What’s With the Packers Injury Problems?

During the Mike McCarthy era the one thing you can depend upon is on any given day, on any given week and for any given game the Packers will be short-handed because of injuries.

This week with the Packers on the road at Jerry World to play the Cowboys the Packers injury list is long and varied with 11 players on the list. Looking back through the first 4 weeks the Packers list was:

Seahawks Week 1: Bryan Bulaga (ankle), Davon House (hamstring), Clay Matthews (groin) and Nick Perry (hand).

Out on Game Day: Bulaga.

Falcons Week 2: Bryan Bulaga (ankle), Mike Daniels (hip), David Bakhtiari (hamstring), Jason Spriggs (hamstring), Ahmad Brooks (concussion), Montravius Adams (foot), Kentrell Brice (quad).

Out on Game Day: Bulaga, Daniels, Bakhtiari, Spriggs, Brooks, Adams, Brice.

Bengals Week 3: Bryan Bulaga (ankle), Mike Daniels (hip), David Bakhtiari (hamstring), Jason Spriggs (hamstring), Ahmad Brooks (concussion), Montravius Adams (foot), Kentrell Brice (quad), Jordy Nelson (quad), Jake Ryan (hamstring), Nick Perry (hand), Davon House (hamstring), Randall Cobb (chest), Jahri Evans (groin).

Out on Game Day: Daniels, Bakhtiari, Brice, Ryan, Perry, House, Cobb.

* Jason Spriggs (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve.

Bears Week 4: Bryan Bulaga (ankle), Mike Daniels (hip), David Bakhtiari (hamstring), Kentrell Brice (quad), Jake Ryan (hamstring), Nick Perry (hand), Davon House (hamstring), Randall Cobb (chest), Ty Montgomery (wrist), Quinton Dial (chest), Kyle Murphy (foot). Brett Goode (hamstring).

Out on Game Day: Bulaga, Daniels, Bakhtiari, House.

*Brett Goode (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve.

Cowboys Week 5: Bryan Bulaga (ankle), Mike Daniels (hip), David Bakhtiari (hamstring), Nick Perry (hand), Davon House (hamstring), Ahmad Brooks (back), Ty Montgomery (ribs), Davante Adams (concussion), Jamaal Williams (knee), Quinten Rollins (ankle), Joe Thomas (ankle).

*Kyle Murphy (foot) was placed on injured reserve.

Thomas has already been declared out and despite all the “FAKE NEWS” about Montgomery being allowed to play if he wants to and he might even start he is listed as doubtful and I will predict he won’t be active.

Why go through the “FAKE NEWS” about Montgomery? I’m guessing its just Ted Thompson’s way of making the Cowboys prepare for Montgomery and not concentrate on Aaron Jones or Devante Mays. I don’t understand why Jones hasn’t been named the starter, he proved he is capable last week, while both Williams and Mays have been terrible when they played in the preseason in the case of Mays and the first four weeks as far as Williams is concerned.

But back to injuries. I have noticed this year that injuries seem to hit the one or two positions that are weakest or a player who had just played his best game. First I throw out Nick Perry because he is constantly hurt. Last year he had his breakout year and to be predicted he got hurt at the end of the season. This year he was playing as great as he did last year and to be predicted he got hurt again.

Mike Daniels seemed to be making his case for All-Pro this season with a breakout game against the Seahawks, but to be predicted he got hurt and hasn’t played since. In fact, while it seems he might be ready to play this week the hip injury he was reported to have was speculated to be career threatening.

Then there is Ty Montgomery. While he hasn’t been tearing up the league in either rushing or catching passes he led the league in snaps the first two weeks, so to be predicted he gets hurt. First with a wrist injury before Week 3 and then with several broken ribs in Week 4.

Then you add Ahmad Brooks and Davon House, two of the three biggest free agent pickups by the Ted “Free Agent Guru of the North” Thompson hung his huge hat on to push the Packers over the hump this season. And to be predicted both have been injured. House missed all of camp with a hamstring (just like Casey Hayward four years ago) and hasn’t played since Week 2 and Brooks suffered a concussion in his first game and now has a back injury. If the Packers didn’t have bad luck they would have no luck at all.

For years the Packers had issues with hamstrings, especially Clay Matthews’ hamstrings, but that seemed to have settled out until this year when hamstring and groin injures made a return. It seems the majority of Packers injuries have been soft tissue issues since Mike McCarthy has been coach.

Over the many, many years McCarthy has been head coach there has only been 3 strength and conditioning coordinators and 4 assistants. Mark Lovat has been in the program for 10 years and the coordinator since 2010.

1. Rock Gullickson (2006-08)

2. Mark Lovat (assistant) (2008-09)

3. Dave Redding (2009)

4. Mark Lovat (2010-17)

5. Dave Redding (assistant) (2010)

6. Thadius Jackson (assistant) (2010-17)

7. Chris Gizzi (assistant) (2014-17)

8. Grant Thorne (assistant) (2015-17)

I would think it is time to make a change with Lovat. Only Offensive Line coach James Campen (2007-present), Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers (2009-present), Defensive Line coach Mike Trgovac (2009-present), Secondary/Cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt, Jr. (2009-present) and, of course, Mike McCarthy (2006-present) have been on the coaching staff longer.

I think coaches and front offices get stale and set in their ways when they’ve been in charge over 7 years. It’s just another example of the “Just Good Enough” Packers way of doing things. In their minds, since it ain’t broke they don’t need to fix it.

However, as bad as the Packers injuries are and have been they aren’t as devastating (not counting the broken collarbone by Aaron Rodgers in 2013) as what’s happened to the Minnesota Vikings (couldn’t happen to a better team). Last year they lost their up-and-coming franchise quarterback Teddy ‘Little Hands” Bridgewater (he missed all of last year and hasn’t played this year, yet) and their excellent franchise running back who has ably taken over for Adrian Peterson, Dalvin Cook, who suffered a non-contact (just like Bridgewater) devastating torn ACL last week and will miss the season.