A roundup of what's happening on the Green Bay Packers beat.
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Packers coach Mike McCarthy began the week preparing for the Vikings to start rookie Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback in Thursday night's game at Lambeau Field.
But as the week progressed, Bridgewater's status became less certain because of the sprained left ankle he sustained in Sunday’s win over the Falcons.
The Vikings listed Bridgewater as questionable on Wednesday's injury report.
If he can't play, the Vikings will go with Christian Ponder, who coincidentally was in Bridgewater's shoes before the NFC wild-card game against the Packers in 2013. Ponder was nursing an elbow injury all week, but most expected him to play. It wasn't until less than two hours before kickoff that he was declared out, and the Vikings started Joe Webb in a game the Packers won 24-10.
So yes, the Packers say they are prepared for either quarterback.
"Definitely, it's part of the preparation," McCarthy said. "It's not the first time it's happened to us, not the first time it's happened to us versus the Minnesota Vikings, so we'll continue our preparation and be ready to go regardless of who plays quarterback."
In case you missed it from ESPN.com:
Some have blamed Eddie Lacy’s struggles on the fact that the Packers are running more shotgun snaps this year, but the statistics show Lacy has actually performed well from that formation.
The Packers will be without No. 3 receiver Jarrett Boykin again. That and the rest of the medical situation is in the injury report.
The Packers lost promising cornerback Jumal Rolle off the their practice squad when he signed with the Houston Texans.
Aaron Rodgers explained his smoking gesture, sort of.
Rodgers was named the NFC's offensive player of the week after his four-touchdown performance against the Bears on Sunday.
From the video department, here's how the Packers prepared for the quick turnaround with the Thursday game.
Best of the rest:
At ESPNWisconsin.com, Jason Wilde compared the talent around Rodgers now with what he has had in recent years and concluded this: Rodgers simply doesn't have the same weaponry at his disposal.
At PackerReport.com, Bill Huber wrote that cornerback Sam Shields and his family will appear on the "Rachael Ray" show today.
In the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Pete Dougherty wrote that the Vikings already look different than in the past, and it's because of new coach Mike Zimmer.
In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bob McGinn wrote that an influx of talent has made the NFC North stronger than ever.