Green Bay Packers linebacker Vic So'oto celebrates his sack of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel in the first quarter of the preseason game at Lambeau Field, Thursday, September 1, 2011. Photo by H. Marc Larson/Press-Gazette

The Packers finished the 2011 preseason schedule tonight with a 20-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Some preliminary thoughts about this game and what it means to the team’s future:

Vic So’oto cemented a spot on the roster with an eye-popping performance that included 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, interception return for a touchdown, and his number showing up all over the field. Clearly another important find by Ted Thompson.

The play of Pat Lee … Though he again got beat on some pass plays, he was in the right place at the right time with two fumble recoveries, one that he nearly returned for a TD. Was it enough to guarantee a roster spot? Not sure.

Linebacker DJ Smith continues to impress, while Robert Francois certainly improved his stock. (more…)

For the Green Bay Packers linebacking corps, it’s getting to razor sharp.

That’s because it was announced today that OLB Frank Zombo was diagnosed with a broken scapula after last Friday’s preseason game against Arizona.

This injury comes after the Packers have had several changes in the linebacking corps to date.

His injury leaves Brad Jones (who was also injured in last Friday’s game) and Erik Walden battling for the starting spot at the position. It appeared that Walden had the upper hand in starting, but now that Zombo is out four to six weeks and with Jones not 100 percent, the team will continue to audition undrafted rookies Jamari Lattimore and Vic So’oto at the spot.

Both have been having good camps, but will be asked to step it up a notch with the loss of Zombo and the uncertainty of Jones’s situation.

Zombo was the starter at the position last year, but was injured near the end of the season. That’s when Walden was brought into the Packers camp to take over. However, when Walden went down with a bad ankle in the conference championship game in Chicago, Zombo was again called on, starting and playing a solid Super Bowl.

Walden’s injury was actually suffered in warmups when John Kuhn hit Zombo in the back with his helmet.

“I thought it was a bruise,” Zombo said in published comments today. “It didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would. But you could see (on film) that some plays my arm was hanging a little bit.”