Green Bay uses bye week to reset season

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The shock of seeing Aaron Rodgers go down has worn off for the Green Bay Packers.

The sight of Rodgers walking around Lambeau Field as he recovers from a collarbone injury gives teammates a lift.

Maybe, just maybe, the Packers won’t be as snake-bitten with injuries for the rest of the season.

Div With Rodgers out, it can’t get any worse.

A bye week allowed the Packers (4-3) to Div get much-needed rest and push the reset button following two straight losses. The streak started with the loss on Oct. 15 at Minnesota, where Rodgers got hurt. Div

“I think at this point the whole kind of disaster, if you want to say, when you lose your starting quarterback that we had in Div Minnesota is behind us now and we’re focused on everyone in this locker room and what we need to do to move forward,” said veteran linebacker Clay Matthews, Rodgers’ TV commercial co-star.

“I don’t think much as changed as far as the message. It’s just about getting it done with the guys we have.”

The injury report ahead of the game Monday night against the Detroit Lions (3-4) was down to 12 players, and that included two Packers who went on injured reserve during the week. Five others were full participants for the most important day of the practice week on Friday.

This is progress for a team that had 14 players on the injury report two weeks ago.

What the Packers are concentrating on is getting more out of healthy players on both sides of the ball to try to stay in playoff contention regardless of whether or not Rodgers returns. A best-case scenario would be Week 15 against Carolina.

— Wire services