Bye week bodes well for Packers

GREEN BAY - The Packers' 15-1 season comes with a few perks including home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and no game in the opening round.

That open week means extra preparation for the players and coaches.

Since coach Mike McCarthy took over in 2006, that’s been a very good thing. Green Bay is 7-1 under McCarthy when having a bye week or open date, including last year’s Super Bowl win over Pittsburgh.

The lone loss came in 2008, Aaron Rodgers' first year as a starter, when the Packers lost 19-16 in overtime to the Tennessee Titans.

Wide receiver Greg Jennings says the extra preparation time means the magnifying glass gets turned on.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the self scout," Jennings said. " We don't spend a lot of time on opponents. We spend even more time correcting ourselves and making sure we see our own loop holes and how we can correct them.”

Whether it’s a bye week or not, tight end Jermichael Finley says the attention to detail is what helps separate this team.

“Our coaches detail every aspect of the playbook," Finely said. ". We take our time with it and they go out and look at film from practice and back on the field. It's a great week for us to have off.”

To that end,  McCarthy was excited at his Wednesday press conference because his team had the chance to get outside and refresh itslef on the basics at this late point in the season.

“A huge part of it was fundamentals," McCarthy said. "The sun was out it was a great fundamental day; probably the best practice I can remember having this time of year. “

McCarthy added more time to game plan is the biggest benefit for the coaches but even more valuable is what this time off means to his players’ bodies.

“If I was to pick what the most important part, it's getting your players healthy,” he said.

Running back James Starks, one of the players who’s been nursing an injury, is definitely enjoying the added time off.

”It's a chance to just heal and get healthy again and go and do what we do best, play footbal,.” he said.

It’s also important to remain focused during this week says tackle Marshall Newhouse.

“Obviously, guys get back and get healthy and stay sharp and it's nice we've earned the right not to play this week but we also don't want to lose our edge,” he said.