Notes: Doing the safety dance
Bigby displaces Manuel as starter alongside Collins
[align=right]By BOB McGINN
[email protected]
Posted: Aug. 20, 2007[/align]
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers didn't just hand Marquand Manuel's position to Atari Bigby. But clearly the strong safety job now is Bigby's to lose.
Second-year man Atari Bigby used a big exhibition game against Seattle to vault into the starting lineup at strong safety.
In a dramatic move Monday to shore up his weakest position on defense, coach Mike McCarthy announced that Bigby would start Thursday night against Jacksonville at Lambeau Field. As long as Bigby doesn't fall apart, it's almost a foregone conclusion that the Packers will enter the regular season with him opposite free safety Nick Collins.
"He's an ascending young player; I think we all agree with that," McCarthy said. "He has impact-play ability, which he showed against Seattle. It's something to get excited about."
Cornerback Jarrett Bush also was moved ahead of Patrick Dendy as the nickel back in the 4-2-5 defense. Dendy has held that job since Week 5 last season but Bush is a faster and seemingly more dynamic player.
Meanwhile, the Packers informed safety Marviel Underwood late Monday that he would be released today. A fourth-round draft choice in 2005, Underwood wasn't all the way back from reconstructive knee surgery last August.
McCarthy attempted to couch the significance of Bigby's insertion, saying the position hadn't been settled. But Bigby took every snap alongside Collins with the No. 1 defense Monday night, a far different situation from last week when he took only a few with the starters.
Manuel, who signed a five-year, $10 million deal in March 2006 to leave Seattle as an unrestricted free agent, worked with rookie Aaron Rouse on the No. 2 defense. The No. 3 pairing was Tyrone Culver and Charlie Peprah.
The Packers are expected to keep four safeties. Rouse, a third-round pick, is expected to be one of the backups, and Manuel easily could lose his roster spot to either Culver or Peprah.
Bigby, 5 feet 10½ inches and 211 pounds, came out of Central Florida as a free agent in 2005. After being cut by the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, he joined the Packers in November of that year. In two seasons, he has played six snaps from scrimmage and 94 snaps on special teams.
"I think he clearly has the physical skills," McCarthy said. "I've never questioned that. We now want to see if he can do it from the beginning of the game."
A source close to the situation said cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson had been lobbying the coaches for Bigby to replace Manuel, a player whom they apparently no longer trusted.
In the nickel defense, Bush replaced Dendy at left cornerback. Woodson plays the slot and Harris remains on the right side.
The dependable Dendy, however, probably isn't out of the picture. Will Blackmon also has a chance for the job.
"For as good as (Bush) played on defense I thought he played better on special teams," McCarthy said. "He's a very physical football player. He's only going to get better."
Bush, claimed on waivers Sept. 3 from Carolina, played 15 snaps from scrimmage and 276 on special teams in '06.
The release of Underwood wasn't a surprise. He played poorly in Pittsburgh and then missed another open-field tackle against Seattle.
"I don't think he's all the way back to where he was last year," McCarthy said. "A great individual."
Underwood, who had a four-year, $1.815 million deal, will count $107,500 in "dead" money against the salary cap next year.