Proving that they will not live with a substandard punter (for more than 12 games, anyway), the Packers released Derrick Frost today.

"We are going to change the punter today," coach Mike McCarthy declared at his press conference at Lambeau Field. "That is going to happen."

The Packers were so anxious to remove Frost from the roster that they released him without a replacement in waiting. McCarthy said he expects backup quarterback Matt Flynn to take over as the holder for placekicker Mason Crosby.

Frost, acquired when the Packers released Jon Ryan at the end of training camp, averaged 42.1 gross yards and 36.1 net yards on 48 punts this season.

"Clearly (it is) a performance issue," McCarthy said in announcing the move. "We just tried everything that we could and it's unfortunate that it didn't work out. Just the (in)ability to transfer it from the practice field to the playing field. ... It was something we felt factored in some of the outcomes of our games, and we needed to make a change."

Asked if he regretted cutting Ryan, who ended up being a solid performer with Seattle, McCarthy replied, "I don't want to go back. Jon was a true pro, a very talented punter. We had a positive experience with him here."

With Frost out of the picture, the race is open to replace him in the category of "Wisconsin's least favorite athlete." Brewers reliever Eric Gagne ducked out of that derby when the team declined to offer him salary arbitration on Monday.