‘Banged up’ Rodgers says he’ll play against Vikings

Abbrederis suffered a rib injury while making a pivotal 32-yard catch down the right sideline in the fourth quarter of the Green Bay Packers stunning loss to the Detroit Lions, en route to a four catch, 57-yard day.

The Vikings and Packers square off this Sunday in one of the bigger matchups on the Week 11 schedule.

The Vikings moved a game ahead of Green Bay (6-3) and will face the Packers at home as they try to increase their lead in the NFC North. The Packers have lost three straight. Twice as many sacks is certainly troubling and many people have been skeptical of Aaron’s condition, but the issue that landed him on the injury report was actually a little unexpected.

In a recent article titled “Five reasons why Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is struggling”, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky pointed the finger at Munn. During a media session, Packers coach Mike McCarthy admitted that Rodgers was also “banged up”.

“We’re expecting them to bounce back and give us their best shot”, said linebacker Anthony Barr. Green Bay is 4-0-1 in its last five meetings with Minnesota, going 3-2 against the spread in those five games.

“We’re going out there playing at a very high level. James will take the first series and Eddie will go second and we’ll see how it balances out”, McCarthy said.

The hope is that a healthier Lacy can soon return to the form that allowed him to gain 1,100 yards each of the previous two seasons, and provide an effective one-two backfield punch again with Starks.

If Rodgers has to throw 45 times on the road, it’s not likely to go well against a talented pass rush and ball-hawking secondary.

Rodgers was limited with a bruised throwing shoulder on Wednesday but looked good, McCarthy said, in Thursday’s workout. So, as long as we stay together, not pay any attention to the outside noise and understand that all the guys in this locker room will get this ship moving. In a 16 game season, and a division lead on the line, I don’t really think that should happen, but that’s just me. Lions reporters said they spotted Rodgers’ girlfriend, actress Olivia Munn, at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

However, three consecutive losses have slowed them down considerably but they are still one of the best teams in the league and a win over the Vikings can rekindle the impressive run they had early in the season.