We know tight end Andrew Quarless can block — at least when compared to Jermichael Finley. That prowess, combined with John Kuhn’s injury status, might make him the Green Bay Packers starting fullback on Sunday.
Stop us if this sounds familiar. Kuhn has… wait for it… a hamstring injury. Just like every other injured guy on the Packers roster.
Do they not know how to stretch these guys properly before the game?
Anyway, if Kuhn is out, Quarless will be the lead blocker for James Starks.
The good news is Quarless has had at least a little success in the role. He was the lead blocker on Starks’ 32-yard touchdown run against Washington. The bad news is, he doesn’t sound overly confident about the role.
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Quarless said of having to replace Kuhn. “Hopefully, Kuhn’s ready. He brings a lot to this team. He does a lot. We’re back their together in pass protection, he brings so much wisdom to this game. I would hope he’s not down. But if he is, we’re going to try to figure it out.”
Beyond trying to figure that out, Quarless says he’s still not back in game form after missing all of 2012 and most of the preseason.
“I’m still kind of warming up,” he said. “Practice can only get you prepared so much, so when those hats are flying around out there going full speed, it just helps you. It helps you more than practice reps. I think this firat quarter of the season is getting back to things for me.”
Kuhn’s status is up in the air as for right now, but we do know one thing. The Packers are going to have tough time running against the Bengals on Sunday, regardless of who the starting running back and fullback are.
They’re seventh in the league against the run and they’re giving up only 2.8 yards per carry. And yeah, part of the reason for that is they played Pittsburgh last week, but make no mistake.
Those creeps can roll.