It's still very early in the football week, but all news coming out of the Green Bay Packers locker room Wednesday was positive in regard to the return to action of All-Pro running back Ahman Green.
Listed as probable for Sunday's game on the team's daily injury report, Green took to the practice field Wednesday for the first time since leaving the game in Houston early on with a rib injury 10 days previous.
As expected, Green wore some extra protection around the banged-up ribs in practice.
He joked after the training session about getting some special equipment from some friends in high places in order to ensure that he will be fit to take part when the Packers head east this weekend to play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
"I'll call my good buddies at the FBI to send me some good Kevlar to help me out," Green said. "I'll do what I can to be out there - do what I have to do."
Green, who missed a game for the first time in nearly two years when he sat out the win over St. Louis Monday night, doesn't feel like he'll be slowed by the protective equipment, citing another speedy and shifty runner who hasn't seemed to be hindered by the device.
"It's just something that most quarterbacks wear even when they're not hurt, just to prevent stuff," he said. "I think Michael Vick wears it. Like I said, most quarterbacks wear them around the NFL, so it's a normal thing when you have that area injured."
Ahman appears to returning to the lineup at just the right time, facing an Eagles defense currently ranked 20th in the NFL against the run and one that he had great success against in the teams' pair of meetings last season.
In the two games, Green carried the ball a total of 54 times for 348 yards, running for 192 in the November regular season game in Green Bay and 156 nine weeks later in the playoff contest at Philadelphia.
While he recalls the big rushing totals he had in the previous games against Philadelphia, the running back knows that those will mean nothing on the field Sunday afternoon.
"We just stuck to what the game plan was and found a niche in the running game that was kind of their weakness last year," he said. "But that was last year.
"Right now we've got to get ready for them this year and they're pretty good in certain areas, especially the red zone. We know that and we've just got to stick to our game plan, whether it be running or passing, however the game plays itself out."
However the game plays out, Green can guarantee one thing - that he will giving everything he's got if his health continues to improve and allows him to take the field.
"Like I said, it's getting better every day. If I'm able to play, I'm going to be out there full-go."
