Burnett injury deals another blow to secondary
GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers will be without starting safety Morgan Burnett for their NFC North showdown Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Burnett, who injured his hamstring in the victory over the Dallas Cowboys, was ruled out on the final injury report Friday. Inside linebacker Joe
Thomas (ankle) also was ruled out and hasn’t practiced in two weeks.
“Well, you hate to ever have one of your key cogs not in there,” defensive coordinator
Dom Capers said of Burnett this week. “But we’ve gone through a lot of different combinations here in the first five weeks. What it does is the guys have to step up and they have to perform.
“We went through it very early in the game against Dallas, where we had a number of different combinations in there. I think in the long run it makes you better because guys gain experience.”
Without Burnett, the Packers likely will turn to Kentrell
Brice and rookie Josh Jones to fill the voids in various defensive packages. Brice has been the top backup at both safety positions since training camp, and Jones has split time with Burnett at an inside linebacker position in the base defense.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix will take over the communication helmet normally worn by Burnett. He practiced with the helmet all week to prepare for making the defensive calls in what should be a loud environment at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“Ha Ha has been the backup headset guy, Blake (Martinez) is the next guy,” Capers said. “We’ve been working Ha Ha this week, and he’s done a good job. I think he’s certainly up to stepping up and taking the responsibility.”
It’s possible the Packers will enter Sunday’s game down three starters in the secondary. Rookie cornerback Kevin King did not practice this week after suffering a concussion against the Cowboys. He and outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who was held out with a back injury, were listed as doubtful and are unlikely to play. The other starter at corner,
Davon House, was listed as questionable with the same quadriceps injury that sidelined him for two games already this season. House dealt with cramps last week against Dallas and played 58 of 74 total snaps.
Left tackle David Bakhtiari (hamstring), right tackle Bryan
Bulaga (ankle) and running back Ty Montgomery (ribs) were listed as questionable.
Wide receiver Jordy Nelson (back) was not given a designation after dropping out against the Cowboys. He is available and will play Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Vikings were dealt a serious blow when No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs (groin) was ruled out Friday. The Vikings
have little depth at the position and will need to rely on veteran Michael Floyd or former first-round pick Laquon Treadwell to aid quarterback Case
Keenum, who starts for the injured Sam Bradford.
Starting guard Nick Easton (calf) was ruled out as well.
Fewer fumbles: It’s hard to believe the Packers are tied for the fewest fumbles in the NFL after a sloppy showing during the 2016 season, especially in the early going.
But after five games and four victories, the Packers have fumbled just three times, and none of them are credited to wide receivers, running backs or tight ends.
They are tied with the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans for the best mark in the league. The Los Angeles Rams have displayed the worst ball security with 13 fumbles in five games.
“Just consistently working on it, honestly,” wide receiver
Geronimo Allison said. “We preach fundamentals every day in practice. We practice ball security every day in practice. Really just continue to just have that sense of urgency for it, that awareness of we need to protect the ball.”
It’s a jarring contrast from the ball-security issues at the start of last season, when the Packers fumbled 11 times in their first five games.
Week 1 at Jacksonville: 1 fumble (Thomas)
Week 2 at Minnesota: 4 fumbles (QB Aaron Rodgers 3, WR Davante Adams)
Week 3 vs. Detroit: 0 fumbles
Bye
Week 5 vs. New York Giants: 1 fumble (RB James Starks) Week 6 vs. Dallas: 5 fumbles (Rodgers 2, Montgomery 2, Nelson) This year, Rodgers is credited with one fumble on the backward pass against the Falcons that was scooped up and returned for a touchdown. The other two fumbles belong to outside linebacker Nick Perry against the Cowboys and center Corey Linsley against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I’ve never really been on a team that really practiced ball security like (we do),” Allison said. “Just that sense of urgency to focus on it more. The coaches, they see the same stats that you guys are seeing last year with the fumbles and stuff. Just that sense of urgency that we put into this year has just continued to show for us, protecting the ball and giving ourselves a better chance to score on offense.”
Familiar face: As part of their efforts to rebuild the offensive line, the Vikings used a third-round pick on center Pat
Elflein, who was a former teammate of Linsley’s at Ohio State.
“Real good friends,” Linsley said. “He’s a tough, tenacious guy. He’s a hell of a player. He’s a great dude. We’re real good friends. … I knew the day he walked on campus (that he would be good). He had the hips,
he had the tenacity, he had everything. He’s a real good player.”
As with Linsley, who was a fifth-round pick in 2014, the Vikings have handed the ball to Elflein from Day 1 of the regular season. Linsley started all 16 games as a rookie, and Elflein has started all five games this season.
“They have a rookie center that looks like he’s going to really be a good player,” Capers said. “He plays hard and he can pull, do things, he can go up to the second level.”
Cash withdrawal: Cornerback Damarious Randall was fined $9,115 for the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after his interception return for a touchdown against the Cowboys. Randall outran quarterback
Dak Prescott on his way to the end zone and flipped the ball in Prescott’s direction to begin his celebration. The ball hit Prescott as Randall proceeded to mimic the cross-armed “X” made popular by Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant.
Randall denied drawing a flag when asked about it after the game, and earlier this week coach Mike McCarthy had no issue with the celebration itself.
“I don’t think the intention was there for what happened for the penalty, but I can definitely see why they called it,” McCarthy said. “But it’s definitely something we can learn about because that was a big penalty. That was a huge penalty, so that’s something that factored in going for (the two-point conversion) there too so all those things play into it, particularly at that point in the game with their ability to return kicks. It’s something that you learn from, it’s definitely something we talked through today.”
Adams was fined $6,076 for throwing the ball into the stands after a touchdown reception. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens of the Cowboys was fined $9,115 for his facemask penalty on wide receiver Randall Cobb in the second quarter.