The Green Bay Packers are 6-3 without Micah Parsons this season, and Jonathan Gannon's defense has been somewhat better than anticipated. Then again, that doesn't mean they haven't missed him on the field.
Parsons is one of the premier headhunters in the game, and the Packers have struggled to pressure the quarterback at times. Even if that weren't the case, he's the type of disruptive player any team would always welcome.
Nevertheless, Parsons has been overly cautious about overselling his return. In fact, he wants everyone to know that he's still miles away from being his usual self, and he's only focused on getting back to full strength right now.
Micah Parsons continues to undersell his injury return
"I asked Micah [Parsons] last week if it's realistic to ask him to be his All-Pro self when he returns... he said, 'look, I'm going to have some horrible plays... it's going to take some ramp up, and some time, to become that guy on a consistent basis,'" Packers insider Matt Schneidman said on The Athletic Live.
Of course, that makes sense to a degree. Expecting him to be the same guy right out of the gate might not be realistic, not even for an All-World guy like him. That said, he might be selling himself short, only to exceed expectations.
Parsons has been too cautious when addressing his return from injury, to the point that he didn't even get on the field when he initially said he would. Instead, he's pushed his season debut to Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams, though that can also change.
Moreover, he's also talked about his injury in a way that has kept everyone on their toes, not because he doesn't think he'll ever be back to full strength, but because he doesn't want to tip his hand. He even admitted that he wouldn't say whether he'd play or not until he was obligated to do so; that way, he'll keep the opposition guessing.
Maybe this is just another one of his mind games. Perhaps he wants everyone to look past him and think he won't have his usual burst or be as impactful when he first gets back on the field. That's not going to work.
Even if Parsons struggles off the bat, every single player on the field will have their eyes set on him whenever he's out there. He draws 11 pairs of eyeballs on every play, and that won't change any time soon.
Now, that doesn't mean the fans and talking heads shouldn't cut him some slack. He's been out for a long while, and it might be a month or so before he gets his legs back under him. At the end of the day, it's all about having him be his usual self in the playoffs, not in late November.
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