Nearly two months later, tailback Ryan Grant's training camp holdout is still impacting the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers are heading into their third game of limiting Grant's playing time and carries because of a sore hamstring he developed shortly after reporting to camp. Grant has carried 27 times for a team-leading 112 yards, but 76 of those yards came on two runs in the season opener against Minnesota -- meaning he averaging 1.4 yards per carry on his other 25.

Part of the problem, as Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal points out, is that defenses have rightly guessed that Grant is getting the ball when he is in the game. According to Wilde, Grant carried on 15 of the 21 snaps he played on Sunday against at Detroit. His final line: 15 carries for 20 yards.

On the other hand, backups Brandon Jackson and Kregg Lumpkin combined for 80 yards on eight carries against the Lions.

Coach Mike McCarthy said the team is "conscious" of predictability issues when Grant is in the game but added "I'm not as concerned about it" as Sunday night's game against Dallas approaches. Whether that means Grant has turned a corner in his rehabilitation -- or if coaches have determined Jackson and/or Lumpkin are ready for more consistent work -- remains to be seen.

Elsewhere around the NFC North this morning:

• Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette analyzes how left tackle Chad Clifton has been impacted by an officiating change that requires the referee to watch the blindside tackle. By coincidence or otherwise, Clifton already has tied his career high with three holding penalties this season.
• New Minnesota quarterback Gus Frerotte, speaking to the St. Paul Pioneer Press about his strong arm: "To be honest with you, every quarterback wants to throw the deep ball, complete the long pass. I mean, that's exciting. It's a lot of fun. That's what people love. You watch ESPN, and people throw the deep ball, and that's what's on there. But the exciting part is scoring, and leading the offense, the camaraderie of the game, the emotions of the game. All of that intertwined."
• Frerotte might not have one of the Vikings' better receiving options Sunday against Carolina. Second-year player Sidney Rice, who sprained a posterior cruciate ligament last week against Indianapolis, hardly practiced this week, according to the Star Tribune.
• Chicago defensive tackle Tommie Harris has been relatively quiet in the first two games with one tackle and no sacks. By this point in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Harris had already accumulated two sacks. Harris, speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times, said: "I've been all right. It's game three right now; I am not going to panic. Maybe I will change my m.o. I usually start real fast. Maybe I'll close out real strong."
• Bears tight end Greg Olsen has earned praise for owning up publicly to his pair of fumbles last week against Carolina.
• Detroit defensive tackle Cory Redding, who is dealing with an ankle injury and is questionable for Sunday's game against San Francisco, told the Detroit Free Press: "I'm playing, definitely."