NFC Notes: David Montgomery, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

• Bears RG Nate Davis suffered a high-ankle sprain and is also out this week, while CB Terell Smith has mono and is out for three to four weeks. (Kevin Fishbain)

Lions

• Lions HC Dan Campbell said RB David Montgomery has a cartilage issue in his ribs and will be out for “a little bit.” (Tim Twentyman)

Packers

Packers S coach Ryan Downard spoke highly of S Rudy Ford and believes that having a full offseason with the team has helped him improve.

“He’s just doing his job,” Downard said of Ford, via PackersWire.com. “He’s doing it at a high level. He’s playing hard. When you turn that tape on, you see how hard he plays. He’s very intentional with his preparation, and he’s finally gotten the opportunity to show what he can do, and he’s capitalizing on it. He came in so late last year, and he did a good job for us of plugging him in late in the year last year. But now he’s really had the chance to detail out all of the jobs.”

“I like his physicality,” Downard added. “He’s stout against crack blocks. He’s willing to throw it up in there. He uses his hands on crack blocks, and he’s pulling the trigger as well. I like those guys to be interchangeable, so they can never get a beat on whose in the box, and whose in the post, or whose in the split safety. He’s very intentional. He’s very detailed. He wants to know the ins and outs of everything. You’re not just going to give Rudy a brush-off answer and let him take it. He wants to know, how do you want this play? Do you want us to be in this check or this one? And he’s going to raise his hand and say, I want everyone to hear it, so we are all on the same page. I think that cultivates an environment of accountability. So he’s brought that.”