PLAYER NOTES
–RT Bryan Bulaga, who dropped out of the New England game with a knee injury, had limited participation at Wednesday’s practice. His return this week would be critical, since Dolphins DE Cameron Wake primarily lines up over the offense’s right tackle. Wake has 95 career sacks.
–WR/KR Trevor Davis returned to practice after going on injured reserve after Week 1 with an injured hamstring. He was the NFL’s second-ranked punt returner last season. Green Bay is in the bottom six in the league in kickoff returns and punt returns this season. He can make his season debut next Thursday night at Seattle. “I feel great. I’ve felt great for a while now. It’s good to get back out there, good to play and finally knock the dust off.”
–QB Aaron Rodgers was full participation at Wednesday’s practice. In Sunday night’s loss at New England, he did not wear a brace or protective sleeve on the left knee that he injured in Week 1 vs. Chicago. “Just grit,” he said with a smile.
–CB Kevin King injured a hamstring vs. New England and isn’t expected to play vs. Miami. Veteran Bashaud Breeland replaced King and figures to do so again. It was Breeland’s first game of the season after starting for most of four seasons with Washington. “He’s a competitive corner,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “What I like is his flexibility. He played inside and outside. It was good to get him out there.”
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: From one perspective, QB Aaron Rodgers has been sensational with 15 touchdowns vs. one interception. That’s the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the league. However, he’s completed only 60.6 percent of his passes and hasn’t even reached 62 percent since Week 2. Rodgers refused to blame the left knee that he injured in Week 1 vs. Chicago. While it’s true he’s thrown the ball away a lot – twice as many as any other quarterback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus – the Packers didn’t make Rodgers the highest-paid player in NFL history to see him throwing the ball into the bench five times per game. The Packers are running out of time to save the season. They need Rodgers to start making plays.
GAME PLAN: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrown 15 touchdowns vs. one interception, and he hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 4 against Buffalo. On the other side of the coin, he’ll face a Miami defense that has recorded a league-high 15 interceptions. The big plays notwithstanding, the Dolphins rank 22nd in pass defense (257.9 yards per game) and 29th in yards per passing attempt (7.49). If the Packers can keep Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake out of the backfield, Rodgers should return to form.
Miami’s offense has been hit hard by injuries. One stabilizing force has been ageless running back Frank Gore. The Dolphins’ offense revolves around Gore and the versatile Kenyan Drake, who somehow was given only three carries and seven touches last week against the Jets. For Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, the mission is simple: Stop Gore and Drake and put the ball in the hands of quarterback Brock Osweiler, who has zero touchdown passes in his last two games.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Packers RT Bryan Bulaga vs. Dolphins DE Cameron Wake. Bulaga dropped out of last week’s game at New England with a knee injury. He returned to practice this week, which would be good news against the ageless Wake. The 36-year-old has only three sacks but he remains one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy would rather not help his tackles, so it will be left up to Bulaga to win one-on-one so QB Aaron Rodgers has the maximum number of targets.
–Packers CBs Bashaud Breeland and Josh Jackson vs. Dolphins WR Kenny Stills. With Kevin King likely out with a hamstring injury and Tramon Williams having moved to safety, the Packers have a new group of corners. The Dolphins like to go deep to Stills, who is averaging 17.6 yards per catch. Breeland, who started for most of the past four seasons with Washington, made his season debut last week. Jackson, a rookie, isn’t a burner. Watch for Dolphins head coach Adam Gase to try to get Stills matched on one of those two to take a few deep shots.
