Packers @ Buccaneers Preview - Packers need strong defensive performance

The Green Bay Packers will look to get back in the win column on Sunday. They will be traveling to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers who are coming off an improbable comeback victory against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field last weekend. The Bucs scored 10 points in the last three minutes and then marched 90 yards on their second possession in overtime to set up a game-winning field goal by Matt Bryant. Tampa Bay was aided by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Bears cornerback Charles Tillman. Tillman drew the flag after Chicago had forced Tampa Bay into a punting situation, but the penalty gave the Buccaneers new life.

Tampa Bay quarterback Brian Griese shouldered a great deal of the comeback load, throwing on 26 of the Buccaneers 27 fourth quarter plays, including the last 24 plays of regulation. In all, Griese threw the ball 67 times, just three short of the NFL record held by Drew Bledsoe when he was with the New England Patriots in 1994.

The Packers can hope that Griese and the rest of his Buccaneers teammates will be worn out from such a grinding win. It would be particularly helpful if that were the case for the Packers defense. Green Bay is coming off its loss to the Cowboys at Lambeau a little nicked up. The Packers will be missing two opening day starters in the secondary. Strong Safety Atari Bigby will miss his second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Al Harris will also be on the bench on Sunday. Harris was knocked out of the game last weekend with what was originally diagnosed as a ruptured spleen, which most likely would have put Harris on injured reserve. Instead, Harris will probably miss a handful of games, but in that time other players must step up. Coach Mike McCarthy expects no less from the players on the roster.

“Guys have to step up. Tramon Williams is ready. Will Blackmon. And Patrick Lee has done some good things the last two days,” McCarthy, noted. “That's the focus of our football team, and that's the ability we have with our depth, and these guys need to perform.”

Green Bay will rely greatly on Williams to fill in for Harris in the next few weeks, opposite Charles Woodson. Despite being held out of practice with a toe injury, Woodson continues to perform at a high level on gameday.

The Packers have struggled when Williams was in at corner, though it is difficult to gauge the degree to which this is Williams’ fault or the rest of the defense. To his credit, the most significant game action he has seen came against the Cowboys both in 2007 and last weekend. The Cowboys aren’t exactly the easiest team to fill in against. Also, in the pre-season, the defense surrendered significantly more points when Harris on Woodson were on the bench. Really, though, other injuries prevented guys like A.J. Hawk, Ryan Pickett and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila from playing, so it would be presumptuous to put the defense’s pre-season struggles solely on the secondary. Besides, it was only the pre-season, right?

From William’s standpoint, he’s ready to play. “Somebody’s got to step up and I feel…ready for the opportunity,” the cornerback said on Wednesday.” It’s a big opportunity. I’m looking forward to it.”

On the other side of the football, the Packers expect to get a boost to the offensive line, as center Scott Wells makes his return to the starting lineup on Sunday. Wells has not played since the second pre-season game in San Francisco, when Rodgers was often hurried and unable to get comfortable in the pocket. The Packers hope that Wells’ return and the subsequent shifting of Jason Spitz to right guard will help to sure up an offensive line that was dominated by a bigger, faster Cowboys defense.

A cohesive offensive line would certainly help running back Ryan Grant who has yet to find his groove and will look to get an increased role in Tampa Bay. The Packers have been cautious with Grant after he missed most of the pre-season because of contract negotiations and then a hamstring injury. Grant has taken 12, 15, and 13 carries in the first three games and has just 166 yards rushing on the year. Now that Grant is healthy and participating regularly in practice, it would be ideal to get him 20 to 25 carries in the game. The Bucs defense can be had, as they have given up 103, 95 and 137 yards to opposing running backs in the first three games.

Aaron Rodgers will get a big target back in the passing game as Ruvell Martin makes his return to the lineup. Unfortunately, James Jones will be held out of the game on Sunday with a knee injury that occurred early against Dallas this past week, preventing the Packers from having all five wide receivers healthy yet again. Still, Martin’s return will give Rodgers another tall target in the red zone. Once they have established the run, the Packers may often try to test Tampa Bay with four-receiver sets, as Buccaneer nickelback Aqib Talib has been limited in practice with a hamstring injury.