Last year at this time, Jeremy Kapinos had just punted in his first NFL game, with the New York Jets. The next day, his special teams coach put in the film of the Dec. 23 contest in Chicago between the Bears and the Packers to have him talk through what adjustments could be made in the ridiculously blustery winds that wreaked havoc on Green Bay's punting all day long.
"That film definitely evokes a bit of fear in any punter's heart, no matter where you are," Kapinos said. "You always feel for a guy in that situation."
To recap, the winds that gusted to 40 miles an hour off Lake Michigan that day created a disaster for the Packers. Punter Jon Ryan fumbled one snap, had two punts blocked, and had another shank off his shin. The special teams miscues were the primary culprit in a 35-7 Chicago blowout.
Kapinos and long snapper Brett Goode, both new to the Packers this season, spent some time practicing outside on Thursday to work a little in the cold and wind. They've also reviewed last season's film and discussed how to handle the conditions should they repeat themselves Monday night at Soldier Field.
Goode, who recalled snapping in a game in college at Arkansas with wind gusts around 30 miles an hour, said he has chatted with last year's long snapper, Rob Davis, who is currently the Packers' director of player development. Davis' snaps were moving as much as 2 to 3 yards sideways in that game because the winds were so strong.
But his main piece of advice is simply to use the pre-game warm-up time to your advantage to get a feel for what the wind is going to do to the ball, and adjust from there.
"He's given me a couple of pointers," Goode said. "It's one of those things. You have to deal with it, you have to play with it."
At this point, the forecast calls for single-digit temperatures and some winds, but the conditions are not expected to be as dramatic as a year ago. That could always change, though, especially with Soldier Field located right along the lake.
Kapinos recalled a game at Purdue during his senior year at Penn State when the winds reached 25 to 30 miles an hour, and he said he averaged better than 40 yards per punt that day. That game wasn't as cold as Monday night's will be, but Kapinos is confident that with the proper pre-game warm-up he'll be ready to do his job well.
"We'll go out in pre-game and hit 15 to 20 balls, and get a little feel for it," said Kapinos, who is off to a strong start in his first two games with Green Bay, averaging 40.3 yards on 10 punts, with four placed inside the 20. "At this level you need to be able to make adjustments pretty quick and I think we'll be able to do that.
"I'm not concerned with anything but punting the ball well. You can't worry about weather. Pretty much all you can control is yourself. You and the ball. The weather is going to be what it's going to be."
Rouse set to start
Head Coach Mike McCarthy indicated on Saturday that second-year pro Aaron Rouse would start at safety on Monday night, with Charles Woodson moving back to his regular cornerback position.
Woodson has played the last three games at safety, initially because Rouse had injured his ankle. Rouse has been healthy enough to play the past two games, but the coaching staff chose to keep Woodson at safety and cornerback Tramon Williams in the starting lineup.
Rouse has shown tremendous playmaking ability, with four interceptions in a reserve role during his first two seasons. He ran back an interception of a Peyton Manning pass 99 yards for a touchdown on Oct. 19 this year.
But he's also had his rough spots. At New Orleans on Nov. 24, he took a poor tackling angle that contributed to a 70-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston, and against Houston on Dec. 7, McCarthy said he was lined up too deep on the Texans' game-winning drive for a field goal in the final two minutes.
"When you get a chance to start, you need to perform," McCarthy said. "This is a performance business. The players clearly understand that. We talk about job responsibilities and a number of things you need to reiterate during the course of the year, and this is a great opportunity for him to step up.
"We look for him to be impactful, which he has been in spots, but it's the consistency of playing four quarters that's going to be his challenge Monday night."
{sportsad300}Rouse declined to discuss any particular aspect of his game he'd like to improve upon but made it clear he's looking forward to his chance to start again.
"It's Monday Night Football, I have another opportunity to play, and I'm going to take full advantage of it and showcase my talent," he said.
Injury update
The Packers added offensive tackle Breno Giacomini to the injury report with an ankle injury sustained during Saturday's practice. He has been ruled out for Monday's game.
McCarthy made it sound as though backup running back Brandon Jackson's chances to play have lessened. Jackson is listed as questionable with a wrist injury.
"We do have some extra time because it is a Monday night game, but his progress has been slower than I expected," McCarthy said. "So we'll prepare to go another direction if we have to. But DeShawn Wynn is ready to go. I'm fully confident in DeShawn's abilities."
That stems in part from Wynn's performance in Seattle this year as a last-minute roster addition. Getting signed off the practice squad the day before the game, Wynn came in as the third-down back and made a key blitz pickup that allowed Aaron Rodgers to throw a 45-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings.
"DeShawn Wynn can play every down and distance, every situation," McCarthy said.
