Mike McCarthy says Mason Crosby is still Packers' kicker

Will Mike McCarthy change his mind about Mason Crosby in time for the Green Bay Packers to hold a full-blown kicking competition on Tuesday, the day of the week usually reserved for such activities.

That is because Mason Crosby is in a deep funk made worse in Sunday’s 21-13 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field when he missed two more field goals. A 43-yarder was way right and then he bounced a 42-yard try off the left upright, kicks that would have given the team much more cushion late in the game.

We are not changing our kicker, so you can write that down right now," McCarthy said, according to Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He is our guy. He needs to make those kicks; he knows that."

In between, McCarthy passed on a long field goal and had his offense go for it on fourth down. Crosby has made only 17 of 29 field goal attempts this season.

"I can't sit and sulk and think about missed kicks because I've got to make kicks,” Crosby said. “We're going to get to the playoffs, and there's going to be some big ones down the line here."

McCarthy can profess confidence in Crosby but his actions will speak loudest. We’ll see if the Packers have a troop of kickers in to get a look at them this week. McCarthy needs faith in his kicker come the postseason.

Follow me on Twitter: @BradBiggs

Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

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