Jennings, others out: Wide receiver Greg Jennings may be an ESPN fantasy football Hall of Famer, but he'll be invisible -- just like at the end of his ad on the network -- for his second straight game because of soreness in the back of his knee. Jennings vowed to play Aug. 22 at Denver.

"I've got to play next week. I've definitely got to play next week," Jennings said Thursday. "That's the most the (first team) will play, so I've got to be out there next week to get a little rhythm and let 'em see that 85 run around out there."

Jennings said the soreness "is really tendinitis or something, I don't really know -- it's just sore" and that he isn't sure where it came from. But after a nagging ankle injury derailed his promising rookie season and he missed the first two games of last season with hamstring problems, he understands why the medical staff is being cautious with him.

"I can run full speed, I can cut, I can do everything. If this were the regular season, I could go," Jennings said. "It bothers me to the point of `Ouch,' but not `Oh, I can't go.' It's nothing major. I could've played Monday, I could play Saturday. But why? The big picture is the regular season. There's no reason to risk (that)."

Meanwhile, McCarthy all but officially ruled out tight end Tory Humphrey (ankle), halfback Ryan Grant (hamstring), wide receiver Brett Swain (quadriceps), safety Charlie Peprah (knee), halfback DeShawn Wynn (ankle) and tackle Orrin Thompson (ankle). Linebacker A.J. Hawk (chest) and defensive linemen Ryan Pickett (hamstring), Justin Harrell (back) and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee) will not play, while linebacker Desmond Bishop (Achilles') and wide receiver Ruvell Martin (jaw) could play.

Scheduling conflict: McCarthy admitted that the preseason schedule -- with the team's four exhibition games crammed into an 18-day window -- isn't ideal in terms of maximizing practice productivity.

After opening on a Monday night and now playing on a Saturday night, the Aug. 22 game at Denver is a Friday night affair, and the exhibition finale against Tennessee at Lambeau Field is a Thursday nighter -- meaning each week of practice is shortened.

"At the expense of trying to run your team into the ground, this is just the way we've gone about it," McCarthy said. "To play on a Monday night then a Saturday to a Friday to a Thursday, you never get that seven-day run that you would prefer in training camp. So we're just making the best of it, being smart. We're doing extended jog-throughs, extended walk-throughs in the gym, a little more classroom time than you probably would in training camp."