Havner and Chillar
More players might end up on injured reserve - JSOnline
More players might end up on injured reserve - JSOnline
Green Bay — There's still plenty of room on the Green Bay Packers' injured reserve list.
Whether they have to add to the 11 who are currently on it will depend on how well linebacker Brandon Chillar (shoulder), tight end Spencer Havner (hamstring) and cornerback Pat Lee (ankle) recover after aggravating previous injuries.
On Monday, coach Mike McCarthy ruled Chillar and Havner out of the San Francisco 49ers game Sunday, which is an indication their injuries aren't minor.
Both were knocked out of the Atlanta game early and were unable to return.
Lee, meanwhile, "will be challenged" to make it back this week, McCarthy said.
Both Chillar and Havner were hoping they were over injuries that cost them considerable time earlier this season. Chillar missed three games with the shoulder injury and only recently started to play regularly in the nickel package.
"He was basically our third-down backup," defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. "(Desmond) Bishop, first and second down. I think he had only the first third down of the game where we came with the pressure."
Chillar indicated earlier that he would need surgery on his shoulder at some point but was hoping to ride it out throughout the year. He wouldn't say how bad it was Monday other than to say it was unlikely he would play this week.
It's not a good week for him to be injured with San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis coming to town. Chillar is the team's best defender against pass-catching tight ends. If the Packers think he's stressed the shoulder long enough, they could shut him down for the year.
Havner was active for five games with the Detroit Lions before suffering a hamstring pull against St. Louis Oct. 10. The Lions eventually released Havner and it wasn't until five weeks later that he was able to pass his physical and be re-signed by the Packers.
He sat out the Minnesota game and was active for the first time Sunday. He was active ahead of Donald Lee and was expected to play tight end and serve on special teams.
The fact Havner is already declared out indicates it's not just a minor aggravation. If the Packers think he'll be out for a month again, they would probably put him on injured reserve.
In addition to the others, running back Dimitri Nance suffered a concussion in his brief appearance Sunday and will have to follow a strict protocol the NFL has established for returning players to the field after a concussion. Among the steps is being cleared by an independent neurologist.
"We'll go day by day," McCarthy said. "I'm sure I'll be giving you updates Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as we move through the week."
Asked if rookie James Starks is ready to be active for the first time, McCarthy said, "Well, he better be. He may have an opportunity this week."
Best ever: McCarthy was Brett Favre's position coach in 1999 and the Packers' head coach during Favre's final two years in Green Bay in 2006 and '07.
So it was no small compliment when McCarthy said Aaron Rodgers' performance against Atlanta was the best he'd ever seen by a quarterback in Green Bay.
"I have never seen a quarterback, in my time here, play to that level in the passing game," McCarthy said. "I'll make that statement clearly here.
"I thought his performance, as far as handling their pressure vs. empty sets, handling their three-man rush . . . I thought he played at an extremely high level in the passing game."
Rodgers completed 26 of 35 passes for a season-high 344 yards and one touchdown.
Communication breakdown: Though TV replays seemed to show that Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez didn't have possession on a 6-yard catch on fourth-and-3 late in the second quarter, McCarthy said he didn't have enough information to challenge.
"Anytime you have a play you're looking to challenge, really it's based on information," he said. "There was really no information that would have led me to challenge that play."
The Falcons went on to score a touchdown with 8 seconds left in the half to take a 10-3 lead.
"Watching the coaches' film this morning, you can't tell that it's a catch or no catch," McCarthy said. "But my understanding was a play or two later, whatever the timing was, when it finally did come in the box, that there was movement on the catch, and that's really off of a TV angle, a totally different angle that we did not have access to."
Tackling adversity: Capers said he was disappointed with the team's tackling against Atlanta.
Michael Turner rushed for 110 yards, and at least two short passes ruptured into long gains because of missed tackles.
"We didn't tackle as well as we've tackled," Capers said. "I think we've tackled very well over the last three weeks or so. I think the tackling really hurt us in a couple long-yardage situations.
