National Football League

Mini-bye gives Packers great opportunity to regroup, prepare for remainder of season

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Ten days separate the Packers’ victory over the Bears and their road trip to Atlanta. A mini-bye is welcomed in order to get healthy and regroup.

One glance at the Packers injury report is enough to make you sick. On offense alone, Green Bay suited up on Thursday night without Eddie Lacy, James Starks, Jared Cook and Jared Abbrederis.

That’s before you include a depleted secondary, forced to take on the No. 3 passing offense sans its top three cornerbacks.

With a makeshift backfield featuring Ty Montgomery, Randall Cobb and Don Jackson, the Packers got by, dismissing the Bears 26-10 to improve to 4-2. More importantly, a 10-day break awaits ahead of a challenging trip to the Georgia Dome.

Not only do the Packers need to get healthy, Mike McCarthy must focus on rebuilding this offense. After losing its 1-2 punch, undrafted rookie Jackson and recent acquisition Knile Davis need to get up to speed in a hurry. Davis saw limited action Thursday night just days after swapping Kansas City for Green Bay, but his role will increase in time.

McCarthy must determine the best course to follow. Was Thursday’s dink-and-dunk, pass-happy offense a glimpse into the future for the 2016 Packers? Without Lacy for at least eight weeks and still no sign of a deep threat, maybe he has no choice.

McCarthy’s scheme has repeatedly been placed under the microscope. Too many isolation routes results in a worrying lack of separation by receivers, the primary problem this offense faced last season. Fixing this must be the No. 1 focus over the extended break.

What this mini-bye does is give the Packers an opportunity to catch their breath, heal up and prepare for one of the toughest tests of the season inside the Georgia Dome. Sam Shields is on IR, but getting Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins healthy for that game is crucial.

We’ll get some clarity on the Packers backfield, too, and that’s important for an offense searching for its identity.

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