Measure of Greatness," Jerry Norton posted a 39.2 net average in 1963.
Injury reportMcCarthy will be without the services of fullback Korey Hall (knee) and safety Atari Bigby (groin) this week after both were knocked out of the Giants game.
Hall has been battling a knee injury for awhile and has been inactive two of the last six games. He is one of 12 starters who have missed at least one game this season.
Bigby, meanwhile, is on the next chapter of his nightmare season. Ankle and hamstring injuries had allowed him to play in only three games prior to the Giants, but he was playing at a high level when he got hurt.
"We put Atari in and we felt comfortable putting him in and he was playing quite a bit for us," defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. "We were going to rotate him, try to get him some time in there. That's tough."
Capers said that both Jarrett Bush and Brandon Underwood would play safety this week as backups to Nick Collins and Charlie Peprah.
Linebacker Frank Zombo (knee) will go through rehab all week and then try to practice Friday to see if he's ready to return. He tried that last week but had a setback on Friday.
The Packers were hoping end Cullen Jenkins (calf) would be back this week, but it's iffy.
Where's Starks?Rookie running back James Starks performed well in his NFL debut on Dec. 5, rushing for a team-high 73 yards in 18 carries against San Francisco.
The next week, Starks gained just 8 yards in six carries against Detroit. He has been inactive the last two weeks.
What happened?
McCarthy hinted that Starks needed to improve his practice habits.
"He needs to compete to get on the (roster)," McCarthy said. "His situation has been exactly the same the last two weeks. James Starks and Dimitri Nance compete for that fifth spot as a running back and as a special teams player and Dimitri is just ahead of him right now."
"(Starks) needs to do a better job throughout the week in preparation and in practice. Until he gets that done, he wont be on the 45."
TrustworthyJames Jones, who has had some outstanding games this season but also has made a number of glaring mistakes, dropped two more passes against the Giants.
He dropped a back-shoulder throw that was a bit low but catchable, and he dropped a deep pass down the sideline that might have gone for a touchdown.
Receivers coach Jimmy Robinson said he hadn't lost faith in Jones.
"Absolutely, I trust James," Robinson said. "He played good football yesterday. He had a couple he'd like to have back. James did a lot of good things in the game. He just had a couple that stood out that hed like to have back. But yeah, I trust James. Hes made too many big plays for us to say I dont trust him."
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