Team news: New York Jets | Page 77

Mike McCarthy understands why a certain segment of the Green Bay Packers fan base loves wide receiver Jeff Janis so much. After all, the Packers head coach likes the 2014 seventh-round draft pick’s talent and potential as much as anyone.

But, McCarthy said Thursday at the annual NFL Scouting Combine, although Janis certainly made a splash in preseason, he needs to make a jump in the offseason and develop his raw football talent in order to be a contributor in 2015.

And McCarthy believes that’s going to happen.

“I think Jeff is going to take a big step,” McCarthy said during a nearly hour-long session at a hotel restaurant with reporters who regularly cover the team. “He’s got a big catching radius, and he needs to utilize it. Obviously, I think we all saw his vertical speed. He’s an extremely physical young man. He’s an Olympian in the weight room. He’s got a lot of raw skill, and I look for him to make that jump.”

“I thought probably after Thanksgiving, I thought Jeff really picked it up [in practice]. He was more comfortable, and so I look for him to take a step. He’s got to play with extension. That’s the one thing he has to do a better job of. But you can see it on the scout team, and at the end of the year he was running some really good routes. Really good routes.”

This may explain why the Packers haven't already locked up Randall Cobb to a long-term deal. If he walks, the team will lack experience in its receiving corps, turning to Davante Adams and potentially Janis to play big snaps.

Greg Cosell compares Raiders QB Derek Carr to the rest of his rookie class...

I think Carr has the best combination of arm strength, pocket play and movement. He has a really good arm. There are times he snaps it off like Aaron Rodgers in the pocket.

Carr’s tendency to get rid of the ball short isn’t a bad thing. The Raiders’ sack numbers were way down. He didn’t stand there and hold the ball with a deer-in-the-headlights look. That tells me his processing was functioning. He didn’t always throw to the right guy, but he didn’t get stuck in the pocket. He struggled at times with lower body mechanics, but he had the instincts and feel of a pocket quarterback. And he showed progress with his lower body mechanics as the season went on.

Carr played well as a rookie, and as long as he progresses as he should in seeing things at the intermediate level, there’s a lot to like with him going forward.

Carr finished the season as the #20 QB in fantasy and averaged 12.5 FP per game. He'll be in the mix for QBBC and streaming strategies heading into the 2015 season.

Aaron Rodgers said his strained left calf felt "a little bit worse" after Sunday’s playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, but it was a whole lot better on Monday than it was the day after the Green Bay Packers quarterback re-injured it in the regular-season finale two weeks ago.

And with just six more days until Sunday's NFC Championship Game at the Seattle Seahawks, that's an encouraging sign for the Packers given that he had two weeks between the Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions and the playoff opener against the Cowboys.

"Aaron made it through the game very well," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. "Saw him today. He's getting better. I think he feels better at this time this week than he did last week."

It's a good sign for the Packers that Rodgers didn't suffer a setback against the Cowboys. Maybe he will have a bit more mobility against the Seahawks on Sunday.

Seattle has held Cam Newton to one touchdown in three games since 2012. What has been the key to that?

Seahawks beat writer Terry Blount: Newton shouldn't feel too bad. The Seahawks have made a lot of very good QBs look bad the past couple of years -- Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers this year in the season opener, to name two. But the biggest thing is they've done what I'm sure the Panthers want to do to Russell Wilson -- cut off his running lanes and force Newton to beat them throwing. Newton had 12 carries for only 24 yards in the game at Charlotte earlier this season. Forcing any QB to beat them just by passing is a chore against the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL, which has three Pro Bowlers in Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas.

Newton has averaged 146 passing yards and 35 rushing yards in his last three games against Seattle. He has thrown one touchdown pass and one interception (total) in those three games. Daily fantasy players should look elsewhere for a strong quarterback play.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers returned to the practice field for the first time since re-injuring his calf on Dec. 28 against Detroit, and during the team’s 11-on-11 work on Thursday, he took 50 to 60 percent of the snaps, according to Mike McCarthy.

“Aaron practiced in the team periods. He looked good,” McCarthy said. “He went down and did everything we asked him to do today. It’s always a better practice when he’s out there.”

The 50-60 percent was the target McCarthy set for Rodgers. He was officially listed as limited on the injury report.

According to Adam Schefter, Rodgers is dealing with a "slight tear" in addition to a "significant strain" in his calf. While it is worrisome that Rodgers hasn't practiced until today, he should be able to play at a high level against the Cowboys since he finished the game against the Lions and has 10 days of treatment and rest for his sore calf.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, dealing with an injured left calf, will be examined by Packers physician Dr. Patrick McKenzie on Wednesday. The Packers expect Rodgers to be cleared for at least limited participation in practice on Thursday, the most important day of the week for the offense.

Coach Mike McCarthy is not concerned about Rodgers not having a full amount of practice time this week. In 2008, his first season as a starter, Rodgers played despite not practicing for a month because of a shoulder injury. Since then, McCarthy said, Rodgers has been able to prepare despite missing practices.

Rodgers has played pretty well in the last two games after he put up a "stinker" against Buffalo in Week 15. That loss has put the Packers in a situation where they may have to go on the road (to Seattle) for the NFC Championship Game, but they have to beat a hot Dallas Cowboys team first. Rodgers should be ready to go after getting nearly two weeks of rest.

Even with three days off this week, there's a good chance Aaron Rodgers won't be ready to practice when the Green Bay Packers reconvene on Friday.

Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show that he has been getting treatment on his injured left calf muscle "around the clock" and indicated he may not practice until next week.

"I'm going to want to get some on-the-field reps starting next week when we get into our preparation when we figure out who our opponent is," Rodgers said on his show. "So I'm going to need to be on the field doing that, but it's a significant injury so you can't really say either way what percentage it's going to be in the game. I just don't know. But I hope it's going to be feeling better than it was this weekend."

Because they have the bye and don't play until Jan. 11 in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Packers won't have to file an official injury report until next week, so there's a good chance they will be vague about Rodgers' participation in practice on Friday and Saturday.

The Detroit Lions and Ndamukong Suh have been informed that the defensive tackle will be suspended for Sunday's wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Suh's punishment comes a day after he stepped on the leg of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Suh "unnecessarily stepped on [the] opponent's unprotected leg as he lay on the ground unable to protect himself," according to a statement released by the NFL.

Lions center Dominic Raiola, who himself returned from a one-game suspension Monday, defended Suh's actions.

"He was getting pushed back, you know," Raiola said. "... There's no way at that point in the game that he did something like that on purpose."

Lions safety James Ihedigbo said missing Suh will create a large void on defense.

"I don't know if you can put it into words," Ihedigbo said. "He's a dominant force in our defense. He's kind of the key centerpiece. We have faith in guys that can step up and fill that void and do the best job they can to get this win and help us out.