My Ryan Grant Blog

Do you approve of the Packers starting rookie Frank Zombo at outside linebacker?

Green Bay — Having been present and accounted for every practice since the middle of August, Green Bay Packers linebacker Frank Zombo has earned a level of trust that banged-up teammate Brad Jones hasn't.

As a result, Zombo will make his second consecutive start Sunday against Detroit.

Zombo was a surprise starter against Chicago Monday night after Jones had been limited in practice all week with a knee injury and was listed as questionable on the injury report. Coach Mike McCarthy held out hope at the end of the week that Jones would play, but he made him one of the inactives against the Bears.

Zombo got the call over Brady Poppinga, who also had knee issues during the week. On Wednesday, Jones was a full participant in practice, but Zombo is slated to start.

"It is something we have talked about here since I have arrived," McCarthy said Wednesday. "You have to be available and you need to be accountable, and Brad is going through an injury situation right now.

"I'm not sure if he is healthy enough to play Sunday, so we're going to play the prepared players. We're going to play the experienced players."

Jones has been battling injuries since the first day of training camp when he hurt his back. He missed four days with that and then another 11 days and two exhibition games with a shoulder problem.

McCarthy has grown increasingly frustrated with holding positions open for players he hopes will be ready Sunday. He decided this week that unless it's a position held by a longtime veteran (for example, left tackle Chad Clifton), he's going to go with what he's got.

"I felt as a staff, particularly the last two weeks, that we have been way too up-and-down during the course of the week of trying to prepare players based on their health situation," McCarthy said. "It was addressed today (with the team), the ability to prepare and play the prepared player over going back and forth all week. Frank Zombo is the starting outside linebacker today."

Going with Zombo wouldn't be a slam-dunk if the undrafted free agent from Central Michigan hadn't played as well as he did against the Bears. Zombo played both outside linebacker positions, moving whenever defensive coordinator Dom Capers wanted to shift Clay Matthews to the right side.

Zombo had a sack and pressured Bears quarterback Jay Cutler several times, nearly making a game-changing play with his hit on Cutler, which hurried him into throwing an interception. Zombo, however, was called for a personal foul for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cutler, erasing the turnover

It's likely Zombo will be fined by the league, but he did enough to impress more than a couple of people with his pass rush. He has two sacks and a quarterback hit in less than five quarters of play.

"I thought Frank played very well," Matthews said. "He's young and he's only going to continue to get better. I know with myself, I was watching Detroit film from last year and it wasn't very good.

"I had a few moves here and there, but I think overall as a pass rusher and outside linebacker I feel like I'm light years ahead of where I was last year. I think the same goes for him, being a young guy starting on 'Monday Night Football.' He really got after it. He was physical, made some plays. I think we're happy where he's at."

After back-to-back three-sack games, Matthews found the path to Cutler congested with blockers, some of whom he said went to great lengths to shield him from the quarterback. That kind of attention is going to be the norm for teams that don't think they have adequate personnel to block Matthews one-on-one most of the time.

Despite being shadowed, Matthews had two hits on Cutler, caused two holding penalties and was in Cutler's face a couple of more times.

"There was one play that was comical," Matthews said of the attention he got. "I ran upfield, I beat the tight end and I felt like I was getting some pressure. On the sidelines I saw the (video) screen captured (it); there were three guys running after me."

That's where Zombo comes into play. Every great 3-4 team has two outside linebackers who complement one another, and while Matthews is the designated sack guy, the linebacker on the right side often has a clearer path to the quarterback.

A defensive end at Central Michigan, the 6-3, 254-pound Zombo has the build of a 3-4 outside linebacker and has made a quick transition to his new position. His pass rush is better than Jones', but he has to prove himself stopping the run and dropping into coverage.

Against the Bears, Zombo thought he fared well considering it was his first start.

"I found out midweek I was going to start and I felt confident in this position and me playing it," he said after the game. "I thought I did fairly well. Had a few (quarterback) hits. I felt like I was prepared."

Matthews said he'd be happy to have Zombo as his new running mate at outside linebacker, the same as he would Jones or Poppinga, especially if Zombo can begin to consistently win the one-on-one matchups.

The defense seemed to be a sack, forced fumble or interception away from beating the Bears, and Zombo will be in a good position to make that happen in future weeks.

"It's my responsibility to take him under my wing and help him go through the same process I went through, and kind of bring him up to speed," Matthews said. "But he knows what he's doing. That's the great thing about him. I don't really need to help him out very much.

"I can give him little bits of what I do here and what I do there, but ultimately he knows what he's doing, so it really comes down to what he's going to do."