Cheese Curds, 9/10: Will Rashan Gary get more playing time against Minnesota?

It was a relatively quiet NFL debut for Rashan Gary. Expectations have been all over the place for the Green Bay Packers’ first draft pick in 2019, but a quiet preseason certainly had his doubters feeling justified. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s comments about finding a role for Gary in the regular season probably did not help matters either.

Then when he finally took the field, Gary played just six snaps against the Chicago Bears as the clear fourth player in the outside linebacker rotation. When Za’Darius Smith shifted inside to rush the passer, it was usually Kyler Fackrell coming on to play on the edge rather than Gary.

However, in those six snaps, Gary did some very good things, which should lead to some additional reps moving forward. Furthermore, the next opponent runs an offense that should lead to more opportunities for Gary, whose strength in college was setting the edge against the run and eating up blockers. Facing a Minnesota Vikings team that wants to focus on the run game, Pettine could well utilize Gary on base downs to keep Dalvin Cook and Minnesota’s ground attack at bay.

Here are some of the newsworthy items from around Packers-related media and the NFL.

Packers rookie Rashan Gary needs more snaps after encouraging debut | Packers Wire
Gary played just six snaps last Thursday, but he recorded two pressures on Mitchell Trubisky. Getting him work on some stunts like the ones we saw with Preston and Za’Darius Smith might be a perfect way to get him worked into the game plan more significantly.

Packers will see a lot different Minnesota team on offense | Packers.com
Gary may be needed because of the next opponent as well. The Vikings fired OC John DeFilippo late last season and went with a run-heavy approach, and Gary Kubiak now is running the show and will assure that continues.

Packers’ JK Scott controls field position with precision punting | Packersnews.com
Scott has taken a huge step forward in his second year and appears to be justifying the faith that the Packers placed in him by making him a fifth-round draft pick. He averaged 47.6 gross yards per punt in Chicago and saved his best kick for the most critical time: a 63-yard boomer with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

Al Carmichael, scorer of first AFL TD, dies at 90 | ESPN
Carmichael spent six years with the Packers in the 1950s and was the team's first-round draft pick in 1953.

Monday Night Football: Saints top Texans, Raiders impress vs Broncos | SI.com
The Texans-Saints game was a thriller, with three scoring plays inside the last minute of the game.

Darth Vader Empire Strikes Back Helmet | HiConsumption
If you have a couple hundred thousand dollars laying around, you could own the actual helmet that David Prowse wore on-set during "Empire."