I didn't notice that FB Korey Hall left in the 1st quarter with a hip strain. In hindsight I do remember seeing a lot of FB John Kuhn, but I didn't make the connection. The Packers depth is excellent and usually I'm not concerned when an injury hits, but I don't agree with offensive coordinator Joe Philbin that the Packers won't miss Hall.
I also didn't notice that DT Ryan Pickett left the game and S Nick Collins didn't finish the game. Pickett has played very well this season and it doesn't help losing him for any time, but it doesn't look like his injury is serious. When Pickett came out at different times during the game, DT Justin Harrell came in next to DE Aaron Kampman while DT Corey Williams played at the other tackle. The Packers still have some depth at the position, DT Daniel Muir has played well when given the chance but he's usually inactive because the Packers have so much depth at defensive tackle. Still the team will be better with Pickett.
It's too bad that S Aaron Rouse's only playing time now comes when the coaches pull Collins for the game for precautionary reasons. Rouse is still the best safety on the roster. Don't let S Atari Bigby's two interception game fool you either. Bigby is still awful in pass coverage. Here's the guys at Football Outsiders making fun of his "coverage" skills:
Doug Farrar: Awful and awfully lucky. He had a tipped interception last week as well.
Bill Barnwell: It reminds me of the whole Bill James bit on Lonnie Smith talking about how he's subtly brilliant and how he knows exactly how a ball will carom off his knee and how he takes a perfect angle to have a ball go two feet over his head.
BIGBY DID IT AGAIN. He had another tipped pick. Of course, the announcers say he's "always around the ball," which is true. He's always seven yards behind the ball.
Ned Macey: If you go to Atari Bigby's player page on NFL.com, his stats would list six interceptions while Brian Dawkins has one. It lists eight passes defensed before today's games; Dawkins had five. Based on those freely available stats, one would think Bigby is the better pass defender, when he really is among the very worst safeties in the league in pass defense.
As for today's picks, the first one was embarrassing since he left Drew Bennett (big white guy exhibiting stone hands, but alas not a tight end) wide-open for a long first down. The second one, however, was not his poor coverage, as the receiver was tightly covered (by someone else). Still, he was just there to pick up the free gift. Bigby is an excellent run-support safety, but I fear these interception numbers will make somebody somewhere think he is good in pass defense.