Panthers anticipated move all along
GREEN BAY - Moments after Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone in Minnesota, the Green Bay Packers announced the injury might end their quarterback’s season.
Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera wasn’t buying it.
Rivera marked the calendar as soon as the Packers placed Rodgers on injured reserve, a decision that came with a mandatory minimum of eight weeks away from the playing field. Sitting way down the schedule in December, the Panthers were the Packers’ eighth opponent after the injury. Counting the Packers’ bye week, Rivera understood that put his team in position to face Rodgers.
“Everybody knew from the beginning that he was coming back for our game,” Rivera said Wednesday, reacting to Rodgers’ announcement Tuesday night that he was medically cleared to start against the Panthers.
At times, Rodgers’ return appeared less certain in Green Bay. The Packers needed to remain in playoff contention to have a legitimate reason for their quarterback to play again in 2017.
Rivera said he never wondered whether his defense would have to prepare for the two-time MVP.
“If you think about it, the way they set it up, presented everything, you just knew the goal was to get him back as soon as possible,” Rivera said. “They wanted to maintain, keep themselves in playoff position, and that’s what they’ve done. That’s the kind of football team they are.”
Asked what he expects from a quarterback who last played in mid-October, Rivera said Rodgers’ talent makes him different.
“Aaron Rodgers is one of those guys that probably really doesn’t need a lot of practice,” Rivera said. “And knowing Aaron Rodgers, he’s probably been throwing the ball for four, five weeks already anyways. So, I mean, seriously, I’m just trying to be honest about how I feel who this young man is. I think he’s one of the elite guys. We know he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“I expect this guy to be on his game, and we have to approach it that way.”
No overconfidence: Coach Mike McCarthy said he would not allow the Packers to feel overconfident even with Rodgers returning.
“We’ve got to play better,” McCarthy said. “That was my message to them today. I think our football team has done an excellent job of finding different ways to win. We’re not going to go to Carolina with a bunch of false confidence.
“We understand the impact that Aaron Rodgers makes for our football team and, hell, the impact that he’d make for anybody’s football team. We’re 7-6. We clearly understand what’s on the line here. Carolina’s in a similar position.
“This is a very, very important game for both teams. It’s going to be a playofftype atmosphere, and that’s what we’re getting ready for.”
McCarthy and the offensive coaching staff had to come up with two game plans Tuesday, one for Rodgers and one for backup Brett Hundley, because they didn’t find out until late in the evening that Rodgers had been medically cleared to play.
McCarthy said Rodgers will be given every opportunity to get in step after an eight-week absence due to a broken collarbone. The first step, however, was making sure the game plan matched the personnel.
“Really, the timing of the decision was a stress on our offensive staff,” McCarthy said. “I appreciate the extra work and the extra hours that they went through; (you) clearly understand you can only control what you can control.
“But we kind of operated in the mindset of two different types of game plans. How much was different is irrelevant.”
McCarthy was asked if Rodgers would be forced to play a less-reckless style given he’s playing with two metal plates attached to his collarbone.
“I think you have to play your game and that’s really as far as I want to get into the specifics of that,” he said.
Injury update: Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry was back in practice after missing Sunday’s game due to shoulder and foot injuries.
In addition, cornerback Demetri Goodson, who was activated from injured reserve last week but did not play because of a hamstring injury, took part.
Cornerback Davon House (shoulder, back) and linebacker Jake Ryan (knee) both were sidelined. House was not present and Ryan worked out with the trainers.
Safety Josh Jones did not take part in practice, but it was for a personal matter and he is expected back soon.
Rodgers didn’t do a lot more than what he had been doing last week during the early portion of practice. He threw along with the other quarterbacks to receivers running routes without defenders on them.
Gunter revisited: Carolina cornerback LaDarius Gunter hasn’t played a defensive snap for the Panthers this season, but Rivera said he hasn’t given up on the former Packer’s cornerback’s potential to help his team.
Gunter was the Packers’ top cornerback last season when the secondary was depleted with injuries. Regardless, his lack of speed (he ran a 4.69 40 at the combine) always brought a limitation. The Packers released Gunter in midSeptember, one day after he played two snaps in their opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
Rivera didn’t point to a speed deficiency for the reason Gunter has played only special teams.
“We like who he is,” Rivera said. “The hard part is, he really didn’t have a chance to learn what we do when we got him. We’ve used him sparingly, but we like him in practice, we like the things that he brings to the table. The nice thing is, we’ve had a chance to sit down and talk to him about Green Bay, the things that they do, the way they do it. So we’ve got a little bit of a feel for that.
“But he really is an interesting guy, and we think he’s got a chance to help us in the future.”
Practice squad shuffle: The San Francisco 49ers signed wide receiver Max McCaffrey off the Packers’ practice squad, adding him to their 53-man roster. McCaffrey had re-signed with the Packers on Oct. 24 after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Packers filled their vacant practice squad spot by signing wide receiver Colby Pearson, who was with the team for several months earlier this year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS