Take any team in the National Football League.  Any team.  Doesn’t matter which one.  Now take away their two best offensive tackles, their second best receiver, both of their starting cornerbacks, their best edge rusher and a starting inside linebacker. 

What you would have left is a team that would struggle to compete.  Yet that is what the Green Bay Packers have been doing.  Not all the injuries have occurred at the same time, but they have been stacking up throughout the first four games of the season.  Still, the Packers have been able to not only compete, but to go on a three game win streak, and post a 3-1 record to sit atop the NFC North.  It hasn’t been pretty, but at the end of the regular season, you don’t get style points.  They just count up how many wins you have. 

Examples of other teams who have not been able to cope with injuries as well are easy to find.  Take last Sunday’s opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Their poor start is not totally due to the deterioration of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  The team also had four key starters missing, including talented receiver Chase Claypool.  Look at Carolina.  The Panthers were rolling to a 3-0 start, then lost running back Christian McCaffery and star rookie corner Jaycee Horn.  They were subsequently beaten soundly by the Cowboys.   The 49ers have lost two in a row, after their secondary has been riddled with injuries. 

By contrast, Green Bay has been kept afloat by a series of competent performances from reserves and new acquisitions.  The Packers have demonstrated surprisingly good depth, and they have desperately needed it.  The most obvious is in the offensive line.  With the absence of David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, the Pack has started undrafted free agent Yosh Nijman at the critical left tackle slot, and sixth round pick Jon Runyan at left guard.  That’s in addition to rookie starters Josh Myers at center and Royce Newman at right guard.  The young unit, despite being green as grass, has held up.  They’re not great, but they’ve played well enough to allow the team to have a reasonably solid running game, and hold the sacks and hits on Aaron Rodgers to just a handful.  They’ve gotten the job done.  That’s all you can ask for. 

After Marquez Valdes-Scantling went on injured reserve, Randall Cobb stepped up with a big game against the Steelers.  Allen Lazard continues his contributions with, and without the ball.  Rookie Amari Rodgers is getting on the field and doing a lot of jet sweep motion.  In the absence of corners Jaire Alexander and Kevin King late in Sunday’s game, rookie draft pick Shemar Jean-Charles and trade acquisition Isaac Yiadom took the field.  They had the benefit of playing with a lead, so they were able to stay back and, for the most part, prevented any quick scores.  Inside linebacker Krys Barnes was in concussion protocol, so Ty Summers and Oren Burks plugged the gap alongside the stellar play of De’Vondre Campbell.   Jonathan Garvin has been getting more snaps on the edge with Za’darius Smith on IR with back issues, and Garvin has not embarrassed himself.   

Again, these reserves are not always playing like All Pros, but they are holding down the fort.  They are doing what several other teams have not been able to....survive the attrition of injuries.  It’s time to recognize General Manager Brian Gutekunst, and his scouting staff, for the job they have done in assembling this depth of talent.  Runyan, Myers, Newman, Jean-Charles, Summers, Burks, and Garvin were all drafted by Gutekunst.  Nijman and Barnes were discovered and signed as UDFA’s.  Campbell was a late free agent signing and Yiadom was a trade acquisition.  Cobb was Aaron Rodgers’ idea, but Gutey still had to make the decision to bring him back.  Don’t forget the last minute upgrade at punter with the trade for Corey Bojorquez.   

Gutey has taken his hits for various decisions, most often for the drafting of Jordan Love.  While the jury remains out on that move, there can be no denying he has done well at stocking the shelf across the board for this year’s team, using all avenues available.  It’s even more impressive considering the team’s salary cap limitations. 

And Gutekunst continues to work the roster hard.  This week he signed Rasul Douglas off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad to ease the loss of Alexander.  Douglas has started 29 games in four years, and wears a Super Bowl ring.  Reserve linebacker Chauncey Rivers tore his ACL in practice this week and is lost for the season.  So Thursday the Packers signed linebacker Jaylon Smith, after he was released by the Cowboys.  While not playing at his 2019 Pro Bowl level, Smith remains a tackling machine and figures to be an upgrade over Rivers.  And if he regains the form of a few years ago, he will be an upgrade over Krys Barnes and De’Vondre Campbell as well, assuming he is used inside. 

Individually, the reserves don’t appear as an impressive bunch.  But, working together with the other starters, they have been able to assimilate and hold up.  That’s where coaching comes in.  Matt LaFleur and his staff have done a commendable job, both in deciding whom to insert, and then coaching them up to be ready for the challenge.  For example, the decision to play the untested Nijman, instead of moving veteran Billy Turner over to the left side, has turned out to be the right call.  It allowed for a minimum of shuffling across the O-line and has created some degree of stability.  Adam Stenavich has done a superlative job keeping this unit competent.  Ditto for secondary coach Jerry Gray, Mike Smith with the edge rushers, and Kirk Olivadotti with the inside backers.   

The idea is to get enough out of these second and third team players to be able to hang on and continue to win games, until some of the starters can come back.  LaFleur indicated he is hopeful Jenkins, King and Barnes could return to play against the Bengals this weekend.   Regardless, there will be several sets of big shoes to fill when the Packers kick off against a Cincinnati team that is much improved, and tied for first in the rugged AFC North at 3-1.   

Green Bay’s depth will have to carry the day again.  And if they do, no matter how ugly it looks, Gutekunst, LaFleur and the rest of the coaches should get the considerable credit they deserve.