GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The unbeaten Green Bay Packers are hoping their receiving corps will be at full strength against the San Diego Chargers.
Coach Mike McCarthy expects receivers Greg Jennings and James Jones, two of 17 players listed on the Packers' injury report this week, to play Sunday against San Diego. Jennings and Jones have sore hamstrings and were limited in practice Friday.
The team listed both players as probable on the injury report.
"When that ball is kicked off Sunday, I'm not going to be thinking about hamstring injuries," McCarthy said after practice.
Jennings, the club's No. 2 receiver, has yet to play this season for the 2-0 Packers. The medical staff purposely kept Jennings out of practice for most of this week in an effort to preserve him for this weekend.
"Especially being a receiver, hamstring injuries with your perimeter players, it's important to get them back to 100 percent because if you don't, you're in a continuous pattern that you don't want to be in as far as him (being) up and down," McCarthy said. "He was chomping at the bit earlier in the week, but we stuck with the program ... of just making sure we're getting these guys back to 100 percent. It looks that it's worked."
Jones, a rookie who started in Jennings' absence, was back on the field Friday after dropping out of the early portion of practice Thursday with an apparent pulled hamstring. Jones claimed Friday that he didn't get hurt.
Instead, Jones said McCarthy became protective after he said he felt some tightness in his hamstring during the team's jog-through.
"It was Coach just being scared and nervous. It wasn't nothing about my hammy," Jones said. "That's why I told Coach I'm never telling him anything again. I was out there in warmups, and I said, Coach, it's a little cold out here, I'm going to go over here and stretch, my hammy is a little tight.' The next thing I know, all the trainers are running up on me, and Coach is like,Get him out. Get Jones out of practice.' I'm like, 'I'm 100 percent, I just need to stretch.' It was crazy."
The Packers' list of injured players is abnormally extensive for early in the season. After Jones was added Thursday, the team included rookie linebacker Desmond Bishop on the injury report Friday.
Bishop, a contributor on special teams, sprained a shoulder in the Packers' win over the New York Giants last Sunday. He aggravated the injury Thursday and is questionable.
Cornerbacks Al Harris (back) and Charles Woodson (hip) practiced for the first time this week and are considered probable for the game.
Running back Vernand Morency likely will be out for the third straight game because of a lingering knee injury. Morency is doubtful on the injury report.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
