In preparation to play Seattle in Week 6 following their three-game losing streak, several members of the defense noticed in looking back at last year's playoff victory over the Seahawks that the energy and emotion that helped make them so successful had been missing.
The defense certainly got some of that energy back in these last two victories over Seattle and Indianapolis, and the unit should get another boost of that with the return of safety Atari Bigby.
Bigby, who hasn't played since injuring his hamstring breaking up a pass in the back of the end zone in Detroit in Week 2, is perhaps the team's hardest hitter. Whether it's coming down into the box to provide run support or trying to separate a receiver from the ball downfield, Bigby puts everything he has into any contact he makes, and his presence should only add to the energy and emotion on that side of the ball.
"I think so," Bigby said. "I play with two chips on my shoulders. Everybody knows they can feed off my hits. I'm bringing excitement to the game, and I'm hoping my teammates can feed off it. But at the end of the day, we're just going out there looking for a win."
Though no announcement has been made regarding Sunday's starting lineup, Bigby is not on the injury report this week for the first time since his injury. He said he's been trying to play for the past couple of weeks, but the tests of his hamstring never went well enough for him to be cleared for a game.
To say he's champing at the bit would be an understatement, and an anxious Bigby is likely to be an energetic one.
"Right now I'm practicing and I'm preparing to play, and on Sunday we'll see how it goes," he said. "I'm not practicing to sit and watch on the sidelines during the game."
Deeper rotation
Two weeks ago against the Colts, the Packers played the entire game with a defensive line rotation of roughly 5 1/2 players - defensive ends Aaron Kampman, Jeremy Thompson and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, and tackles Johnny Jolly, Colin Cole and a limited Ryan Pickett.
That's not a lot of bodies for the 65 offensive snaps the Colts had that day.
But the rotation could include as many as nine bodies this Sunday with the return of ends Jason Hunter (hamstring) and Michael Montgomery (ankle) from injuries, with Pickett back to full duty (he was removed from the injury report on Thursday), and with the possible activation of tackle Justin Harrell.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy said a decision would be made on whether or not to active Harrell, who spent the season's first six weeks on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list, following Friday's practice. Harrell hasn't played since last year's playoffs and missed essentially the entire offseason and training camp recovering from two back surgeries.
Harrell returned to practice on Oct. 15 and will have seven workouts in after Friday's practice.
"He's definitely progressing," McCarthy said. "This is a little bit like training camp for him. He has some of the soreness that you experience in training camp. So we'll take the whole week's work and make a call."
After Harrell, the other player with the longest layoff has been Hunter, who hurt his hamstring at Tampa Bay in Week 4. Missing three games and then resting through the bye has felt like an eternity to Hunter, who sat out Monday's practice this week but has been a full participant the past two days.
"It feels like ages," Hunter said. "I'm just trying to get back out there, get my feel back. It feels like I'm doing stuff all over again, like when I was a rookie or something. But I'm happy to get back out there with the fellas."
{sportsad300}Long time, no see
Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins is a 14-year veteran who has played for five different teams. But interestingly, Sunday's game will mark the first time in seven years that Collins will face the Packers.
His last game against Green Bay came in the regular-season finale in 2001 as the starter for the New York Giants. Collins completed 36 passes for 386 yards in that game, both career highs, but the Packers won, 34-25, and all the post-game attention was centered in the other quarterback, Brett Favre, for allowing Michael Strahan's record-breaking sack late in the contest.
That loss made Collins 0-3 against the Packers in his career. He also faced them in the 1996 NFC Championship Game as the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and the following December in a regular-season matchup in Carolina.
Injury/participation update
For the Packers, linebacker Desmond Bishop (hamstring) didn't participate for the second straight day, while linebacker Danny Lansanah (hamstring) was a full participant again, like Wednesday. Tackle Chad Clifton (knees), cornerback Charles Woodson (toe) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (shoulder) remained limited.
McCarthy had Rodgers throw a little more than he did Wednesday, with good results.
"Had some big-time throws down there today," McCarthy said. "I thought he practiced well and threw the ball as well as he's thrown it during the course of the week since his injury. This was clearly his best day throwing the ball."
Rodgers is likely to throw very little, if at all, on Friday to give the shoulder proper rest prior to the game.
For the Titans, defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) was a full participant in practice for the second straight day after missing last Monday's game.
