GREEN BAY -- Everyone knew there was something special about the kid from the first day of Packers' training camp last year.

But even coach Mike McCarthy has to admit he's "surprised" by the path of cornerback Tramon Williams, who went to Louisiana Tech as a walk-on, wasn't drafted coming out of college, bounced around from tryout to tryout and has gone from practice-squad afterthought to key contributor during his time in Green Bay.

"He really has come out of nowhere in a sense compared to the normal path," said McCarthy, who also called Williams "a great surprise" and "a true testament" to the value of hard work.

"We feel very comfortable letting him step in there and play. I'm excited for him, and we won't even blink with him in there.

"His work ethic has just been tremendous. And now he gets the opportunity that every young player is looking for."

An opportunity that may last the rest of the year, or may not.

With Pro Bowl cornerback Al Harris sidelined with a lacerated spleen -- an injury that will keep Harris out of Sunday's game at Tampa Bay but not necessarily for the rest of the season -- it's Williams who'll move into the starting lineup opposite the Packers' other veteran corner, Charles Woodson.

Despite the seriousness of Harris' injury, the Packers aren't ruling out his return to the field sometime later this season. Although Harris' streak of playing in 175 consecutive regular- and post-season games will end Sunday, McCarthy said "there's a good chance" Harris, who received third and fourth opinions from specialists across the nation Wednesday, won't require surgery.

"It's a serious injury. I think that's obvious to everybody," McCarthy said. "We will take a cautious approach. We're talking about an internal injury -- it's not a hamstring or something (typical).

"If Al was standing here, he'd tell you he wants to play this week. That's how he feels. But once again, it's not a normal injury. It's a different type of injury. But I'm hopeful he'll be back."

In the meantime, Williams will start; Will Blackmon will serve as the third cornerback and rookie Pat Lee, inactive for the first three games, will make his NFL regular-season debut Sunday. General manager Ted Thompson said despite the injury epidemic in the secondary -- in addition to Harris, Woodson (toe) and safeties Atari Bigby (hamstring), Nick Collins (back) and Aaron Rouse (knee) all appear on the injury report -- he has no plans to add depth.

That's in part due to the emergence of Williams.

Williams spent the final five weeks of the 2006 season on the practice squad, then burst onto the scene on the first day of the 2007 training camp, breaking up three deep passes to grab everyone's attention.

Then, in the annual Family Night Scrimmage, he intercepted a pass in the end zone during the 2-minute drill and also had three tackles, including the hardest hit of the night. Afterward, he confidently grabbed the post-event interviewer's microphone as he spoke to the crowd, basking in the pre-fireworks glory.

He wound up making the roster coming out of camp and consistently contributed all season, from his 94-yard punt return for a touchdown against Carolina to his performance against Detroit in the regular-season finale, when he collected his first NFL interception and broke up two other passes. He was then the Packers' nickel corner throughout the playoffs.

Not bad for a kid who signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech -- despite leading the nation with 19 passes defended (including three interceptions) as senior in 2005 -- and tried out for almost a dozen teams before catching on with the Packers.

All Williams needed, really, was that first opportunity, which arrived on Nov. 29, 2006, when the Packers added him to the practice squad after almost three months of workouts for NFL teams.

"Actually as soon as I got released from Houston, I came here. It was the first workout I came to,'' Williams said, standing in the Packers' plush locker room. ``That was that first week (of September). Then I went to Atlanta. Jacksonville. ... Where else did I go? ... Carolina. Philly. Chicago. Pittsburgh.

"Every week, it's the same thing. They book you a ticket. They fly you in that Monday night. You work out on Tuesday. And then you're right back out. Each and every week.''

And each and every week, no contract. After every workout, Williams returned to his Tech campus apartment in Ruston, La., kept working out at the Bulldogs' facility ... and kept hoping.

"It definitely got frustrating. But I was just thankful for the workouts,'' Williams said, joking that he's not sure how many frequent flier miles he racked up during the ordeal. "Because there's a lot of people who, after they get cut, don't get nothin'. At least I was going on workouts every week.''

And on Thanksgiving Day, it finally happened. The Packers called, offering him a spot on the practice squad, which Williams happily accepted. He made an immediate impression on cornerbacks coach Lionel Washington, D-ing up Pro Bowl receiver Donald Driver in practice and not backing down.

Now, he'll have to do the same for as long as Harris is sidelined.

"You know how long a road it's been, but it's a big opportunity. I'm looking forward to it," Williams said. "I've always been a confident guy. I mean, I always have to work my way up, from college on up. Walked on in college, had to work myself up there, came in here. It was never a problem for me to always work.

"I didn't come in this morning feeling any different. Even though Al went down -- and it's a shame he went down that way -- I don't feel any different. It's a shame it had to go down like that. But now somebody has to step up and I'm in line. And I'm ready for the opportunity."
 


Rodgers ready: While quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn't happy with his performance in last Sunday night's loss to Dallas, the Packers see it as another positive step in the first-year starter's development.

Although Rodgers acknowledged Wednesday that he didn't play well against the Cowboys -- he was 22-for-39 for 290 yards without a touchdown or interception for an 80.1 rating but was sacked five times and was unable to use his mobility to make plays -- offensive coordinator

Joe Philbin said it could have been a lot worse.

The Packers had four three-and-out possessions during the game, twice having back-to-back possessions that failed to gain a first down. And Philbin said Rodgers showed significant progress during those four series, even though they were unproductive.

"When you analyze the game, the three-and-outs back-to-back, a young player can get frustrated that the offense is bogging down where he says, `I've got to make a play, I've got to do something,' and maybe you get out of the system and try to do too much," Philbin said.

"But we felt he exhibited pretty good discipline in that regard. He wasn't throwing the ball up for grabs to the other guys, he was executing his assignments well. There were a couple he can learn off of, but overall, we thought he was pretty solid.

"It wasn't perfect, but we thought it was pretty good."
Rodgers, though, expects more Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Although his role as Brett Favre's successor led to questions Wednesday about how he'll bounce back after such a strong start to the season (42 of 60, 506 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, 117.8 passer rating), Rodgers doesn't see it as an issue.

"You need to respond. It's going to be a good test for our team," Rodgers said. "We're a young team, we faced a little bit of adversity against Dallas, we got beat, we're 2-1, (and now) we're playing a big game against a good team that's won two in a row.

"(But) it's just another game. We want to win -- not to win to prove anybody wrong or to bounce back. We want to win because we want to win every game."

Line dancing: For the first time since the NFC Championship Game in January, the Packers will have their normal starting five on the offensive line for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay.

Coach Mike McCarthy said center Scott Wells, who missed most of training camp and the first two regular-season games with a pinched nerve in his lower back, will start against the Buccaneers after suiting up but not playing in last week's loss to Dallas.

"Everyone wants to go out and play with the iron five approach, for the continuity. I think that's what everybody seeks," McCarthy said, adding that if he does rotate other linemen in, it will be "in a very limited sense."

Health watch: Of the 10 players listed on the injury report, a whopping five were defensive backs -- Al Harris (spleen), Atari Bigby (hamstring), Nick Collins (back), Aaron Rouse (knee) and Charles Woodson (toe). Harris has been ruled out, Woodson has played each of the past two games despite not practicing all week long, and at this point Collins and Rouse are more likely to play than Bigby.

Despite the number of casualties, cornerback Will Blackmon said the young backups can do the job.

"We are very confident. We're a confident, arrogant group. We're good," Blackmon said. "We're not concerned. Obviously it's two Pro Bowl cornerbacks going through some stuff, but we prepare so they don't have to miss a beat, they don't have to change the defense. We're good."

At receiver, James Jones (knee) took part on a very limited basis, while Ruvell Martin (finger) was removed from the injury report even though he continues to practice with a cast on his hand. Martin is expected to replace Jones on the active game-day roster after missing the last two games.

"My knee is sore, I can't lie about that," Jones said. "I don't want to go out there 85 percent or 90 percent when we can have a guy out there who's 100 percent."

Halfback Ryan Grant (hamstring) isn't listed on the injury report for the first time this season. He practiced fully on Wednesday and should do so all week.

"He was a little rough (Wednesday), I'm not going to deny that," McCarthy said. "He needs a full week of work, but we've got to be smart too. We'll take it day-to-day."

Gruden has no regrets: Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said during a conference call with Wisconsin reporters that he has no regrets about pursuing a trade for Brett Favre this summer. Favre was eventually traded to the New York Jets, who made the Packers a better offer.

"It was an exciting time, to be honest with you," said Gruden, who has demoted former starter Jeff Garcia and will start Brian Griese again this week. "We did have an opportunity to talk, and I don't care what anybody says, I've got tremendous of respect for that guy. The media played it up like it was a life-threatening situation. But we know what we have here, we looked into a situation, we would've been foolish not to in my opinion.

"We're glad it worked out the way it did. Brett evidently got what he wanted, we're happy with who we have and we feel good about at least putting the time and the research into the situation."