Mike Mcarthy is talking, but I’m not listening.
Coach is quoted as saying, regarding Grant playing tonight:
If he can go, I would like to see him go
No you wouldn’t.
You’re telling me McCarthy is going to play Grant on a gimpy hamstring for a meaningless preseason game, but would NOT play Kabeer or Woodson against the Cowboys in a regular season game with playoff positioning hanging in the balance? Right.
Also, reports say that Al Harris’ back has acted up, so I would be shocked to see him on the field tonight in anything other than street clothes. This is actually a great development for the short term, as it should give the defensive coaching staff a good look at guys like Tramon Williams, Will Blackmon and Jarrett Bush against Cincinnati’s stellar wide receiver duo of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. I’m also hoping Patrick Lee gets some looks with the number ones. As I wrote after Family Night, the kid has the goods.
However, long-term the idea of Harris’ back is extremely troubling. It’s an injury he dealt with all year last year, without ever missing a game. As anyone with a football IQ could tell, Harris really struggled against the more athletic number one receivers he faced. He needs to be at one hundred percent (and yes, I know the shop-worn platitude that no football player is ever at one hundred percent - you know what I mean) for Sanders to trust his coverage enough to send waves of blitzers at the quarterback. Otherwise, we may see the Packers’ new ‘Full Onslaught’ mentality put back on the shelf before it’s even out of the box.
