Perry productive despite playing with cast
GREEN BAY - Nick Perry wasn’t supposed to continue piling up his sack total with a cast wrapped around his entire left hand.
Few skills are more important for edge pass rushers than hand fighting. Perry, the Packers’ sacks leader, has to be resourceful shedding blocks from offensive tackles.
It hasn’t stopped him from getting three sacks in his past two games, including a third and 5 against Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford early in the third quarter. Perry stood up, took a few steps and petted his cast to celebrate.
“I just pet it because it’s been good to me,” Perry said. “So I just keep it going.”
It’s been a good season for Perry, a first-round pick in 2011. His 11 sacks in 2016 almost match the 12.5 he had combined in his first four seasons.
Perry and the Packers’ defensive front needs to provide pressure Sunday against Giants quarterback Eli Manning. It would greatly benefit a wounded Packers secondary.
“He doesn’t like to take sacks,” Perry said, “as you can see. He don’t take them very easy. He’s getting the ball out really quick, and we’ve got to do a good job of keeping pressure on him.”
Perry suggested he might name his cast “coming up real soon” if he keeps compiling sacks. While it hasn’t provided an advantage, Perry said it has helped him manage the pain from his broken left hand.
While it limits Perry, the cast can also be intimidating.
“Some guys are concerned." Perry said, "that I’m going to hit them. I’m going to whack them upside the head. Other than that, no, we’re good. I usually keep it clean.”
Leading the way: As they do every year, the Packers elected their playoff captains ahead of Sunday's game against the Giants.
The offensive captains are quarterback Aaron Rodgers and right guard T.J. Lang. Rodgers has been a playoff captain every year since 2009.
The defensive captains are outside linebacker Julius Peppers and safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
Kicker Mason Crosby and defensive back Micah Hyde are the captains on special teams.
"It definitely means a lot, just to get the respect of my teammates and my peers," said Clinton-Dix, who is a playoff captain for the first time. "You know, it means a lot to me."
Tough news: Cornerback Makinton Dorleant told PackersNews he tore his right ACL in Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions.
Dorleant, who played primarily on special teams since being brought back from injured reserve, felt his knee give way while trying to plant his leg on the turf at Ford Field.
The Packers placed Dorleant on IR again Wednesday to officially end his rookie year. Because of the nature of the injury, Dorleant is likely to miss most or all of next season.
Dorleant said this is the second ACL tear of his football career, one in each knee.
Injury report: CB Quinten Rollins (neck/concussion) and RB James Starks (concussion) were the only two players who did not participate in Thursday's practice, which was split between the Don Hutson Center and the outdoor fields.
The other changes to the injury report included RT Bryan Bulaga (abdomen) and OT Jason Spriggs (shoulder) dropping down from full participants Wednesday to limited participants Thursday; OLB Julius Peppers (rest) and ILB Joe Thomas (back) rejoining practice on a limited basis; and CB Damarious Randall (knee) bumping up from a limited role to a full participant.
The positive change in Randall's status suggests he will be available against the Giants barring a setback between now and kickoff.
There were no changes to the Giants' injury report.