When Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy charted out the 2015 season, he saw this final four-game regular season stretch as the third and final piece of his team's journey.
Now, they have reached that critical point, with a division title and playoff positioning at stake. He sees, however, that not all is right with his team as they enter it with a contest at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
"We're an 8-4 football team that needs to do better as the little things. We're not as detailed as we'd like to be right now," McCarthy admitted.
He also would like his team to be healthier than it is. When the media was allowed to watch a portion of Wednesday's practice, starting guard Josh Sitton and center Corey Linsley were not part of it.
The full injury report:
- T David Bakhtiari (knee, full participation)
- T Bryan Bulaga (ankle, limited)
- G T.J. Lang (shoulder, limited)
- C Corey Linsley (ankle, did not participate)
- LB Clay Matthews (ankle, limited)
- WR Ty Montgomery (ankle, limited)
- LB NicK Perry (shoulder, limited)
- CB Damarious Randall (hamstirng, full)
- G Josh Sitton (back, limited)
"One of the most important things I think that really factors...is the health of our football team," said the coach. "The middle of the season is usually a gut-wrencher, when things start happening for you."
What has been gut-wrenching have been the "wrenched" joints and other ailments for many key starters, particularly on offense. It perhaps has played a part in Green Bay's 2-4 stretch the last six games.
Right now, all five starting offensive linemen battling some sort of injury issue, so he's doing things like an abbreviated practice on Wednesday to help his team heal up even after a mini-bye following last Thursday's game.
