GREEN BAY - Aaron Rodgers plans on playing next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, but the Green Bay Packers aren't so sure if their starting quarterback's injured right shoulder will cooperate.

Rodgers suffered what coach Mike McCarthy described as a shoulder sprain during Sunday's 30-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the coach also said Monday that a scan of Rodgers' throwing shoulder showed no major structural damage.

"Speaking with Aaron this morning, he has every intention on playing, but I think Wednesday's practice will be a pretty good indicator for us," McCarthy said, referring to the Packers' next practice day. "It's just something we'll have to continue to rehab and see where we are Wednesday."

McCarthy said how Rodgers recovers Thursday and whether he can practice again will also be a factor. Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said he wasn't sure how much practice time Rodgers could miss and still be effective in a game.

"We're in uncharted waters. It'd be a total guess. I have no idea," Philbin said.

"Until we go through it with him, I can't sit here and say, ‘All he needs is Friday and he'll be rip-roarin' ready to go.' That could be the case, but that may not be the case with him. I really don't know."

Asked whether Rodgers could play without being able to make all the throws required by the offense - say, being able to throw short-to-intermediate routes but not the deep ball, Philbin said, "I don't know. I don't imagine a manager in baseball would throw his pitcher out there if he only had a curveball."

Rodgers injured his shoulder when he was tackled from behind by safety Elbert Mack on a third-quarter scramble. He returned to throw a 48-yard touchdown to wide receiver Greg Jennings, and a loss-clinching interception when he failed to throw to his hot-read receiver on a fourth-quarter zone blitz by the Buccaneers, who held a 23-21 lead at the time.

Rookie seventh-round pick Matt Flynn, who won the backup job over rookie second-round pick Brian Brohm in training camp, completed just two of five passes for 6 yards and a 47.9 passer rating in Rodgers' place. Rodgers completed 14 of 27 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions for a season-low 55.9 rating.

Despite Rodgers' injury and Flynn's ineffectiveness, Packers general manager Ted Thompson said Monday night he had no intention of bringing in a veteran backup quarterback.

"We don't have any plans right now," Thompson said. "We're always looking at every position regardless, and we do that at quarterback and running back and receiver. We're always working on our emergency board."

And at this point, the Packers apparently don't feel they're in emergency mode.

They do, however, face a significant challenge not knowing the severity of Rodgers' injury: Getting Rodgers enough practice work to determine whether he can play against the Falcons while also getting Flynn enough snaps to be ready to play if necessary.

"That adds to the complexity, there's no question about it," Philbin said. "You're looking to start a rookie quarterback in the National Football League, you'd think he'd need a bunch of work."

Philbin suggested that the Packers "may have to be creative and look into alternative ways of getting guys ready," specifically with extra jog-through sessions during practice or walk-throughs inside the Lambeau Field gym.

"You don't have time to practice two game-plans," Philbin said. "You can't physically do it. So there's no sense even trying to do that."

That leads to another problem: Given the play-calling during Flynn's brief appearance against the Buccaneers, it would appear the staff isn't convinced he can make the plays necessary to win.

McCarthy said the staff would game-plan Monday night and today accordingly - "making sure both Matt and Aaron are ready to play," he said - but all involved allowed that the playbook would have to be scaled down somewhat if Flynn starts.

"I think Matt is comfortable with the type of volume we've had in our game plans," quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said. "We probably would reduce it a little bit, because we'd be in a situation where we wouldn't want him to win the game (by himself). He has to do what he's supposed to do. So you try to keep it on a scale that he's comfortable with and he knows in and out. And what that might be, we haven't quite determined yet. We'll see how it goes."

Rodgers, meanwhile, was receiving treatment in the training room during the media's locker room access period. He responded to a text message Monday night saying simply, "I'm doing OK."

"I saw him today; he seemed all right," Flynn said. "The same, old Aaron."

 By Jason Wilde

Capital Newspapers

GREEN BAY - Aaron Rodgers plans on playing next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, but the Green Bay Packers aren't so sure if their starting quarterback's injured right shoulder will cooperate.

Rodgers suffered what coach Mike McCarthy described as a shoulder sprain during Sunday's 30-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the coach also said Monday that a scan of Rodgers' throwing shoulder showed no major structural damage.

"Speaking with Aaron this morning, he has every intention on playing, but I think Wednesday's practice will be a pretty good indicator for us," McCarthy said, referring to the Packers' next practice day. "It's just something we'll have to continue to rehab and see where we are Wednesday."

McCarthy said how Rodgers recovers Thursday and whether he can practice again will also be a factor. Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said he wasn't sure how much practice time Rodgers could miss and still be effective in a game.

"We're in uncharted waters. It'd be a total guess. I have no idea," Philbin said.

"Until we go through it with him, I can't sit here and say, ‘All he needs is Friday and he'll be rip-roarin' ready to go.' That could be the case, but that may not be the case with him. I really don't know."

Asked whether Rodgers could play without being able to make all the throws required by the offense - say, being able to throw short-to-intermediate routes but not the deep ball, Philbin said, "I don't know. I don't imagine a manager in baseball would throw his pitcher out there if he only had a curveball."

Rodgers injured his shoulder when he was tackled from behind by safety Elbert Mack on a third-quarter scramble. He returned to throw a 48-yard touchdown to wide receiver Greg Jennings, and a loss-clinching interception when he failed to throw to his hot-read receiver on a fourth-quarter zone blitz by the Buccaneers, who held a 23-21 lead at the time.

Rookie seventh-round pick Matt Flynn, who won the backup job over rookie second-round pick Brian Brohm in training camp, completed just two of five passes for 6 yards and a 47.9 passer rating in Rodgers' place. Rodgers completed 14 of 27 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions for a season-low 55.9 rating.

Despite Rodgers' injury and Flynn's ineffectiveness, Packers general manager Ted Thompson said Monday night he had no intention of bringing in a veteran backup quarterback.

"We don't have any plans right now," Thompson said. "We're always looking at every position regardless, and we do that at quarterback and running back and receiver. We're always working on our emergency board."

And at this point, the Packers apparently don't feel they're in emergency mode.

They do, however, face a significant challenge not knowing the severity of Rodgers' injury: Getting Rodgers enough practice work to determine whether he can play against the Falcons while also getting Flynn enough snaps to be ready to play if necessary.

"That adds to the complexity, there's no question about it," Philbin said. "You're looking to start a rookie quarterback in the National Football League, you'd think he'd need a bunch of work."

Philbin suggested that the Packers "may have to be creative and look into alternative ways of getting guys ready," specifically with extra jog-through sessions during practice or walk-throughs inside the Lambeau Field gym.

"You don't have time to practice two game-plans," Philbin said. "You can't physically do it. So there's no sense even trying to do that."

That leads to another problem: Given the play-calling during Flynn's brief appearance against the Buccaneers, it would appear the staff isn't convinced he can make the plays necessary to win.

McCarthy said the staff would game-plan Monday night and today accordingly - "making sure both Matt and Aaron are ready to play," he said - but all involved allowed that the playbook would have to be scaled down somewhat if Flynn starts.

"I think Matt is comfortable with the type of volume we've had in our game plans," quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said. "We probably would reduce it a little bit, because we'd be in a situation where we wouldn't want him to win the game (by himself). He has to do what he's supposed to do. So you try to keep it on a scale that he's comfortable with and he knows in and out. And what that might be, we haven't quite determined yet. We'll see how it goes."

Rodgers, meanwhile, was receiving treatment in the training room during the media's locker room access period. He responded to a text message Monday night saying simply, "I'm doing OK."

"I saw him today; he seemed all right," Flynn said. "The same, old Aaron."