Barring setbacks or further injuries, Giants QB Eli Manning should be able to manage his heel injury for the rest of the season with a limited practice schedule and regular treatment. Although Manning likes to take the majority of the snaps during practice, Pro Football Weekly hears he has accepted a scaled-back slate as a necessary step to remain in the lineup for the whole season.
Even if Packers WR Jordy Nelson hadn’t suffered a sprained knee that could keep him out of a couple of games, Pro Football Weekly hears the team was on the cusp of incorporating No. 5 WR Brett Swain more into the offense. Word is the team really likes Swain and considers him to be an ascending talent. While we might start to see more of Swain on the field, also look for TE Jermichael Finley to line up more often as a wideout in Nelson’s absence.
Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk has spent more time on the sideline during the last two games, including being in just nine plays during last Sunday’s shutout win over Detroit. “It’s obviously not my ideal situation of what I’d want to be doing,” said Hawk, who was pegged to be a cornerstone of the Green Bay defense when the team selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 draft. Hawk has started every game since he broke into the league, but the coaches are using an abundance of depth at linebacker in Dom Capers’ new 3-4 defensive scheme and Brandon Chillar has replaced Hawk as an inside linebacker when the Packers have employed their nickel package. “Regardless of how many reps I’m getting right now, I still want to be here,” Hawk said. “I’d much rather not be playing as much as I’d like on a winning team and a solid organization than starting and going 2-14. I’m not satisfied with the way I’ve played. The last couple weeks, I haven’t really gotten a whole lot of reps in the games, but I’ve got to make those count.”
Panthers DT Nick Hayden was thrust into the starting lineup twice early in the season after injuries decimated the Panthers’ corps of defensive tackles, but sources say the team didn’t gain much confidence in the second-year veteran. Following the recent acquisition of former Chiefs DT Tank Tyler just before the trade deadline, Hayden has fallen to the bottom of the depth chart at tackle.
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