By Dan Arkush
Sept. 30, 2008

The Packers’ string of good luck on the injury front has come to an abrupt end. Already entering last Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay missing starting CB Al Harris (spleen), starting FS Atari Bigby (hamstring) and starting FB Korey Hall (knee), five more players went down for the count against the Buccaneers, led by QB Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a strained shoulder on a third-quarter scramble, and DE Cullen Jenkins, who the team said Tuesday would miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

OLB A.J. Hawk (groin), FS Nick Collins (back) and DE Jason Hunter (hamstring) were also unable to return to the game after being injured. In addition, two more members of the secondary — S Aaron Rouse (knee) and CB Will Blackmon (thigh) — were injured, and starting CB Charles Woodson has been playing with a broken toe since Week Two. Two other key reserves were also unable to play in Tampa Bay — No. 3 WR James Jones (knee) and promising young RB Kregg Lumpkin (hamstring).

The Packers were one of the league’s healthier teams the past two seasons. But through four games this season, starters have missed nine games, compared to only two by starters at the same stage last season.

The PFW spin

The loss of Jenkins is a huge blow to the Packers’ defense. He had missed only two games in the four-plus years he had been with the Packers and was off to an exceptionally strong start this season with 2½ sacks, 10 QB pressures and four tackles for loss.

The status of most of the other players mentioned above is expected to remain up in the air until later this week. That’s especially the case with Rodgers, who didn’t suffer any structural damage but is expected to be monitored very closely this week by the team’s medical staff. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers’ pain tolerance and arm strength will be the determining factors on his status for Sunday’s game vs. Atlanta. Even though he said his shoulder was hurting pretty badly, Rodgers returned one possession after getting injured last Sunday to throw a picture-perfect 48-yard TD pass to WR Greg Jennings.

Following in the footsteps of Brett Favre, the most durable quarterback in league history, it stands to reason that Rodgers will go out of his way to try to suck it up and play against the Falcons. But rest assured the Packers’ medical staff will take every precaution with Rodgers, who has had his share of injuries before assuming the team’s starting QB role. That figures to be the case even though the alternative to Rodgers, rookie QB Matt Flynn, appeared to be in way over his head when pressed into emergency duty against the Bucs.

Hawk, falsely rumored to have suffered a torn groin by one Internet outlet, also will be monitored closely this week, as will Collins, who, like Jenkins, was off to a strong start this season with three interceptions.

Our fantasy take

Keep close tabs on Rodgers, who didn’t have a good game (three interceptions and only 165 passing yards) against the Bucs, and avoid Flynn like the plague if Rodgers can’t play. Jake Delhomme and WRs Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad really did a number on the Falcons’ pass defense last Sunday.