Bengals starting free safety Madieu Williams has had surgery on his shoulder, presumably to repair a torn labrum.

Williams, an outstanding run defender, is out for the Packers and was demoted to third-string on the team's depth chart this week. Without Williams playing, Jacksonville rushed for 181 yards and Pittsburgh 221 against the Bengals.

Kevin Kaesviharn is now the starter at free, with Reggie Myles moving up to No. 2 at that position. Ifeanyi Ohalete is the new starter at strong safety, and Anthony Mitchell is listed as his backup. PLAYER/PERSONNEL NOTES

--LB David Pollack (knee) is questionable, though he is now listed as the starter ahead of Landon Johnson at strong-side linebacker. Pollack did not participate in practice Wednesday and has, by his own admission, not played as well as he would have liked so far.

--C Eric Ghiaciuc (ankle) is questionable, and his absence leaves the Bengals thin in the middle of the offensive line. If starter Rich Braham were to get hurt, left guard Eric Steinbach would have to move over to center.

--WR Tab Perry (back) is questionable. He leads the team with a 24-yard average on kickoff returns, and if he were limited, it would force either running back Chris Perry or wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh to return kickoffs.

--WR Chad Johnson has caught a pass in 51 consecutive games but remains well short of the franchise record of 93 in a row by Carl Pickens (1993-99). Peter Warrick caught a pass in 64 consecutive games (2000-2004). He is now with Seattle.

--LG Eric Steinbach remains one of the most valuable Bengals players. He has started 37 of his first 38 career games and enters the Sunday game against Green Bay as the No. 2 center and No. 2 left tackle.

GAME PLAN
The Bengals will want to run the ball 30-35 times to keep the ball out of Brett Favre's hands as much as possible. They are 13-3 under coach Marvin Lewis in two-plus seasons when they run 30 or more times. The Bengals ran a season-low 19 times, just 12 for featured back Rudi Johnson, in the loss last week to Pittsburgh.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH

Bengals run defense vs. Packers RB Tony Fisher. Fisher has run just 14 times for 20 yards this season. He has rushed for 727 yards in his three-plus seasons with the Packers. Fisher also has 13 receptions this season. The Packers, despite their struggles in the run game, might have success against a Bengals team that gave up 181 yards rushing in a loss at Jacksonville and 221 in losing to Pittsburgh last week. Middle linebacker Odell Thurman is over-pursuing plays. Tackles Bryan Robinson and John Thornton are getting moved, and the perimeter tackling is poor. Green Bay should run, which would further open passing lanes for Brett Favre. The Bengals have dropped to 27th in rush defense at 132 yards a game.

--Bengals pass defense vs. Packers QB Brett Favre. The Bengals lead the NFL with 15 interceptions and are ranked 10th against the pass (183.6), largely because other teams have had success running against the Bengals. The Bengals need to put the clamps on Green Bay's injury-plagued run game and not let Favre pick them apart. He will be playing without three regular wide receivers.

INJURY IMPACT
RB Rudi Johnson (knee) is probable. He did not practice and has not practiced on five consecutive Wednesdays. He will play. ... Neither linebacker David Pollack (knee), center Eric Ghiaciuc (ankle) nor wide receiver Tab Perry (back) practiced Wednesday. They all are questionable. Landon Johnson would return to the starting lineup if Pollack could not play.

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