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Kuhn, Matthews, Shields, Manning earn game balls vs. Vikings

The coaching staff awarded four game balls from the NFC Wild Card playoff victory over the Vikings on Saturday night. They went to FB John Kuhn on offense, LB Clay Matthews and CB Sam Shields on defense, and rookie LB Terrell Manning on special teams.

Kuhn rushed for a 3-yard TD and caught a 9-yard TD pass, giving him both a rushing and receiving TD for the second time in his career in a playoff game, a first in franchise history. He also scored for the fourth consecutive postseason, the only player in the NFL who can make that claim.

Matthews had two sacks, including a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the second one. The two sacks accounted for 18 lost yards as Matthews had the second two-sack playoff game of his career. The only other player in franchise history to accomplish that is Reggie White.

Shields was credited by the press box statisticians with seven tackles, a team high. He also broke up two passes and had an interception, the third of his career in the postseason.

Manning was credited with two coverage tackles, bringing down Minnesota returner Marcus Sherels on both the first kickoff and first punt of the game. Manning also helped to separate Sherels from the ball when he muffed a punt in the fourth quarter.

Walden returns to practice Thurs., Kuhn sits out

LB Erik Walden (ankle) returned to practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday’s workout, but FB John Kuhn was added to the absence list.

Kuhn was not on the injury report on Wednesday, so an update from Mike McCarthy will be coming after practice.

Otherwise, the participation at practice on Thursday was essentially unchanged from Wednesday.

Post-practice update: Kuhn’s absence was “not injury related,” according to McCarthy, while OL Greg Van Roten was added to the injury report with a back injury. He was limited in practice, but the injury isn’t something the medical staff is overly concerned about.

With Van Roten, T.J. Lang (concussion, illness) and Jeff Saturday (neck/shoulder) all dealing with issues, the offensive line was a little shorthanded at practice, but McCarthy didn’t sound worried. He said Saturday could potentially return to practice on Friday, and he anticipates Lang being cleared by Sunday. Lang hasn’t passed the concussion protocol yet, but he wasn’t able to proceed with any testing on Thursday because he had the flu.

Six Packers lead NFC Pro Bowl fan voting at their positions

Led by QB Aaron Rodgers, who earned the fifth-most votes overall in the recently concluded fan voting for the Pro Bowl, six Packers pulled in the most votes at their respective positions.

The other position leaders in the NFC are FB John Kuhn, C Jeff Saturday, KR Randall Cobb, OLB Clay Matthews and SS Charles Woodson.

Voting by the players and coaches has not yet been tabulated. Fan voting counts one-third in the selection process for the Pro Bowl rosters, which will be announced next Wednesday.

As the top NFC QB, Rodgers finished fifth overall in the fan voting with 777,827 votes. Leading the way was Broncos QB Peyton Manning (993,045), followed by Patriots QB Tom Brady (980,099), Texans RB Arian Foster (829,591) and Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (828,255).

Six players earn game balls vs. Chicago

The Packers coaching staff awarded game balls to a half dozen players following the 21-13 victory over Chicago that clinched the NFC North title for Green Bay.

On special teams, FB John Kuhn was the game-ball recipient.

On offense, QB Aaron Rodgers and WR James Jones earned game balls. Rodgers completed 23 of 36 passes for 291 yards with three TDs, all to Jones. Rodgers posted a 116.8 passer rating.

Jones enjoyed the first three-TD game of his career, catching five passes for 60 yards in all. Jones now has 12 TD receptions on the season, a total that leads the league and is his career high.

On defense, LBs Clay Matthews and Brad Jones, plus CB Sam Shields, all were awarded game balls.

Matthews, returning from a four-game injury absence, had two sacks to raise his team-leading total to 11. He also had two other tackles for loss and deflected a pass.

Jones led the team with eight total tackles, according to the press box statistics, and was involved on back-to-back run stops at the goal line in the third quarter. Jones also was credited with two passes defensed.

Shields engaged in a game-long physical battle with Bears WR Alshon Jeffery and ended up shutting the rookie out. Shields was credited with three passes defensed, and he also drew three offensive pass interference penalties on Jeffery, who did not have a catch in the game.

Benson officially out for season

Mike McCarthy announced on Thursday that RB Cedric Benson had surgery on his injured foot Wednesday and would remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

When Benson initially injured the foot in Week 5 in Indianapolis, he was placed on IR with the designation to return. But that return now won’t happen. Benson said as recently as two weeks ago that he was going to be able to avoid surgery, but in the end, it was necessary.

That leaves the Packers with three healthy running backs in James Starks, Alex Green and John Kuhn.

“I feel we have a good rotation,” McCarthy said. “It’s really just finding the things they all do well, and playing to that and having them in sync with the run-blocking unit. I thought the way we started last game, and Arizona was a good game. If we can find that rhythm, it will definitely benefit us.”

Last week against the Giants, the aforementioned trio plus Randall Cobb combined for 40 rushing yards on 10 carries in the first half, a solid 4.0 average. But trailing 31-10 at halftime, the Packers were forced to get away from the run. Against Arizona before the bye, Starks and Green combined for 114 yards on 28 carries (4.1 avg.).

“We just need to pick up our end now,” Kuhn said. “I don’t think there’s just one in particular key. I think everybody just needs to detail their job – the line, the running backs, the wide receivers. The running game isn’t just the running back position. Every position falls into it.”

Aaron Rodgers ranks fourth overall in Pro Bowl voting

Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers ranks fourth in the Pro Bowl voting amongst all NFL players, according to the league.

Broncos QB Peyton Manning has the most votes, with 586,523, followed by Patriots QB Tom Brady (534,020), Texans RB Arian Foster (519,261), Rodgers (485,196) and Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (484,227).

In addition to Rodgers, four other Packers lead the NFC voting at their respective positions. They are FB John Kuhn, C Jeff Saturday, OLB Clay Matthews and S Charles Woodson.

Pro Bowl voting continues through Monday, Dec. 17, and counts one-third in the selection process for the annual all-star game. Fans can vote by clicking here.

The Pro Bowl rosters will be announced at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Dec. 26, on NFL Network’s “Total Access”.

The 2013 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 and televised live on NBC at 6 p.m. CT from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Shields coming along; Nelson, Kuhn ready to play

Mike McCarthy said on Thursday that he likes the progress CB Sam Shields is making as he comes back from shin and ankle injuries, but it doesn’t sound like Shields will play much, if at all, on Sunday.

Shields was taking snaps as a receiver on the offensive scout team, which is an indication he’s working his way back but isn’t being pegged for a key role on defense just yet. Shields returned to practice for the first time on Monday after missing the last three games. Thursday was the most work Shields has done in practice thus far.

“That’s what he needs, he needs to get out there and put that foot in the ground,” McCarthy said. “I definitely felt that starting Monday to today, he looked much better.”

Elsewhere on defense, DE Mike Neal (ankle) was a limited participant in practice, but he “looked good,” according to McCarthy. “We’ll see how he responds tomorrow, but I like what I saw from Mike Neal.”

On the offensive side, WR Jordy Nelson (hamstring, foot) and FB John Kuhn (hamstring) were both limited participants in practice, but both players told reporters in the locker room they fully expect to play.

Nelson said he spent the bye week in Green Bay getting treatment on his ankle and foot so that he could return to practice this week, and he said everything “feels great.” Kuhn admitted it was eating away at him to miss a couple of games, but he’s ready to go now.

“I thought John looked really good,” McCarthy said. “I watched him throughout the blitz pickup, third down and red zone.”

TE Andrew Quarless, on the other hand, sat out practice. McCarthy said it’s expected Quarless’ knee will not be healthy enough to practice on certain days, and Thursday “was one of those days.” The practice was in full pads.

Kuhn practicing Wed. but Matthews, Neal not

FB John Kuhn, who has missed the past couple of games with a hamstring injury, was back on the practice field on Wednesday.

LB Clay Matthews and DE Mike Neal, however, were not practicing in the portion of the workout open to the media. CB Charles Woodson and WR Greg Jennings continue to sit out as well.

Mike McCarthy will address reporters after practice at the top of the hour.

Nelson, Kuhn, McMillian not practicing Friday

WR Jordy Nelson and FB John Kuhn were not on the practice field on Friday during the portion of the workout open to the media. Mike McCarthy said earlier in the week that Nelson and Kuhn, who are both nursing hamstring injuries, might practice on Friday, but their absence puts their status for Sunday’s game in serious doubt.

Also, S Jerron McMillian was only observing practice on Friday but was not doing any drills. McMillian has not been on the injury report all week, so he’ll have to be added today. If McMillian is unable to play on Sunday, and with Charles Woodson already out, the Packers would have to turn to CB Jarrett Bush as the dime defensive back when the defense goes to six DBs.

McCarthy will have the final injury update after practice.

Greg Jennings’ surgery happening this week

Mike McCarthy didn’t discuss the specifics, but he said WR Greg Jennings would have his surgery for a torn abdominal muscle in Philadelphia sometime this week.

Jennings was originally scheduled to have the surgery on Tuesday, but it was postponed due to superstorm Sandy. Jennings said last week that he would be able to begin his rehab as soon as the procedure is completed, but he wasn’t putting a timetable on his return, other than to say he hopes to be back in 2012.

In other injury news, WR Jordy Nelson and FB John Kuhn are both dealing with hamstring injuries and are expected to rehab both Wednesday and Thursday, with the possibility that they could practice on Friday if all goes well.

Also, DL Jerel Worthy (concussion) is going through the standard medical protocol and was “feeling a lot better today than he was yesterday,” according to McCarthy