The already leaky Packers defense suffered another huge blow Monday, as it was announced that linebacker Nick Barnett will miss the rest of the season.Head coach Mike McCarthy told the media that Barnett suffered a torn knee ligament. He didn't specify what ligament was torn, and he said surgery has not been scheduled.
Barnett was injured early in the second half, and it appeared to be an injury related to the Metrodome's crappy turf. He was trying to tackle Adrian Peterson, and he was failing -- just like the defense did most of the day. As he changed directions, he fell to the turf. No contact was made. He just blew out his knee.
"I shot downhill, fast, trying to get a shot on him, and he cut back," Barnett said after Sunday's game. "So I tried to cut, and it was just bad footing."This, of course, makes me wonder how we could live in an era where high school teams in Ohio have nicer fields than a freaking NFL team. The Metrodome isn't the only issue here, even though it's been swallowing up NFL players' knees basically since it opened in the 1980s. But you'd think technology would get to the point where guys didn't blow out their knees by trying to cut on bad turf.
What does this mean for the Packers? Well, it probably isn't good.
Having already lost star end Cullen Jenkins from the defensive line, the Packers are now really thin along the front seven. Yes, Michael Montgomery, Jeremy Thompson, and Aaron Kampman have done a nice job at end, but they haven't done as good a job filling the hole created in the middle of the line on passing downs.
Barnett's loss could be even more significant. If the play of second-year pro Desmond Bishop in Sunday's game is any indication, they're in real trouble at the position. He overran plays, missed tackles, and looked lost at times. He should be given another chance, as I'm sure the coaches will spend more time working with him during the week now that they know he has to play.
Another option would be to move one of the three solid outside linebackers to the middle. Of the three, A.J. Hawk has the smarts and the strength to play inside, and he's more of a liability in pass coverage than the other two, Brandon Chillar and Brady Poppinga.
There's a good chance McCarthy and his staff will tap one of the three for at least part-time duty in the middle, but Bishop has to play, too. He was drafted to back up Barnett in the middle, and he deserves more than just one bad quarter to prove himself capable of playing the position.
With general manager Ted Thompson's penchant for building with the draft and cheap free agents, depth is going to be a problem through the first few years of the process. Right now, the Packers just aren't terribly deep at a lot of positions. At 4-5, it's going to be a real challenge for this team to make the playoffs.
