NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears G Lucas Patrick was brought in as a center, but plans change when he broke his thumb. Bears OC Luke Getsy pointed out that Patrick may be able to finally play center in Week 5.

“Yesterday he did a little bit of everything, so we’re gonna try to put what we feel in by the end of the week,” Getsy said, via ChicagoBears.com. “We’ll evaluate it again today and then make that decision.”

“You’re lucky you have a guy that has that kind of experience,” Getsy said. “I mean, he’s been thrown in those situations before, but it’s still not an easy task. I think he’s taken zero snaps at left guard since he’s been here, and for him to go out there and be able to finish that game the way he did, we’re lucky we have Lucas.”

Lions

Regarding the Patriots’ Week 5 game against the Lions, HC Bill Belichick called Detroit’s P Jack Fox the “best punter in the league.” 

“Fox is the best punter in the league. He’s outstanding,” Belichick said, via ProFootballTalk. “Fox is a weapon. Kickoff, punt, punt for accuracy, punt for distance. Threw it like a quarterback back there — that was a long throw, 15 yards deep, good coverage, he put it right in there.”

Belichick also had high praise for Lions LB Chris Board‘s contributions on special teams. 

“Board, that’s the best special teams player we’ll play against all year. He’s a great, great player,” Belichick said. “They have good speed, good size in the kicking game, good specialists. They’re working through the kicking situation, but they’ve got some really outstanding players in those units. . . . It’s going to be a big challenge for us in the kicking game.”

Packers

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is hoping that HC Matt LaFleur will let him air it out this Sunday in London. 

“Hell yeah, of course,” Rodgers said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “Matt’s kind of in a grumpy mood right now. When he gets a little bit of rest and will be in a better mood, we’ll talk about airing it out a little bit more.”

“We’ve had halves of certain games where we’ve really played well and the other half has usually been pretty bad,” Rodgers added. “We’ve got to try to put together four quarters and put on a show for the fans in the stadium. Hopefully, it will be predominately green and gold.”