Packers Daily Links: Shields Looking Unlikely to Play Sunday

Despite practicing this week, it's not looking like the Packers cornerback will play against the Lions. That and more in today's Daily Links...

It's not looking good that cornerback Sam Shields will play in Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Shields originally injured his leg during the Houston Texans game a month or so ago. "Shields said it was fair to characterize the injury as a high ankle sprain," writes Silverstein, "which in most cases takes much longer to heal than a traditional sprain on the outside of the ankle and explains why he has missed three games and probably will miss a fourth this week." Cornerback is one position in which the Packers seem to be able to afford an injury. They should be in decent shape without Shields as they can rely upon Casey Hayward, Davon House, Tramon Williams and Jerron McMillian as Shields is allowed to heal.

More on Sam Shields comes from ESPNMilwaukee.com.

CBS's 60 Minutes responded to Aaron Rodgers' recent criticism of his portrayal via a statement to local press. "Aaron Rodgers was never taken out of context and most anybody portrayed as he was on ‘60 Minutes’ would have been flattered by the story," said Jeff Fager, the CBS News chairman and executive producer of 60 Minutes, as quoted by Bob Wolfley of the Journal Sentinel. "It was fair and accurate and it was obvious we got it right when we reported that he tends to be overly sensitive." I understand Rodgers' beef that his work with the MACC Fund wasn't even mentioned on the show, but to take exception to the editing of his comments about bounties in the NFL seemed unnecessary. Obviously 60 Minutes can't show everything they filmed in its entirety. Editing decisions must be made, but yes, Rodgers is coming off as extra sensitive.

More on Aaron Rodgers and 60 Minutes comes from ESPNMilwaukee.com and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Talk of covering Calvin Johnson this week has prompted a war of words between Packers cornerback Tramon Williams and Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. In an article by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Williams called himself "Optimus Prime," a reference to the Transformers movies and cartoons. Williams made mention that the Seahawks struggled with Johnson. "Yeah, we were pushed around to the tune of 46 yards, I believe," Sherman responded in an interview with the NFL Network's NFL AM. "Not too much pushing. I don't understand that shot, he took a shot at us. Last I checked, we've never given up 250 yards to anybody (close to Megatron's tally against Williams and the Packers in a meeting last season). We barely give that up in a game. To give that up to one player, I mean that was the last time they played him I believe. I don't really know if he'd be the one (to) come talk to us about playing coverage." Yes, this mini-feud is silly. Most cornerbacks have difficulty covering Johnson. Williams can let his performance do the talking on Sunday.

More on Tramon Williams and covering Calvin Johnson comes from the Associated Press, ESPNMilwaukee.com, Bleacher Report and the Packers official website.

The challenge of covering the Lions' other receivers is touched upon at JSOnline.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson is looking like a good bet to play on Sunday, and in interviews with the media on Thursday, he talked about his recovery from recent injuries. "While healthy players were allowed to leave town for their week off for the bye, Nelson was among the injured who were required to stay behind for treatments," writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. "He said both his ankle and his hamstring are better as a result." Nelson has been categorized as limited in practice this week, but by Sunday, it would seem likely he'll be ready to play against the Lions.

More on Jordy Nelson comes from JSOnline.

Wide receiver James Jones revealed during an interview that teams stayed away from his in free agency following the 2010 season because of his drops. "As luck would have it, he was a free agent the following off-season," writes Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel. "Point blank, NFL teams told Jones' agent they didn't want him because of the drops. To them, the drops defined Jones." And yes, if you haven't heard, Jones hasn't dropped a single pass yet this season. No doubt about it, Jones is having the best season of his career.

More on James Jones comes from Alex Marvez of Fox Sports.

Features on assistant coach Jerry Fontenot and linebacker A.J. Hawk appear at ESPNMilwaukee.com.

Pieces on offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and running back James Starks are published by the Press-Gazette.

Features on the return of the PUP list players and a re-tooled offensive line are at Fox Sports Wisconsin.

Practice reports, including the return of defensive lineman Mike Neal, come from JSOnline and the Press-Gazette.

Blog posts at ESPNMilwaukee.com touch on John Kuhn's return, Ryan Taylor's fine, Mason Crosby and Mike McCarthy.

Packer Report has items on Mason Crosby, Evan Dietrich-Smith and T.J. Lang, and YAC by the wide receivers.

A progress report on Derek Sherrod comes from the Press-Gazette.

The Lions are preparing to deal with Aaron Rodgers, writes Alex Marvez.

The podcast by Tyler Dunne and Bob McGinn is up at JSOnline.

Wondering if the Packers can reach the Super Bowl is Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com.

The injury to Bryan Bulaga hurts "big-time," says Dan Arkush at Pro Football Weekly.

Video: The NBC affiliate in Green Bay talks to Desmond Bishop about coming back from his injury...

Brian Carriveau is the author of "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and an editor at Cheesehead TV. To contact Brian, email [email protected].

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Comments (10)

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Tony's picture

November 16, 2012 at 09:58 am

knock on wood re: Jones

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MarkinMadison's picture

November 16, 2012 at 12:52 pm

Exactly. All the other teams in the NFL doubted Jones because of his drops? Shocker.

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Evan's picture

November 16, 2012 at 01:19 pm

One year left on his contract. I bet the Packers don't let him test free agency this time around.

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Evan's picture

November 16, 2012 at 01:34 pm

Though that makes the 2014 off-season that much more scary.

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Tommyboy's picture

November 16, 2012 at 12:52 pm

I probably missed it, but I thought Rodgers' criticism of 60 minutes was that they didn't show anything about the charity. In addition, there seemed to be an implication that showing Rodgers looking disengaged misrepresented his passion for the organization. I didn't think he was saying anything about "looking sensitive." If I missed it, then nevermind. If I didn't miss anything, then this is an all-time misdirected cheap shot.

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Brian Carriveau's picture

November 16, 2012 at 01:06 pm

I suggest reading one of the articles on Rodgers and 60 minutes, which they do a better job of providing details than I attempted to do in one paragraph. There was multiple criticisms from Rodgers.

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Tommyboy's picture

November 16, 2012 at 01:45 pm

Ok, fair enough. :)

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Mojo's picture

November 16, 2012 at 03:08 pm

One thing about the 60-Minutes piece that caught my attention was CM3 and Jennings half-joking about when ARod saw their clip he'd be oversensitive about their comments on ARod's oversensitivity. It's something that I've become more aware of about ARod. It seems he tries to micromanage and control those around him too much. Bring up a question or comment that ARod doesn't like (which seems to grow all the time) and he has no problem dispatching the supposed offender with a curt one word brushoff. I think he is often overly critical of national pundits who may dare criticize any aspect of his game. He carries grudges way too long. If that's his source of motivation, it begins to border on maniacal.

And the 60-Minutes slight of not mentioning the MACC Fund enough, is that because they didn't promote the image of a benevolent ARod to his liking. I didn't think that's why he got involved in charity. And 60-Minutes was right. Most people would have been flattered with that piece. But not ARod.

I've known a number of people who have seen some of ARods interviews and have felt that he's too short or evasive with some of the questions. He comes off to them, at times, as somewhat of a cocky ass.

Keep in mind I've been supportive of ARod since he came to GB. He has an overwhelming amount of positive traits. It's just one aspect of his total character that I don't care too much for.

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Evan's picture

November 16, 2012 at 03:40 pm

When he was at that "meet a fan" thing and the guy made a comment about him not being as tall as he expected, I thought Rodgers' response was pretty shitty.

Sure, it's a silly/stupid thing to say to a complete stranger, but that guy had no idea he's so sensitive about his height and there isn't any reason to make this fan feel shitty about it. He's just excited to meet him. If Cutler did something like that, we'd be lining up to take shots at him.

(For the record, I ran into Rodgers at a Milwaukee bar a couple years back and he was A LOT bigger than I expected - not taller, but beefier.)

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Tommyboy's picture

November 17, 2012 at 07:12 am

Couldn't agree with both of you more on this. I've been a staunch A-Rod supporter. In fact, I never supported any athlete more. Even if he ended up being a lousy qb, I would have defended him because of how people hated him for not being another person.

That said, the worst part about that 60-minutes piece that Rodgers can't really say was done poorly was that comment he made to that guy; "I do not appreciate that." First of all, Rodgers may be irked by that, but he's obviously stewed about this for a long while. These people haven't thought about it. They're just making the comment in the moment, which frankly, is not exactly commonly recognized as insulting (perhaps saying this to a midget would be in poor taste, but you know what I'm saying:)). Second, you know what's off-putting to the fan? The one interaction they ever had with you was judged harshly and met with disappointment. It's a charity event, man. They didn't donate money to come to an event benefiting sick children to take a shot at your height. Chill.

And all of THAT said - I still love QB1. It's just one aspect of him that's less than appealing...sob is human, I suppose.

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