The Green Bay Packers have shown the ability to overcome adversity this season.
From 1-4, the Packers won two straight to get to 3-4. Then after three straight losses dropped them to 4-8, they snapped the losing streak Sunday at San Francisco. Now it's time to keep charging ahead, and hopefully there's no more "bouncing back" to worry about.
"I think the most important thing is what we do with the San Francisco game," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. "How does it carry over to Detroit? How does it carry over to these next two home games? That's the part of stacking success that we're looking for."
McCarthy said in preparing for Detroit this week, he has looked at the film of the first Detroit game on Sept. 24, and he sees how much the team has improved over the last 10 games.
But that improvement won't mean much if it doesn't translate into more tallied in the win column over the final three weeks.
"It still comes down to performing," McCarthy said. "We just have to continue to keep working, and our preparation needs to equate to a good performance, and that's what our goal is this week.
"I really want to see how we take this into Detroit, and with success in Detroit take it into the next one. So it's part of the growth that we're looking for."
Long trip back
Wide receiver Ruvell Martin, who was held overnight in a San Francisco hospital for observation of a chest bruise as a precautionary measure after Sunday's game, ended up spending all of Tuesday to get back to Green Bay.
He flew from San Francisco to Minneapolis, where he got on a connecting flight that flew across Wisconsin but wasn't allowed to land because of the fog. The plane circled back to Iowa, landed to re-fuel, and then went back to Minneapolis, where Martin waited a few more hours to get another flight back to Green Bay.
"I got in about nine o'clock at night," Martin said.
Martin explained that he fell on the ball while getting tackled in the fourth quarter, which produced the chest bruise and some difficulty breathing. He was held out of practice on Wednesday, but he said he feels fine.
Ready to fill in if needed
Both Martin and Donald Driver are questionable on this week's injury report, though McCarthy said Driver's shoulder injury should be fine. But should either one not be able to play on Sunday, that could mean extensive playing time for newcomer Carlyle Holiday.
{sportsad300}Picked up on waivers last week from Arizona, Holiday was forced into duty right away on Sunday because of the injury situation at receiver. He played a few snaps at split end and made one catch for 3 yards in the fourth quarter.
McCarthy said he now is learning all the receiver positions in the offense, and he'd picked things up very quickly. Holiday said he's getting help from Driver, Martin and the rest of the receiving corps as he gets adjusted.
"Those guys are all helpful -- Ruvell, Driver -- if you need anything answered, they'll answer it right away," Holiday said. "Everybody's been nothing but help for me."
Injury report
Defensive end Mike Montgomery (knee) is listed as out for the second straight week and offensive tackle Mark Tauscher (groin) is still doubtful. McCarthy said it's possible Montgomery could miss the rest of the season, but there's a chance Tauscher could get some practice work in by the end of the week.
In addition to Driver and Martin, three other players are listed as questionable. Safety Atari Bigby (hamstring) missed practice, while tight end David Martin (ribs) and linebacker Ben Taylor (hamstring) did practice.
Running back Ahman Green (knee) and cornerback Charles Woodson (shoulder) are both probable and missed practice Wednesday, as is their schedule. Center Scott Wells missed practice because of an illness but is probable for the game.
