Morning Buzz: Packers set to take on the Bears

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers  from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.

We start with Pete Dougherty’s latest column, which looks at the need for Ted Thompson to continue to use free agency as a team building tool and not shy away from it.

From Pete:

Thompson’s mistake isn’t Bennett. It will be only if he sees this as confirming all his misgivings about free agency. To view the upside, he only has to look at another of his offseason signings: the 34-year-old Evans, who was a stopgap at right guard to replace departed T.J. Lang.

At a relative bargain ($2.425 million), Evans has been everything the Packers could have expected.

He’s not the athlete and bulldozer he was as an All-Pro in his prime. But he’s been a professional presence in the locker room and crafty vet who still protects the passer well. He’s the old guy at the Y who knows all the tricks on the basketball court and still is good enough to get it done.

If the Packers had done something special this year — and that looked like a possibility until Rodgers’ injury — Evans would have been one of the reasons why. Not by being a great player, but by solving a real problem.

That’s what free agency is for. Try to plug one hole here and maybe another there. It doesn’t always work, and it’s far from a be-all. But Thompson shouldn’t dismiss it just because he dismissed Bennett this week.

Michael Cohen and Tom Silverstein talk Bennett and Bears on the latest Packers podcast:

Packers players come to the defense of their embattled coordinator:

My latest podcast touches on Bennett, the Bears game and Ted Thompson:

Ahmad Brooks should be back on Sunday:

Here’s the latest injury report for Sunday’s game:

Elsewhere, Ty Dunne writes on Packers players rallying without Aaron Rodgers:

NFL Network has the latest on Bennett’s injury:

Rob Demovsky highlights what the CBA has to say about the Bennett situation:

Cris Carter says the Packers should sign Colin Kaepernick:

Sunday’s game is a must-win, according to Chris Peterson at Cheesehead TV:

The Packers Wire highlights a bright spot from Bennett’s release:

Adam Schein talks about Aaron Rodgers covering up all the warts in Green Bay:

The Bears website previews Sunday’s game:

The Internet’s got jokes: