If asked who might be the most important Green Bay Packers player on the field Sunday at MetLife Stadium, a preponderance of those questioned would not say John Kuhn
Intellectually, Kuhn knows the offense better than anyone except Aaron Rodgers. Previously, Lacy was getting most of the third-down snaps, but when Rodgers broke his left collarbone against the Bears, McCarthy put Kuhn in that spot because he could help direct the blocking scheme and take pressure off backup Seneca Wallace.
When Wallace went down against the Eagles and Tolzien entered the game, Kuhn was constantly by his side in obvious passing downs and could be seen communicating blocking assignments to the offensive linemen and tight ends. He has helped Rodgers do that before, but playing with someone who had only taken six practice snaps going into the game called for Kuhn to take charge.
"John has been here a long time and obviously knows the offense like the back of his hand," tight end Ryan Taylor said. "It's helpful to have a guy like that to have around to direct guys and show them where to go and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Some fans on message boards and Internet chats questioned whether the Packers made the right decision paying a fullback $2.35 million this season. The Packers were running so much no-huddle offense without a fullback that it seemed like money wasted.
On Sunday, Kuhn won't be the most-watched player on the field, but the Packers need him to earn every penny of that salary. If there's a guy who really needs to be at his best, it's the one standing next to Tolzien barking out instructions to everyone else.
