Packer Notes: Driver and Rodgers Hurt, Peprah Hits, New Players Deliver, And A Good Punter

Mike McCarthy said that the Green Bay Packers only had two injuries during the game when WR Donald Driver aggravated his injured quad, and QB Aaron Rodgers sprained his ankle. Rodgers hurt it when he rolled out to his left late in the game and he twisted it wrong as he side stepped. Hopefully it's not serious and just something that works itself out this week.

I was reading an article over at Football Outsiders last week about miscommunication. Rodgers had three incompletions charted as miscommunication in the Vikings game, after he only had four such passes for all of last season. It looked like he had a similar problem on at least one pass to WR James Jones in this game. And he had troubles on an audible during the botched 3rd and short in the 3rd quarter when RB Brandon Jackson couldn't make it to the 1st down marker. McCarthy called it "overanalyzing." I noted in Packers Game Ball that it looked like he really missed having Driver and TE Jermichael Finley available in this game, especially when their replacements were not getting the job done.

Should the Packers bench S Charlie Peprah once SS Atari Bigby returns? It's getting to be a pretty good question if he keeps makes big hits like the one he put on WR Jerricho Cotchery. He's also been good in pass coverage, and I don't have any specific reason why he should be benched.

Some of the new players signed this week made an impact. I had no idea NT Howard Green was such a large man. But he made a couple plays, including one when he went unblocked into the backfield and blew up a reverse play. He wasn't pushed around and he's surprisingly mobile in pursuit of a play. LB Erik Walden got some time at LB Brad Jones's outside LB spot and appeared to do a good job of getting into the backfield. Veteran middle LB Matt Wilhelm played only on special teams.  

I've been critical of P Tim Masthay, who's stats overall are still near the bottom of the league. As Jason Wilde points out, Masthay had a great game with a net of 41.5 yards and he pinned an incredible 5 punts inside the 20 yard line. He had a good game against the Vikings, so this is his second good game after a forgettable stinker against the Dolphins. Hopefully the improvement is real and he keeps it up.