The Packers are hoping to break the disappointing trend of putting up NFL-best regular seasons only to fall in NFC Championship games. It’s happened in each of the last two years.
2021 just might be different because the Packers are bucking a trend that is almost a given every season. After another grueling regular season, this year a first with 17 games over 18 weeks, where nearly every team that made the post-season field is battling a war of attrition with injuries, this year’s Packer team is actually getting healthier as the playoffs approach.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur and his staff have had to plug in backups, sign other team’s practice squad members, deploy unproven rookies all year, not to mention the revolving COVID-19 roster door. Yet they finished and NFL best 13-4 and once again have the number one seed in the NFC and for the third year in a row, earned a first round playoff bye.
In the regular season finale, David Bakhtiari finally made his season debut at left tackle, rookie center Josh Myers returned from a mid-season knee injury. After getting Wednesday off, Bakhtiari was back on the field today. Offensive tackle Billy Turner is back from his knee injury in November (and a stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list), taking part in individual drills at practice during this bye week.
Wide receiver Randall Cobb had core muscle surgery just over a month ago but has been running routes all week.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jaire Alexander has been on the active roster for a couple of weeks and it looked like he might return to the field for the first time since early October’s shoulder injury sidelined him, but the Pro Bowl defensive back was sidelined one more week after a positive test. He worked in pads today as the Packers returned to Clarke Hinkle Field.
After playing just 18 snaps in the first game of the year, linebacker Za’Darius Smith re-aggravated his back injury that forced him to miss nearly all of training camp and this time, it required surgery. Yet there was Smith out there for a second straight day today.
The biggest surprise yet arrived today when nine year veteran linebacker Whitney Mercilus showed up.
Whitney Mercilus
Signed by the Packers on October 21 after he was released by the Houston Texans where he spent his first nine seasons, Mercilus played in four games for the Pack. His impact was increasing every week from the Washington game through the Seattle contest, totaling five tackles, a sack and two quarterback hurries. But against the Seahawks, Mercilus suffered a biceps injury that just about everyone thought would be season ending. Everyone but Whitney that is.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry
It was an unexpected return even for Packer Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry who met reporters via zoom after practice. Barry said Mercilus was gone but not forgotten and thanks to his determination and the team’s medical staff, he just might give his defense a huge 1-2 additional punch to his already productive edge rushing tandem of Preston Smith and Rashan Gary.
Now Barry’s task is to determine just how much Za’Darius Smith or Mercilus will be able to handle coming back after missing so much time. Smith for instance, has played all of 18 snaps, way back in week one, in Barry’s new system. Mercilus was a spot rusher for the most part in all four of his games played. Barry said this week gave them a head start on how well conditioned those two are but getting their bodies ready for the physical pounding that takes place in every game is going to be a process.
Veteran defensive tackle Dean Lowry has been on four playoff teams in his Packer career and he can’t ever remember a year in which the team got so many reinforcements between the final regular season and first post-season game:
Especially on the defensive side of the ball, a “Barry” nice surprise if you will.
The Packers will hold one more brief workout on Friday and LaFleur will give the players both Saturday and Sunday off. By Monday night, they’ll all know who’s coming to Lambeau for the NFC Divisional Playoff.
