Blackmon / Notes
Thumbs-down for Blackmon?By Jason Wilde / madison.com
Posted 9-3-2007
GREEN BAY -- Returner Will Blackmon keeps telling special teams coordinator Mike Stock he 'll have no problem catching the ball on punts and kickoffs in the Green Bay Packers ' regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday at Lambeau Field. Stock will believe it when he sees it. "I just looked at the punt coverage and punt return (film) and I didn 't see him catch a ball, "Stock said after Monday's practice. "He was back there, but I didn 't see him try to field a ball. He said he could field them fine, but I was looking for evidence and I didn 't see it." Instead, cornerback Charles Woodson, wide receivers Greg Jennings and James Jones, and cornerback Tramon Williams caught most of Jon Ryan 's punts in practice. Woodson held the punt returning job last year, while Williams filled in for Blackmon in the preseason finale Thursday at Tennessee after Blackmon suffered a Bennett 's fracture of his left thumb late in the Aug. 23 game against Jacksonville. Blackmon is wearing a cast on his thumb and has played cornerback on defense despite the injury. He was slated to take one punt against the Titans but did not. Stock said he will have Blackmon catch punts with the cast in practice Wednesday, although the NFL requires him to wear a different cast -- one with more padding -- in games than he wears in practice. If Blackmon can 't do returns against the Eagles, Woodson or Williams would handle punts and Williams would line up with running back DeShawn Wynn on kickoffs.
Health watch
Wide receiver Donald Driver (foot) and running back Vernand Morency (knee) took another step toward playing by going through the jog-through, individual and team screen parts of practice Monday. It was unclear whether they participated in the full-fledged team sessions because those were held after the open-to-the-media portion of practice ended and Monday was not one of the four days coach Mike McCarthy speaks to reporters this week. Driver suffered a sprained right foot during the team 's Aug. 23 exhibition game against Jacksonville. Morency came into camp as the No. 1 halfback but suffered a strained patellar tendon in his right knee in the July 28 camp-opening practice. With Morency limited if he does play, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said rookies Wynn and Brandon Jackson must be prepared to handle the bulk of work. "I think we 're going to be fine, " Philbin said.
Moll mending
Although second-year tackle Tony Moll lost his status as the No. 6 offensive lineman to emerging Junius Coston, he didn 't lose his roster spot, as he feared before final cuts. Moll missed all of the preseason with a stinger suffered in practice shortly before the Aug. 11 exhibition opener at Pittsburgh. "They sat me down last week and said not to worry, " said Moll, who started 10 games at right guard and right tackle as a fifth-round pick last year.
Extra points
The three players placed on injured reserve during the final roster reduction -- center Tyson Walter (toe), linebacker Abdul Hodge (knees) and safety Tyrone Culver (shoulder) -- were expected to undergo surgery this week. Walter faces rehab of six to nine months, while Hodge and Culver will need four to six months. ... The Packers filled out their eight-man practice squad by adding tight end Ryan Krause, a sixth-round pick by San Diego in 2004 who played in two games as a rookie and three games in 2005 with the Chargers. He was inactive for all 16 games in 2006 and spent training camp with the Cleveland Browns before being cut.
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Published by PackerPundit On Tuesday, September 04, 2007 at 5:56 AM.
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