GREEN BAY -- It’s been an interesting day here at 1265 Lombardi Ave. Here’s what we’ve got:

> As we told you earlier, the Packers released safety Aaron Rouse – three days after he started against Cincinnati – in order to add street free agent safety Matt Giordano. We’ll have much more on this story later on ESPNMilwaukee.com and ESPNMadison.com.

> Coach Mike McCarthy went on an interesting rant at the end of his press conference, after I asked him how confident he was that the offensive line will rise to the challenge after two subpar weeks. His response?

“They're going to rise to the challenge, and they need to, and we all do. Starting with me. We're going down there to play football the way we're supposed to play football. Hey, we didn't play very good last week. That's last week, we're 1-1, and we're excited about this opportunity in St. Louis. We're going to line up and play just the way we did every day. Nothing is going to change. We're not changing any plays, any practice schedules, any linemen, any safeties. We're going down to St. Louis to win a game, and we're going to play our type of football. That's our approach.”

And with that, he said, “Thank you” and left the podium. It was almost like he was giving us reporters a pep talk. You probably want to see it for yourself, so click here.

> McCarthy said left tackle Chad Clifton (sprained ankle) will be out “a couple weeks. I would say he definitely won't be available this week and next week. That's probably something we'll need to visit after the bye.” The Packers play at Minnesota on Oct. 5 before their Week 5 bye.

It’s unclear who’s the back-up to fill-in left tackle Daryn Colledge. Rookie T.J. Lang, No. 2 right tackle Breno Giacomini and starting right tackle Allen Barbre are all options.

> McCarthy said he expects safety Nick Collins (chest) “is going to do everything he can to play. He was limited today as far as the actual official category he fell into, but he was out there today. I anticipate Nick will play but the week will answer that question.“

Collins was evasive when asked about his status.

“I’m day-to-day. If the doctors clear me, I’ll play. But I’m not in a rush. That’s all I can say about that,” he said. “I don’t know. I know you want me to give you a straight answer, but I can’t. Friday I’ll probably get re-evaluated and go from there. Right now I’m going to say I’m day-to-day.”

> Outside linebacker Aaron Kampman practiced with a cast on his right hand, which is bruised, not broken. Kampman said he won’t wear the cast Sunday at St. Louis.

> McCarthy said he hopes B.J. Raji will return after missing the first two games. Mindful of Raji’s unhappiness over being inactive for the first two games, McCarthy said, “I'm as excited as he is to see him get out and play, but he needs to be ready to go. We'll see how he does this week.”

> No. 2 halfback Brandon Jackson practiced Wednesday after missing the past two weeks.