It's hard to believe the Green Bay Packers are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot when there's been so much subtraction this week.
The asterisk month begins Sunday when the 4-7-1 Packers welcome the equally disappointing 4-8 Atlanta Falcons to Lambeau Field.
Interim Head Coach Joe Philbin conducted his first practice today, buoyed by the team's enthusiasm for finishing the season strong. Phiblin said a season high number of players showed up for Tuesday's optional weight lifting workout, a good sign. His pre-practice news conference however, began with Philbin explaining why he fired Associate Head Coach/Linebackers assistant Winston Moss, who like Mike McCarthy, had been on staff since 2006.
Philbin said it became apparent it would not be a good fit to keep Moss on board. A tweet posted by Moss was critical of the organization's failure to "hold #12 (Aaron Rodgers) and everybody in this building to a #Lombardistandard."
Philbin said the tweet was not a factor in his decision making it likely it was Moss' fierce loyalty to McCarthy and his disappointment at not getting named interim coach by Mark Murphy that would create unwanted friction.
After practice, Rodgers had to react to the Moss assertion and he said he holds himself accountable for everything he does. From preparation to training, practice and game play. He often encouraged McCarthy to call him out first in meetings to set an example.
As for the practice, conducted inside the Don Hutson Center, defensive tackle Kenny Clark said there were more team periods and less walk throughs which created a more urgent tempo that played well with the squad.
The roster for the final four games is undergoing a serious overhaul.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst moved safety Ibraheim Campball to injured reserve on Monday and promoted his sixth round draft choice, linebacker Kendall Donnerson to the active roster from the practice. The season will finish with 10 of Gutekunst's 11 draft choices on the active roster. The only absentee is 5th round pick Cole Madison, the offensive lineman from Washington State who never showed up, dealing with a season-long personal matter that left him on the reserve/did not report list.
Today, Kevin King was placed on injured reserve. The 2017 number one draft choice could not recover from a groin injury suffered against the New England Patriots last month. It's the second straight year King will finish on IR, it was a shoulder injury a year ago that required off-season surgery. King has now missed 17 of 32 games since former General Manager Ted Thompson traded down to select the University of Washington defensive back. He bypassed a popular Wisconsin Badger prospect, linebacker T.J. Watt taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers. While King has missed 17 games in two years, Watt has piled up 17 sacks in his nearly two seasons for the Steelers.
Running back Tra Carson was also moved to IR and Gutekunst signed two players off waivers to fill out the roster. Defensive lineman Fadol Brown was claimed after getting released by the Oakland Raiders. He went undrafted out of Mississippi in 2017 and spent the year on the practice squad before appearing in 8 games this season. The second player added is a former Wisconsin Badger, defensive back Natrell Jamerson. He was a fifth round pick of the Saints who was released and picked up by Houston where he played in 10 games for the Texans.
Finally, with so much uncertainty swirling about the football team thanks to the troubling stories of McCarthy's demise, the antics of Moss and the disappointment involving King, the organization was ready to announce two very positive, public relation building stories. The Paul McCartney concert in June at the stadium naturally got a ton of fanfare on Tuesday and today it was the issuance of $800,000.00 from the Green Bay Packers Foundation to 230 charitable organizations.
