Morning roundup: Can Crosby break out of slump?

Packers place-kicker Mason Crosby is mired in a slump that has seen him miss 12 field goals this season and at least one in each of the last nine games he has attempted one.

Crosby has made just 17 of 29 field goals this season, a league-low 58.6% accuracy rate, but Packers coach Mike McCarthy maintains he is sticking with his kicker, even if it means eschewing a field goal attempt and going for it on fourth down more often: http://pck.rs/SJzVVr

Not only are the Packers sticking with Crosby, but they don’t seem inclined to take a look at what else might be available. As of Monday afternoon, Press-Gazette reporter Rob Demovsky said that none of the top out-of-work kickers — Billy Cundiff, Nate Kaeding, Ryan Longwell, Neil Rackers or Dave Rayner — had been contacted for a workout.

Worth reading

*In the Packers notebook, Weston Hodkiewicz writes that McCarthy, fresh off winning a second consecutive NFC North title, has no plans to take his foot off the gas: http://pck.rs/TtPH3l

*In their analysis of the Packers-Bears game, Cliff Christl and Eric Baranczyk conclude that Clay Matthews makes everyone on the Packers defense better: http://pck.rs/SJAPBb

Christl and Baranczyk write: Everybody talks about Matthews’ sacks, but he’s also a physical force at the point of attack. With him and Erik Walden on the edge, that puts a lot of pressure on the opposing team to run up the gut; and there, they run into Raji and Pickett, two immovable objects. In fact, the last two weeks, Raji has been playing like he did in 2010.

Worth viewing

*Check out Press-Gazette photographer Evan Siegle's Along the Lines video blog: http://pck.rs/TtQnpp

*Here is a photo gallery with more than 100 images from the Packers-Bears game on Sunday: http://pck.rs/YeXZ3W