The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some injury issues heading into the preseason and with the Arizona Cardinals visiting on Friday night at 8:00 PM at Lambeau Field, head coach Mike McCarthy will likely play it safe with his stars.
The Packers have focused on getting the running game going this summer after going a ridiculously long time without a 100-yard rusher and that is why McCarthy drafted Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin and both rookies are expected to contribute to the offense this season. Alex Green led the team in rushing last season and quarterback Aaron Rodgers was ranked second, which shows just how bad the running game struggled last year while gaining just over 100 yards per game. The offensive line is in the midst of another shakeup after Bryan Bulaga was injured and lost for the season and now they will get a chance to put the o-line in action against the Cardinals on Friday.
Rodgers is looked at by many as the best quarterback in the league after winning the Super Bowl two years ago before the Giants run in 2011 and the Ravens in 2012 and now he has the chance to get back to the championship once again. Rodgers will be without one of his top receivers after Greg Jennings was not retained by the Packers and now Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jordy Nelson will be the primary receivers on offense. Both Cobb and Nelson have dealt with injuries in training camp and both are expected to contribute heavily on offense for McCarthy. The offensive line is now the biggest question mark after Bulaga was injured, as McCarthy had already changed things up even before that happened.
Bulaga is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury and now the team will rework the line with players like Josh Sitton, left tackle David Bakhtiari and right guard TJ Lang. McCarthy will have to be careful with how much he plays starters on the line in the preseason and the Packers are likely to bring someone else in for more depth on the roster as the preseason moves along. McCarthy is set to play James Starks, Johnathan Franklin, Alex Green and Angelo Pease in the first preseason game and he is also expected to give all of his quarterback reps as well.
McCarthy will play Rodgers for a short amount of time along with Graham Harrell and the newly signed Vince Young and there is also a chance that B.J. Coleman will play too. The Packers will be facing the NFC West to start the preseason, taking on the Cardinals first before visiting the St. Louis Rams on Saturday August 17 before coming home to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. The team will finish up with Kansas City in Week 4 against Kansas City and then the team has a huge opening week matchup in the regular season against the San Francisco 49ers.
