Titans @ Packers Preview - Decisions looming

The fourth and final preseason game for the Green Bay Packers is upon us, and it is coming closer to the time of year when some players will have to pack their belongings and look for a job with another team or within another field of work altogether.

This particular match-up against the Tennessee Titans may intrigue some football fans because of the difference in preseason strategy. Whereas many NFL coaches, including the Packers’ Mike McCarthy, prefer to play their first team for only a series or two in the final pre-season game, Titans coach Jeff Fisher utilizes the final pre-season game as a chance to get tuned up for the regular season.

"You’re constantly emphasizing building reps and conditioning level through the end of the offseason program and all the way through camp," Fisher says. "And then you contradict yourself if you take all this time off between the preseason game and the opener." Fisher’s emphasis is on continuity and using the preseason as a sort of bridge to the regular season.

While viewers will see Tennessee Titans starters in the game well into the third quarter, don’t expect to see the Packers first string quite that long. McCarthy anticipates playing his starters for approximately ten snaps, or what he expects to be one series. McCarthy does not want to risk injury for the sake of having his players in a "game situation" in the final week of the preseason. His main focus during the preseason is his players' health. And while the players will not practice over the weekend, McCarthy expects his team to be prepared for Minnesota as soon as possible. "It's off, but like I told them this morning, it's not vacation. We have treatments, the weight room hours are open. It's really a time for our football team to get their bodies back would be the focus this weekend."

Coach McCarthy and his staff will certainly be examining various elements of his team throughout this week before making the final cuts this weekend, and of particular interest in Thursday night's game will be the amount of playing time reserved for rookie running back Kregg Lumpkin. Although starting running back Ryan Grant has not played thus far in the preseason, McCarthy expects he will play only as long as the rest of the starters, leaving the door open to the possibility of Lumpkin getting early action against Titans defenders. The Packers are high on Lumpkin, the 24 year old rookie out of Georgia, and it sounds like he might have a chance to make the team in a crowded backfield. "He has the ability to play every down, first and second down, and he's really progressed in the pass protection part of it on third down. He's improved every week…he’s put together a nice training camp."

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, even for guys that have been around for a while. McCarthy said that the day of the final roster cut is one of the worst days of the year for him personally, because of the ties he has made with some of the players. Fortunately, the Packers are faced with the prospect of being overloaded with talent at some positions, including linebacker, running back and wide receiver. Having too much talent can certainly make decision-making difficult, but it is a problem many NFL teams would like to have.