GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy isn't giving receiver Koren Robinson the green light just yet.
McCarthy said after practice Saturday that he would probably wait until game day to decide whether to activate Robinson for the Packers' contest at Denver on Monday night.
</center> Has anyone outside of Green Bay noticed that the
Packers have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games dating back to last season? They are only giving up 14.9 points per game in this 10-game stretch. Brett Favre has thrown 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in that span, so it's more about the defense than the offense. Can the
Packers beat the
Broncos this week in Denver?
** More ...**
"It's a combination of (a lot of) things," McCarthy said.
Robinson went through his first week of practice after being reinstated by the NFL last week after he served a one-year suspension for a repeat violation of the league's substance-abuse policy.
The sixth-year veteran had prepared for his return to football by working out at a sports-training facility in Arizona the last two months.
Robinson rejoined the Packers on the practice field Monday considerably fit, as well as agile after having a balky right knee surgically repaired while he was suspended.
Yet, in the course of Green Bay's long practice week, Robinson was rusty in getting acclimated again to the Packers' offense.
"The timing and the spacing and the releases in the passing game, his ability to see the different coverages that we anticipate seeing from the Broncos on Monday night, getting him exposed to all of that in a short period of time, that's a tall order," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said.
Robinson, a 2005 Pro Bowl selection as a kick returner with Minnesota, also had a few drops in kickoff-return drills this week.
Special teams coordinator Mike Stock is in favor of using Robinson in tandem with Tramon Williams on kickoff returns Monday but is deferring to McCarthy for the final decision.
"If he's ready to go, if everybody thinks they're happy about the receiver situation and the head coach is happy about his role as an offensive player, then we'd be good," Stock said.
A full workload at the outset of the week caused Robinson to experience general soreness Wednesday and Thursday.
"He looked better out there today, but it was a (modified) practice, too," McCarthy said. "I'll talk to him again in the morning, and we'll see where he is physically."
McCarthy believes Robinson is physically ready to return to game action for the first time since Oct. 8, 2006, but acknowledged that other factors would weigh in.
"It's a combination of Koren being ready. It's a combination of the plan for the game. Also, you factor in special teams," McCarthy said.
The Packers were granted a temporary roster exemption for Robinson to get a feel for where he's at as a football player after the suspension.
If they decide to activate him Monday, a player would have to be cut from the 53-man roster. McCarthy might be compelled to use Robinson right away because No. 4 receiver Ruvell Martin is questionable with a sore lower back.
Martin practiced Saturday after having three straight days off but isn't sure whether he'll be held out Monday.
"I told them (the back) felt good," Martin said. "Whichever decision they go, great. Hopefully, we get a win out of it."
NOTES: McCarthy anticipates having C Scott Wells back in the starting lineup Monday, although he didn't practice the last two days because of a sinus infection. Wells missed the last game with a fractured eye socket. Jason Spitz, who filled in for Wells in the game and the past two days in practice, is expected to make the start at right guard. ... DE Cullen Jenkins participated in the full practice Saturday after being out most of the week because of a sprained ankle. He is questionable to play Monday. "Both (defensive coordinator) Bob (Sanders) and (trainer) Pepper (Burruss) felt that he's really improved this week as the week went on. So, we're hopeful that he can go," McCarthy said.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
