GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers are going through arguably one of the most challenging periods of coach Mike McCarthys tenure.Theyve lost three straight games to fall under .500 . The defense has crumbled. Injuries are mounting on the line in the pass-heavy offense.McCarthy vowed Monday that mistakes will be addressed, and plans tweaked. He is confident that his message is getting through to players, and that the Packers, in part, must respond better to adversity.Overall, the Packers have been a success with a record of 116-67-1 in McCarthys 11 seasons. Theyve made the playoffs seven straight seasons, with five division titles and a Super Bowl victory in the 2010 campaign.But since winning the first six games of the 2015 season, Green Bay is 9-12, including the playoffs.McCarthy, in part, referred to his track record when asked what kind of messaging he uses to make sure that the uncharacteristic losing doesnt affect the Packers culture as they prepare for Sunday nights game at Washington.Well, I mean, lets just state the facts: Im a highly successful NFL head coach. With that, Ive never looked at the ride to this point as smooth ... To me, its always bumpy and to me thats the joy of it, McCarthy said.Really, what you did last year or 2010, as we know, doesnt factor. ... To me, you have to stay in tune with the now. Obviously, people outside of our room dont feel really good about the now. Personally, I enjoy these type of moments, he added. This is about our team and I trust and believe in what we do every day.He isnt into dramatic midseason shake-ups.Im not into shock and awe, or (a) torch the landscape-type person. Im a builder, Im a developer. Ive said that since the first day I arrived here, McCarthy said. You build a program, culture is what makes it go, you have to invest in that culture every single day, and thats my big picture focus.A popular pick to return to the Super Bowl, the Packers remain in the playoff picture, just a game back of Detroit and Minnesota in the mediocre NFC North.In the short term, the Packers are focusing on fixing flaws exposed in the 47-25 loss to Tennessee on Sunday that dropped them to 4-5 and was likely the low point of the season.The passing game is producing after a sluggish start, but the offense is missing physical running back Eddie Lacy, who is on injured reserve with an ankle injury. The plan on Sunday was to run the ball more with James Starks back from a knee injury, but the Titans built up such a big early lead that Packers were forced to throw more.Playing catch-up all day, Aaron Rodgers was 31 of 51 for 371 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.McCarthy had no prognosis on injuries to starting offensive linemen David Bakhtiari (knee) and T.J. Lang (ankle). In the locker room, Bakhtiari said he was taking things day to day with the injury.I think everyone has got a lot of confidence in here. We know the guys we have in this locker room, and we know what were able to do. Its just going out and executing, he said.The league-best Packers run defense allowed DeMarco Murray to rush for a 75-yard touchdown on the Titans first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for the afternoon. Pass coverage has been spotty, especially without injured cornerbacks Sam Shields (concussion) and Damarious Randall (groin). The pass rush has slowed down with linebacker Clay Matthews out the last three weeks with a hamstring injury.Green Bay trailed Tennessee 21-0 by the end of the first quarter, the kind of start that the Packers were once known for.Our adversity football production is not high enough right now. We need to improve there. We know it, our players know it. Thats really where our focus is, McCarthy said. Thats the difference in this league.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL New York Knicks Pro Shop . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Len Chappell Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. https://www.cheapknicks.com/691x-kurt-thomas-jersey-knicks.html . PAUL, Minn. Ivan Rabb Jersey . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Kadeem Allen Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide the showdown Tuesday night between the Cubs and Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.What we learned in Game 2Clayton Kershaw allowed two hits in seven shutout innings and Kenley Jansen mowed through the final six batters as Adrian Gonzalezs second-inning home run off Kyle Hendricks held up in a 1-0 victory.?-- David SchoenfieldInside the pitching matchupWhen Jake Arrieta is on the mound: There arent too many pitchers who go 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA and we feel like it was a bit of letdown. Arrieta had a 1.74 ERA through June 22, dominating like he did in 2015, but he had control/command issues after that and posted a 4.44 ERA over his final 16 starts with 41 walks in 99? innings. Against the Giants in the division series, he allowed six hits and two runs over six innings, but walked just one batter with five strikeouts.Arrieta mentioned during an in-game interview the other night that he had sort of lost the feel for his cutter (or slider) midseason, but feels like he has it back and has regained the confidence to throw it at any time. Lets see what the numbers say:April: .037 average, 30 percent strikeout rateMay: .286, 12.8 percentJune: .176, 45 percentJuly: .429, 12 percentAugust: .286, 18.8 percentSeptember: .143, 12 percentIndeed, after throwing it 113 times in April and 125 times in May, he threw the cutter/slider just 51 times in August before ramping back up to 81 in September. Against the Giants he threw it 29 times, his most in one game since May. The Giants, like the Dodgers, have a lot of left-handed batters, so look for Arrieta to make that a key part of his arsenal once again.Otherwise, Arrietas fastball is still a tough pitch, averaging 93.8 mph with some late sink to it. Against left-handers, he tends to work the outer third of the strike zone with the fastball and he also works up and down the zone. Hell mix in his curveball as well. Even when he was struggling with walks, Arrieta did a good job limiting hard contact.??-- SchoenfieldWhen Rich Hill is on the mound: When he wasnt sidelined by blisters, Hill was one of the best starters in baseball in 2016, going 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA between the As and Dodgers, holding batters to a .195 average. On the surface, his repertoire seems pretty basic: A fastball from 88 to 91 mph and a big-breaking curveball. He throws both up in the strike zone -- 70 percent of his fastballs are in the upper half compared to the MLB average of 50 percent.What makes him so difficult to hit is the deception in his delivery. Both pitches are delivered on the same axis, what pitchers call mirroring. His curveball will also have different speeds and arcs to it. His fastball generates extreme spin, leading to fly balls and pop-ups. And just to throw a wrinkle into everything, he occasionally drops down and throws sidearm. Add it up and its a delivery and repertoire batters just dont see.He started Game 5 of the Division Series and Dave Roberts had a quick hook, pulling him after 2 2/3 innings even though six of the eight outs had come via thee strikeout.dddddddddddd Hed allowed three hits but none were hit that hard. Hes back on four days of rest, but Roberts will have a rested bullpen after the day off. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightDexter Fowler. The Cubs are hitting .193 in the postseason with several regulars hitting below .200. Anthony Rizzo (1-for-23) and Addison Russell (1-for-22) are most notable, but we mentioned Rizzo here in the Game 2 preview. One reason the Cubs offense worked so well this year was Fowler getting on base in the leadoff spot. Hes just 4-for-24 (.167) with a .231 OBP in six games.?-- SchoenfieldDid you know ...In his NLDS Game 3 start, Arrieta threw 10 pitches that were taken, none of which were called a strike. That is the second time this season that batters took at least 10 of his pitches without a called strike; the first was Aug. 18 vs. the Brewers. ?-- ESPN Stats & InfoWhat will decide the game Tuesday nightArrietas heat. Arrieta limited opponents to a .198 batting against his fastball during the regular season, the best mark by any NL pitcher. The Dodgers were 1-15 in at-bats ending with a fastball when they faced Arrieta on May 31. However, Arrieta will be up against two of the better fastball hitters in the league in Corey Seager and González, who combined for the Dodgers only two hits in seven innings against Arrieta back in May. Los Angeles has a .824 OPS against fastballs this postseason and a .507 OPS against off-speed pitches. ?-- ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win??The Cubs have been striking the ball well and that includes Game 2, when they had nothing to show for a few well-hit balls off of Kershaw. Its been a playoff-long slog for the offense but I like their chances against Hill. Arrieta will have to command his secondary pitches against all those L.A. lefties, but I expect him to be sharp. At this point, the hitters are due, and its awfully hard to beat the Cubs in back-to-back games. Im going with Chicago in Game 3. -- Brad Doolittle?This is bound to be another low scoring affair and Jake Arrietas history in this park will come into play. He simply likes everything about pitching at Dodger stadium. Joe Maddon will make small lineup changes which will benefit in a big way as the Cubs squeak by in Game 3. -- Jesse Rogers?You know that narrative about the Dodgers being extremely bad against left-handed pitching? The Cubs have been worse this postseason and up next is another lefty in Hill. They are fortunate, though, to have Jake Arrieta?pitching in Dodger Stadium, a venue that agrees with him. The Cubs figure to take Game 3 in what is developing into a back-and-forth affair. -- Doug PadillaWhere the series standsWere tied up and the Dodgers head home, where they were 53-28. They had a 2.97 ERA at Dodger Stadium and beat the Cubs two out of three here in late August. The Cubs will start John Lackey in Game 4 while the Dodgers remain undecided. That start may depend on whether Julio Urias is used in relief in Game 3.-- Schoenfield ' ' '