GREEN BAY -- Justin Harrell knows the first word that comes to mind when you hear his name.

Bust.

In his 16 or so months in the NFL, the Packers' 2007 first-round draft choice knows he's failed to live up to the expectations of being the 16th overall pick. He also knows that Monday's news -- that he would undergo another surgical procedure on his injured back and begin the regular season on the physically unable to perform list -- isn't going to go over well, either.

"I just need to get healthy," he said.

Problem is, he can't. Harrell entered the league having played just three games during his final college season at Tennessee because of a ruptured biceps muscle, then was a spectator for the Packers' entire off-season program. He finally saw action in nine games (including two in the playoffs) last season as a rookie, but had it not been for injuries to Johnny Jolly and Colin Cole, he might've been inactive all year.

Expected to compete for a starting job this year following the trade of Corey Williams to Cleveland, Harrell injured his back lifting weights in spring, underwent surgery in April, then aggravated it before camp in late July. He was working with the rehabilitation group since camp opened July 28, but never showed enough progress to be cleared to practice.

After being placed on the PUP list, Harrell will miss the Packers' first six regular-season games. He's eligible to start practicing the week of the Oct. 19 game against Indianapolis, and the club will have a three-week window during which it can evaluate him in practice and decide whether to activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

General manager Ted Thompson said that while Harrell has "gotten himself in remarkable shape," he had "plateaued" in his rehab and doctors thought surgery would "hurry things along.

"It's too bad. He's worked very hard, and I know being a high-profile pick, a No. 1 pick, there's a lot of pressure put on that and expectations of fans," said Thompson, who was booed on draft day for taking Harrell.

"It's not his fault, and he's trying his best to get back, and we're still counting on him to help us this year."

Asked how good Harrell could be since Packers fans have yet to see much from him, Thompson replied, "I don't know. Eventually we hope that he's the good player we think he is. We don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with him. We don't think it's a lack of toughness. We just think he's just had some bad luck."

For his part, Harrell says he intends to show Packers fans that he wasn't a wasted pick and that the B-word won't apply to him. He discussed that, and a myriad of other topics, in the Milwaukee Talks interview that follows.

OnMilwaukee.com: Do the expectations of being a No. 1 pick weigh on you?

Justin Harrell: It stays in the back of my head, but I can't dwell on it. That's not going to get me anywhere. I know what I'm capable of. My No. 1 focus right now is to get back out there on the field again and see what happens.

OMC: Aaron Rodgers said he's been called some pretty choice names by Brett Favre supporters who don't like him. Have you heard similar things said about you?

JH: You get a couple of smart comments when you pass by. I've heard it all. It's just something I can't act on. I haven't been practicing, so if I was in their situation, I might say the same thing. Who's to know? But I can't really focus on that. I'm just trying to concentrate on what I can do.

OMC: You seem to handle the criticism fairly well. I've never seen you get mad at reporters or lash out.

JH: I guess it's just how I was raised. I still feel blessed. I'm in the NFL, and there's a lot of people who wish they could be in the situation I'm in right now. And that's how I have to look at it. It's a blessing to be here, and I just have to stay focused -- getting mad or saying a bunch of things won't change the situation. So I just keep a positive outlook and try to do what I can.

OMC: Who do you lean on during times like this?

JH: My family's been there, the training staff, my fiancée has been up here, there's a lot of people I talk to. It's just one of those things. But you know you've got people who really care about you and calling you with encouragement that you need to hear.

OMC: Do you open up to them about how hard this has been?

JH: All those people I mentioned, they've been through this with me. My defensive line coach at Tennessee, Dan Brooks, I had a couple injuries up there. You just have to stay with it. You have to find the people who really care about you and keep your head up and keep working. They just tell me, 'We believe in you. We believe in what you can do.' That's good to hear that come from people who care about you.

OMC: Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don't believe in you based on what you've done so far.

JH: That's extra motivation. The people saying stuff, that's a little added motivation, too -- to go out and prove to people that I was worthy of a No. 1 pick and why the Packers brought me in. It's nothing I've never been through before. The same thing happened in Tennessee, where people were doubting me like the situation I'm in right now. I just need to get healthy.

OMC: Do you ever feel like you can't catch a break?

JH: Moping ain't going to change anything. You just have to deal with it. That's what really gets me through what I'm going through right now. I've dealt with adversity my whole life. Yeah, it's a setback, but you've got to move forward and try to go on.

OMC: Are the expectations that come with being a first-round pick fair?

JH: Who am I to say it's fair or not? I'm not the only one who got picked in the first round. It's just one of those things that comes with the territory. I choose to play football, so there's a lot of speculating about you when you're not performing. You just have to deal with it. Yeah, (the pressure) gets to you, because you know people look at you a little different. You just have to get used to it and do your job.

OMC: Do the Packers or Packers fans have any idea how good you can be? Has anyone here seen the real you, do you think?

JH: No. I can't say people have, unless they followed my career at Tennessee. The response the Packers got when they drafted me shows people don't know a lot about me. But I haven't done my part to show them. That's my goal -- to show people why the Packers did pick me. If I do that, the sky's the limit, if you set your mind to it. I'm just doing everything I can to be the best I can be. If I do that, I can live with that."