Green Bay - Coach Mike McCarthy is about to get started with his press conference. We'll bring you the rundown of what is being said as soon as he starts:

• Jeremy Thompson (stinger) should practice when the team resumes next week;
• Justin Harrell just wasn't ready to be activated for the game;
• A number of guys will stay back to rehab during the bye week;
• The goal is to have a majority of our football team come off healthy after this bye week;
• But McCarthy couldn't say the Packers will be 100% after the bye.
• Aaron Rodgers had some more tests done to gauge where he is, and those were positive. He's one of the players that just needs to rest. When he'll throw again, they'll determine that next Monday.
• Woodson was as dialed in yesterday as he has been this season;
• The entire secondary did a better job of getting their hands on the defenders;
• Not sure whether or not Ryan Pickett will need a brace for his tricep after the bye.
• The 8-second timeout before halftime was "clearly my fault," McCarthy said. "I should have left 3 seconds on the clock." McCarthy said he didn't get the spot of the ball quick enough and didn't have enough time to take the shot (at the end zone) he wanted. He had one in mind.
• On Ryan Grant's fumbles: "Am I concerned? It needs to stop, there's no doubt about that. He's averaging about one a game." Grant's technique is fine, he just needs to do a better job.
• Chad Clifton stood out with his pass protection.
• "We're hopeful Al will be able to go (against Tennessee)."
  
• On whether he will do anything if the Brett Fave story is true: "I'm not going to do anything about it. I have no comment."
• McCarthy is happy Hawk only got to play two snaps because he needs this bye to get healthy. In hindsight it was a good move that he didn't play.
  

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Green Bay - The Packers are now 4-3 heading into the bye week after a very impressive drubbing of the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field.

Inside the locker room after the game, the players couldn't hide their happiness. They get a week off now and should be healed up and at full strength to deal with a tough second half of the schedule. And to think, some people thought the season was over two weeks ago. The lesson here: it's tough to win games in the NFL (hello Dallas in St. Louis today), but if you have talent and are coached well, that will eventually show through.

As to the big off-field news of the day, that former quarterback Brett Favre reportedly talked to Detroit Lions defensive coaches for over an hour to give them insight into what the Packers do on offense before the Week 2 matchup, this is what I know:

• According to two team sources, the Packers had heard "whispers" about Favre giving out inside information to other teams but didn't know the extent. The team is fairly irritated about it, but it was hardly a surprise. The only thing that caught them off guard was that it appears that Favre went out of his way to contact the Lions and possibly other teams to give them inside information;
• The Detroit Lions did not confirm nor deny the report. Coach Rod Marinelli said he was aware of the report and said "No comment," when asked about it. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry also did not deny the report.
  
• Most players didn't want to touch the topic with a 10-foot pole, including Favre's best friend on the team, Donald Driver. Left tackle Chad Clifton said, "I don't put much stock into (the report). I seriously doubt that happened. If it is (true), there's nothing you can do about it. I'm not going to get involved with it."
• Some players did speak about it. Some strongly.
• Defensive Cullen Jenkins: "I don't know if he's done it or not. It's one of those things, personally and I don't know the situation, but I just think it's kind of messed up how he left here. Hasn't talked to Aaron (Rodgers), wished Aaron good luck or anything or like that but he's called everybody else, called Tony Romo and stuff like that. I don't have nothing against Brett personally. But I think in his position, he could at least show a little more class, a little more respect to Aaron in that regard. If that was the case, if he did talk to the coaches, I could see if he told his coaches if they were going to play us. That's all right. But if you go out of your way to talk to another team, nah, I don't think that's right."
  
• Cornerback Charles Woodson: "He contacted them? I don't respect that. If they called him and he gives them information, that's one thing. But to seek a team out, because you know I guess you're trying to sabotage this team, you know I don't respect that. I know he's been the greatest player around here for a long time but there's no honor in that."
• Woodson was then asked if that stuff happened in the league. "You know I have no idea. I've never called a coach of another team and told them what was going to happen."
• Center Scott Wells: "That would be disappointing if that was the case. Definitely. But I try to stay removed from it. Obviously it didn't work out too well for 'em. We were still able to go out there and move the ball and win the game."
• Coach Mike McCarthy: "I would say it's disappointing. I'm not really in tune with the whole report and so forth. Jeff Blumb told me about it earlier. I really have no comment on that stuff."
  
• Supposedly Favre was not asked about the report after the Jets' overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders.
  

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Green Bay - Here we go:

Fourth quarter

• Looks like the Packers' defensive strategy, probably because of Plaxico Burress and the Giants, is to put a safety over the top of the best receiver. It has worked almost every week.
• The entire Colts sideline ran onto the field for a flag on the 4th-down play on Reggie Wayne with Brandon Chillar covering.
• That was some sorry Lambeau Leap for Aaron Rouse's first career touchdown. Of course, he went 99 yards to get it. We'll give him a break on that.
• Complete. Domination.
• 4-3 going into the bye week with some players coming back from injury. How are you guys feeling about the Packers now?
  

Third quarter

• Sorry for the delay. Was conducting a halftime interview.
• Great play by suddenly Big Play Nick Collins as his pick six gives the Packers a 24-7 lead.
• And then Johnny Jolly caps things off by blocking an Adam Vinatieri field goal. Nothing is going right for the Colts.
• As if things couldn't get worse for the Colts: Tim "My middle name is penalty" Jennings gives the Packers a first down on fouth down by simulating the snap.
• Curious play call, a left tackle run by Grant on 3rd-and-10, but the Packers get a field to lead 27-7. If Peyton Manning wasn't standing on the other sideline, I would have no problem with that call. Probably still don't. But I'd love to have as many points as possible against Manning.
• Manning might have been right about that 3rd-down non-call against Nick Barnett. He nailed Dominic Rhodes as he tried to go out for a pass. Might have been within 5 yards though.
  

Halftime thoughts

• Not much other to say the Packers are executing their gameplan -- control the ball on the ground and keep Peyton Manning off the field -- to almost perfection.
• Time of possession: GB 20:25, IND 9:35.
• First downs: GB 19, IND 7.
• Rodgers has completed 16 of 19 passes (84.2%).
• Ryan Grant has 19 carries for 91 yards (3.73).
  

Second quarter

• Great catch by Donald Lee for a touchdown, and a nice pass by Aaron Rodgers. But Grant made the play by decking Dwight Freeney at the line.
• The Packers don't do a very good job of disguising their blitzes. At all.
• The Packers' offensive line is just whupping the Colts up front. As long as Grant picks the right holes, he should have a huge day.
• Ryan Grant, this is the end zone. End zone, this is Ryan Grant. Been a while since you've seen each other. 17-7 Packers.
• Packers were in a zone on the Colts' 3rd-and-5. Even if Ryan Pickett didn't deflect it, Nick Collins was going to pick it off and return it for a touchdown.
• In the words of Mike McCarthy, "Whoa," when it came to Mason Crosby's missed field goal from 36 yards out right before halftime. Snap and hold were fine. Crosby just opened up early and pulled it left. Too bad. About the only bad thing in that first half.
  

First quarter

• Good sign: Ryan Grant for 14 yards on the first play. They have to run the ball to win this game on a windy day. 
• Another fumble by Grant. Korey Hall saves him.
• Wow, a run to the fullback. When was the last time Mike McCarthy called that?
• Packers get a 31-yard field goal to end the first drive. Even better: 6:54 of possession.
• Good try on a possible on-side kick. Mason Crosby just barely out-kicked Will Blackmon.
• That kind of back-fired however because the Packers were kicking into the 20 mph winds, which are gusting to 32. So Mason Crosby kicked the ball out of bounds. Instead of getting the ball at the 45-yard line, the Colts get it at the 30 thanks to a personal foul on S Jamie Silva.
• Over-riding point: try in the onside kick, but do it when you have the wind.
• LB Brandon Chillar is in the nickel defense to match up with Colts TE Dallas Clark, who already has a 9-yard catch.
• Legit personal foul against Tramon Williams.
• The Packers' defense is going to have to do better than that if they're going to win this game. 10 plays. 70 yards. 4 minutes. And it was much easier than that. They did watch film of the Colts before this game, right?
• Packers are double-teaming Colts DE Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.
  

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Green Bay -- Here are the inactives for the Packers-Colts game today (you will note defensive lineman Justin Harrell has not been activated):

Packers: S Atari Bigby, CB Al Harris, DE Jason Hunter, T Breno Giacomini, G Allen Barbre, WR James Jones and DE Michael Montgomery. Brian Brohm is the third quarterback.

That means the Packers will make these changes with theis starters: Jeremy Thompson starts at right defensive end for Montgomery and Aaron Rouse will start at strong safety for Bigby.

Inactives for the Colts: DB Bob Sanders, DB Kelvin Hayden, RB Joseph Addai, TE Gijon Robinson, LB Buster Davis, T Dan Federkeil, WR Roy Hall, DE Curtis Johnson.

The Colts will make these starting changes: On offense, Charlie Johnson will start at LT for Tony Ugoh, Jamey Richard at LG for Charlie Johnson, Mike Pollak at RG for Dan Federkeil. On defense, Tim Jennings will start at LCB for Hayden, Melvin Bullitt for Sanders.

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De Pere - In what could be a break for the Packers, the winds in the Green Bay area are the highest they have been all season.

I know this because my patio furniture is being bandied about and up until this point, I had no idea they could be blown away. The furniture is constantly rattling. Very annoying.

The forecast calls for gusts up to 30 mph from the southwest. At some point it will change to the north, but don't when that might be.

With RB Joseph Addai out, and the Colts' weakness against the run on defense, this has to be an advantage for the Packers. If Ryan Grant is ever going to be Ryan Grant again, this has to be the day.

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Green Bay - According to a report, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre spent 60-90 minutes on the phone helping the Detroit Lions prepare for his former team before their Week 2 matchup.

Jay Glazer of "Fox NFL Sunday" reported of  Favre's phone call to the Packers' NFC North Division rival today on the Fox pre-game show.

"Favre called the Detroit Lions, starting off with (former Detroit general manager) Matt Millen," Glazer said. "Matt Millen then put him in touch with the coaching staff and gave the coaching staff like an hour or a 90-minute dissertation, every single thing that the Green Bay Packers do on offense. It's his former team. He's calling a division opponent of a team he has nothing to do with any more and just let's loose all the family secrets. How about that?"

Here is the link to the story Glazer later posted:

http://nmsn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8694746/Sunday-Scoops:-Is-Favre-guilty-of-insider-trading?

The Packers wound up winning 48-25 in a game where the Lions came back to lead 25-24 at one point.

I'm going to reserve judgment on this until we hear from all sides -- profootballtalk.com poobah Mike Florio already wrote "Brett’s legacy with the Packers has officially been forever stained, if not completely destroyed," is this is true -- but this does not look good for Favre.

At the least, here Favre was, just a month from being traded to the Jets, struggling to learn a new playbook and teammates, leading a 1-0 (about to be 1-1 with a Week 2 loss to the Patriots, by the way) and he found the time to tutor the Lions on playing the Packers? Wonder how the Jets feel about that?

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Green Bay - When the injury report comes out later today, S Atari Bigby will be listed as doubtful, and both C Scott Wells and DT Ryan Pickett are questionable for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Bigby (hamstring) was thought to be on the way back but didn't make it through Thursday's practice fully. He did not participate today. Bigby will likely be held out so he can utilize the bye week for extra rest. Same goes for the other doubtful players: DE Jason Hunter (hamstring), WR James Jones (knee) and DE Michael Montgomery (knee).

"(Bigby) didn't finish practice yesterday. He worked through most of it. I talked to him afterwards, thought he had a chance today. But in his evaluation this morning, we ended up holding him, so it looks like he won't be back until after the bye week," coach Mike McCarthy said.

Both Wells (chest) and Pickett (tricep) should be able to go if the Packers can get them equipped in a way that will prevent further injury. They were limited in practice today.

Other than CB Al Harris (spleen), who is out for this game, all other injured players are probable.

McCarthy said no decision has been made yet as to whether DT Justin Harrell will be activated. The Packers will have to make a roster move (release or injured reserve) if Harrell is activated.

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Green Bay -- Safety Atari Bigby made his return Thursday after sitting out 4 1/2 weeks with a hamstring injury and looked to be running well.

Bigby took his run test Wednesday and apparently passed with no problem. He ran around with no hesitation and at one point gave injured receiver James Jones the thumbs up when Jones walked by the defensive drills.

Coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday that if Bigby practiced Thursday there was a good chance he would play on Sunday. It's unclear whether he'll start, but if he's physically OK, he'll definitely play.

Here are the rest of the updates from practice:

• Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (right shoulder) threw in several different drills, although it was apparent he wasn't doing what he normally would do in a practice. He looked to have good zip on the ball and didn't seem to be wincing in pain. When McCarthy has his press conference after practice, we'll know how much Rodgers threw during the closed portion of the workout.
• Center Scott Wells was not a participant through most of the jog-through and watched practice from the sidelines. It's unknown if he suffered an injury or was being given a rest.Left tackle Chad Clifton was held out of practice, meaning Daryn Colledge played left tackle, Allen Barbre left guard, Jason Spitz center and Josh Sitton right guard. Clifton is expected to play on Sunday.
• Cornerback Al Harris (spleen) worked again with the defensive backs during individual drills. He wore the same flak jacket he did yesterday
• End Jason Hunter (hamstring), nose tackle Ryan Pickett (triceps), end Michael Montgomery (ankle) and Jones all did not participate in practice.
• McCarthy had the team outdoors. It wasn't bad in the sun, but a lot of players had full sweats on.
• The players practiced without pads. Last week, McCarthy had them in pads both on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Green Bay - Former Packers front office exec Andrew Brandt has an interesting look at how Jerry Jones basically stops at nothing to get a player he wants over at the NationalFootballPost.com.

It's a glimpse into the mind of a guy that not only give up a first- and third-round pick to get Detroit Lions receiver Roy Williams, but also give him $20 million of guaranteed money in a new contract.

To illustrate the point, Brandt goes back to guard Marco Rivera's decision to leave the Packers for the Cowboys as an unrestricted free agent in 2005:

"Marco was a neighbor, a friend and a favorite of everyone at Lambeau Field.  He was someone we wanted to keep with the Packers, although at a price we were comfortable with.  As we negotiated prior to free agency with his agent, Jimmy Sexton, we felt our limits, with approximately 3M in bonus, were going to be reflective of the marketplace for Marco who, albeit a Pro Bowler, was about to turn 33.  That was before we knew who the suitors were going to be."

That would be Jones and Matt Millen of the Detroit Lions. You can guess how it ended:

When Sexton called me back an hour later, Marco's bonus was approaching 9M!  The impulsive and emotional nature of two of the league's biggest spenders, Matt Millen and Jerry Jones, had turned Marco Rivera into a wealthy man with a contract beyond his, his agent's and certainly our wildest expectations.

The decision was easy for us at the Packers.  Had we needed to stretch to a 4M bonus or the like, then difficult and thorny conversations about our limit and Marco's value would have happened.  However, it never got there.  When Sexton informed  me that the bidding over an hour had raised the bonus to over 9M, we wished Marco well.  That was not a hard decision at that point.

All that money would up buying 14 starts from Rivera, who suffered an unfortunate back injury.

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Green Bay - After reading about how Brett Favre called Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo recently to offer encouragement and advice as to how to deal with his pinkie fracture, you may have wondered whether Favre did the same with Aaron Rodgers as he dealt with his sprained shoulder.

Favre didn't.

Asked whether it bothered him Favre called Romo and not him, Rodgers said: "Nope. That doesn't really bother me. At all."

He then flashed a big smile. Read into it what you will.

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Green Bay - The Packers seem to have caught a break heading into Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.

According to the NFL Network, starting running back Joseph Addai will miss the next two to four games after suffering a partially torn hamstring. And former Michigan running back Mike Hart was put on injured reserve with a torn ACL.

That leaves Dominic Rhodes as the Colts' starting back heading into Sunday's game. The Colts have re-signed Clifton Dawson and elevated rookie Chad Simpson from the practice squad.

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Green Bay -- It appears the Green Bay Packers and one other NFL team had agreed on a third-round pick as compensation for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, but according to Gonzalez, Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson pulled out at the last second.

According to an NFL source, the Packers were the team Gonzalez was focusing on and preferred them over the other contender. He had approved a trade to Green Bay. It was up to the Chiefs, however, to determine where he would be traded.

Gonzalez told FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer that he was furious a deal didn't go down.

"Last night I talked to Carl and I point-blank asked him what it would take to get it done," Gonzalez said in an exclusive interview. "I wanted to know if it could happen with a fourth (-round pick). He started talking about a second and a fifth like the (Jeremy) Shockey deal. Nobody is going to trade a second for a 32-year-old tight end. All along Carl said he would do something that works for both parties. Then he talked about how he traded a third for Willie Roaf, and he made it pretty clear to me that's what was going to get it done. That was certainly fair.

"I know teams offered a third and in the end, Carl made the asking price a second. I'm very disappointed that he didn't go through with it after he told me he was going to try to make it happen. I've been around this league a long time, it's a business. There's nothing I can do about it. I was (ticked) off about it, but I'll get over it. I won't let it affect my play and my preparation."

During his Wednesday news conference, coach Mike McCarthy declined to say whether the Packers were close to a deal with the Chiefs, but two NFL sources said they were. One said that the Packers thought they had an agreement on a deal for a third-round pick, but were told late in the day that the price had gone up.

General manager Ted Thompson had the option of meeting the new price, but decided it was too much and let the trading deadline pass without a deal.

The trade didn't appear all that different than the one former Packers general manager Ron Wolf swung when he sent a second-round pick to Miami for tight end Keith Jackson and the fourth-round pick the Packers had sent the Dolphins for receiver Mark Ingram. Wolf made the trade with no conditions despite the fact Jackson had no intention of reporting to the Packers. Getting the fourth-round pick back lessened the value of the second-round compensation.

Jackson was 29 at the time of the trade, which occurred on March 30, 1995.

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Lambeau Field is the top-rated stadium in the National Football League, according to a fan survey conducted by SI.com.

It was the second year in a row that Lambeau won. This year, the home of the Green Bay Packers scored in the top five in each of the five categories.

Lambeau scored first among the fans in terms of affordability and food, second for tailgating, fifth for team quality, one for atmosphere and four for accessibility.

The rankings were based on how satisfied, on a scale of 1 to 5, each of the respective fan bases were with their game-day experience. More than 12,000 people filled out the survey, and about 30% called themselves season-ticket holders.
Pittsburgh's Heinz Field placed second with Denver's Invesco Field coming in third.

Here's the link to the story.

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