Colledge » Packer Update

Interior linemen must play better

Posted by Michael Rodney at 12:48 pm No Responses »

Jan 222011

Interior of the offensive line must play well

Sitton and the other interior linemen must play very well

Keeping dynamic returner Devin Hester under control is the most obvious key to the Packers’ success on Sunday, but the play of the interior offensive line will be every bit as important. If Josh Sitton, Scott Wells and Daryn Colledge don’t perform a lot better than they did against the Bears three weeks ago, the offense may have another sub par game. And while 10 points was enough to win on Jan. 2, it’s hard to imagine that total being enough to deliver Green Bay to its fifth Super Bowl.

It’s easy to focus on how offensive tackles Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga fare against Pro Bowl end Julius Peppers, but that won’t be as important as how the guards and center handle tackles Tommy Harris, Anthony Adams and Matt Toeaina. It’s pretty much a given that Peppers will be disruptive, but his impact can be minimized – at least to a certain extent – by game planning and/or adjustments. Coach and play caller Mike McCarthy can chip him, double him or simply have quarterback Aaron Rodgers roll away from his side of the field. On the other hand, there’s very little that can be done if the defensive tackles are getting penetration on a consistent basis. That’s what happened the last time the Packers played Chicago and it resulted in one of the offense’s least productive performances of the season.

Colledge, Wells and Sitton are certainly capable of holding up physically in this matchup. All three played fairly well in Green Bay’s first game against Chicago back in September. The offense scored only 17 points, but it moved up and down the field and produced just under 400 total yards. The problems on that day were penalties and turnovers – two things that haven’t been much of an issue lately. Assuming the Packers protect the ball, don’t commit costly turnovers and at least hold their own against Chicago’s defensive tackles, it’s hard to imagine the offense not scoring more than 20 points. If it does, the odds are pretty good that Green Bay will be playing in Texas Stadium on Feb. 6.

Pair seeks redemption in Atlanta

Posted by Michael Rodney at 12:29 am 9 Responses »

Jan 152011

Packers need a better effort from Colledge

The Packers need a better effort from two of their veterans

Linebacker A.J. Hawk and guard Daryn Colledge are enjoying arguably their finest seasons, but both five-year veterans will have something to prove on Saturday night. That’s because neither played well the last time Green Bay visited Atlanta – a major reason why the Packers left the Georgia Dome on the wrong end of a 20-17 score. For things to be different this time, Hawk must play a lot faster than he did six weeks ago and Colledge needs to keep his pads down and his intensity up.

Hawk has never played as fast as his 40 time, but he hasn’t been a liability in space this season – except for the first game against the Falcons. For whatever reason, the former Ohio State star looked at times like he was playing in slow motion. He allowed himself to be tied up far too frequently in the running game, he was totally ineffective as blitzer and he labored in coverage. The prime example of Hawk’s struggles that afternoon came late in the third quarter, with the score tied at 10 and Atlanta facing a pivotal 3rd-and-9 at its own 21. Under pressure, quarterback Matt Ryan checked down to running back Jason Snelling. Hawk was in perfect position to come up and bury the 230-pounder three yards short of the first down, but for some reason, he sat back and allowed himself to be plowed over for a first down.

As for Colledge, he wasn’t the only offensive lineman to have a tough time in the run game on that Sunday in Atlanta, but he struggled the most. His worst moment came on a first-and-goal from the Atlanta 1 in the second quarter. Coach Mike McCarthy called for a quarterback sneak – a play in which Aaron Rodgers could’ve crawled into the end zone had Colledge simply done his job. Instead, he kept his pads too high and allowed defensive tackle Peria Jerry to make a stop he had no business making. The former Boise State star also committed a key false start penalty on Green Bay’s final drive of the game.

Hawk and Colledge both played well last week. The former was an integral cog in a defense that limited the Eagles to 82 yards rushing and 16 points. The latter helped James Starks go from an unknown rookie to a media sensation in three hours.They’ll need to be just as good on Saturday. In order to beat the top-seeded Falcons, the Packers must be able to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense. Due in part to the struggles of Colledge and Hawk, they did neither last time and it proved costly.

Ted’s best and worst of 2010

Posted by Michael Rodney at 1:35 pm 9 Responses »

Dec 312010

Rookie corner has played well

When a football team places 14 players – including six starters – on IR during the season and still has a chance to win 10 games, it’s going to be hard to find fault with the work of the general manager. That’s why it took us twice as long to come up with Ted Thompson’s five worst moves of the year as it did to come up with his five best. Here they are:

Best

1) Signing Sam Shields and Frank Zombo – Two rookies nobody wanted on draft weekend have wound up playing significant roles for one of the league’s top defenses. Thompson paid a combined $11,000 for Shields and Zombo. As it turned out, he could’ve spent first and fourth round picks on the two and nobody would be batting an eye today.

2) Not trading Desmond Bishop – Thompson turned down a number of offers for his No. 4 inside inebacker during the spring and summer. By fall, Bishop was starting. By winter, he was one of the best players on defense. By next spring, he’ll be a very rich young man – either in Green Bay or someplace else.

3) Signing Charlie Peprah – Thompson’s only free agent signing elicited nothing but yawns in April. Six months and 10 solid starts later, it deserves a big thumbs up. And even though Peprah is probably only keeping the seat warm for young Morgan Burnett, he has proven to be an upgrade over Atari Bigy.

4) Claiming Howard Green – Thompson seldom adds veterans to the roster during the season, but he deviated from form and claimed the 31-year-old off waivers from the Jets in late October. The journeyman has proven to be a godsend after Ryan Pickett and Cullen Jenkins missed substantial time with injuries.

5) Keeping Daryn Colledge – It would’ve been easy to dump Colledge after his poor ’09 season, but Thompson decided to hold on to the veteran guard. It was a wise decision. Colledge has enjoyed a bounce back year and his value to the team became evident when he was injured a few weeks ago in Detroit.

Worst

1) Not finding a return man – We’ve been begging Thompson to acquire a legitimate returner for years, but he continues to accept mediocrity at this important position. Even worse, Green Bay was forced to use Shields and Tramon Williams on returns. Neither has been good, so the reward hardly equaled the risk.

2) Not drafting an outside linebacker - The three most important positions in a 3-4 are nose tackle and outside linebacker. The Packers are set at nose tackle (B.J. Raji) and at left outside linebacker (Clay Matthews), but they’re just fooling themselves with Zombo and Brad Jones. As impressive as Matthews and the defense have been this season, both will be that much better once this need is finally filled.

3) Not signing Ryan Torain – Thompson needed to add a running back after Ryan Grant got injured and he chose rookie Dimitri Nance over veteran Ryan Torain. The former spent nearly three months learning the offense before finally getting on the field. The latter, who impressed Green Bay officials in a workout in Nov. 2009, signed with the Skins and has rushed for 681 yards (4.7 average) and scored 6 TDs.

4) Not acquiring picks – Five players released by the Packers on Sept. 4 were claimed off waivers within 48 hours. Thompson almost certainly could’ve picked up a late draft choice or two had he been willing to make trades a week or two prior to cutdown day. Instead, fearing injuries, he played it conservative and got nothing in exchange for commodities that proved to be in demand around the league.

5) Keeping Donald Lee over Spencer Havner – Like the one above, this was hardly a huge mistake (it ain’t easy coming up with worst moves). Still, it was obvious during training camp that Lee had next to nothing left. And while Havner is hardly the second-coming of Jason Witten, he would’ve offered more in the passing game after Jermichael Finley went down. He also would’ve helped more on special teams.

Bulaga will be difficult to deny

Posted by Michael Rodney at 12:13 pm 3 Responses »

Aug 162010

Bulaga is too talented to keep on the bench

Bulaga is too talented to sit

Daryn Colledge has started 60 games in the NFL at left guard. Bryan Bulaga has barely taken 60 snaps at the position all summer. And yet it seems almost inevitable that the first-round draft pick from Iowa is going to be in the starting lineup at some point this season – perhaps as early as week 1. That’s because Bulaga has looked pretty darn impressive at a position that he hadn’t played since his freshman year in college, and let’s be honest, the Packers have been trying to replace Colledge since 2008. Allen Barbre wasn’t nearly good enough to take the job two summers ago and Jason Spitz’ expected challenge this August has been derailed by a calf injury. But just when it looked as if Colledge would pull another Houdini and escape with his starting job once again, coach Mike McCarthy brought out Bulaga – who could wind up being the football equivalent of the Chinese Water Torture Cell.

Bulaga obviously has a lot to learn about playing left guard, but working between veterans Chad Clifton and Scott Wells will make things a lot easier. And it’s important to remember that Colledge played his entire college career at left tackle before starting 16 games as a rookie in the NFL. And he played that season at a pumped-up 300 pounds. Bulaga is around 315, and he’s been that weight since sophomore year. That added size and strength should make him far more physical in the running game – something desperately needed on an offensive line that features three veterans who are far at better protecting quarterback Aaron Rodgers than they are at opening holes for running back Ryan Grant.

If – and it’s still an if and not a when – Bulaga does win the job at left guard, general manager Ted Thompson might be able to trade Colledge for an outside linebacker. Of course, dealing the former Boise State star would only be an option if either Spitz is healthy and/or Barbre proves capable of playing the position. And as of now, neither of those things are even close to being certainties. And while it’s easy to be critical of Colledge, the young man deserves credit for stepping up every time he has either been benched, threatened with being benched or challenged. The only difference this time is that the challenge won’t be coming from a small-school lineman who scored an embarrassing 11 on the Wonderlic test or from a banged-up vet whose third-best position is left guard. The challenge will be coming from a talented first-round draft choice, and that might be too much for even the resilient Colledge to overcome.

Free at last! Free at last?

Posted by Michael Rodney at 12:38 pm 12 Responses »

Jul 272010

Holding on to Jenkins won't be quite this easy

Holding on to Jenkins won't be quite as easy as this

Training camp doesn’t open for another three days and there may not even be a season in 2011, but that didn’t stop us from taking a quick glance at the Packers who could be unrestricted free agents next March. Assuming – and as of today these assumptions are about as enormous as Ryan Pickett’s pre-training camp belly – that the players and the owners agree to a new collective bargaining agreement and that the number of accrued seasons to achieve true freedom reverts back to four from six, here are the players who would be eligible to hit the open market (along with their age as of 3/31/2011 and their current salary): John Kuhn (27/$1.176M), Korey Hall (28/$550K), Brandon Jackson (25/$550K), Donald Driver (36/$7.206M), James Jones (27/$1.101M), Allen Barbre (26/$550K), Jason Spitz (28/$1.759M), Daryn Colledge (29/$1.759M), Cullen Jenkins (30/$3.2M), Desmond Bishop (26/$550K), Tramon Williams (28/$3.168M/), Atari Bigby (29/$1.759M), Will Blackmon (26/$1.176M), Charlie Peprah (28/$630K) and Mason Crosby (26/$1.0M).

This is hardly an imposing list, but there will be a few interesting decisions facing GM Ted Thompson. As of today, the most compelling scenarios involve Driver, Jones, Colledge, Spitz, Jenkins, Bishop and Williams.

It’s hard to imagine Driver in another uniform, but as Packer fans found out two years ago, you just never know. That said, the only way we see the veteran wide receiver leaving Green Bay is if he asks for too much money or if Thompson isn’t willing to let Jones get away. It’s unlikely that Jones would re-sign unless he foresees a better opportunity to play – something that won’t happen if Driver is still around. Of course, Thompson’s decision on Jones will only be difficult if the former San Jose State star performs at a high level in 2010. Otherwise, he’ll almost certainly be allowed to walk without a fight.

There’s almost no chance that both Colledge and Spitz will return in 2011, so Thompson will have to choose between the two. Spitz – if his health is OK – would be the logical choice since he can play three positions. Not having a CBA brought Colledge back to Green Bay for another season, but his somewhat arrogant personality and his finesse-style of play just aren’t a good with the Packers.

Jenkins already looked to be the key unrestricted free agent in 2011, and his importance to the team’s present and future only increased with the news of Johnny Jolly’s indefinte suspension. It’s very likely that Thompson will want to re-sign the veteran defensive lineman; the big question is whether the feeling will be mutual. For the most part, Jenkins kept quiet last season and admirably did all the dirty work that’s required of an end in the 3-4. Whether he’d voluntarily sign up for more of the same remains to be seen. We have our doubts. That’s why it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the franchise tag used – if there’s even a franchise tag to use.

While Bishop has handled his lack of playing time with great aplomb, you know he’s dying to get a legitimate opportunity to win a starting job. That almost certainly won’t happen this season, but the door could finally open for him in 2011. That’s because A.J. Hawk and his scheduled $11 million contract could be moving on. Of course, even if that happens, Bishop would still have to contend with another overpaid inside linebacker (Brandon Chillar), so he might just decide that parting ways with the Packers makes the most sense. And who could really blame him?

Thompson showed what he thinks of Williams by placing the highest tender on him in February, so the odds are very good that the former street free agent will be around for many years to come. But there are a few variables that could change things between now and next March. For example, what happens if both Pat Lee and Brandon Underwood step up this season? Or if Williams continues to be inconsistent – this time as a fulltime starter. Or if he plays so well that other teams are lining up to make him rich? In short, it’s probably safe to hold on to your No. 38 jersey, but you might want to have a backup number in mind just in case.

The remaining potential unrestricted free agents won’t cause Thompson to lose much sleep. He should be able to pick and choose who comes back and who doesn’t. As of today, we’ll put Crosby, Hall and Jackson in the former category and Barbre, Bigby, Blackmon, Kuhn and Peprah in the latter. But needless to say, all of this can change depending on how these 15 players perform in 2010 and how things go at the bargaining table over the next eight months.

(NOTE- In a few cases, the salaries listed for 2010 are estimates and do not include playing time bonuses, escalator clauses, etc.)

Another year of Colledge?

Posted by Michael Rodney at 1:03 am 18 Responses »

Jul 022010

Fans might have to live with Colledge for another season

Daryn Colledge punctuated a disappointing regular season by committing a costly holding penalty on the penultimate snap of the playoff loss to Arizona. At the time, that miscue seemed destined to be the former Boise State star’s swan song with Green Bay. But the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, combined with injuries to Jason Spitz and T. J Lang, has given Colledge a new lease on life and a legitimate chance to retain his starting job. “It’s not that far-fetched,” said a former scout. “Remember, he was arguably the line’s best player in ’08. Plus, who’s going to replace him? Left guard is Spitz’ third-best position and Lang has virtually no experience inside.”

So who would pose the biggest threat to Colledge? Probably a player that very few people are even considering for the job – rookie Bryan Bulaga. “Why not,” asked the scout? “If the goal is to get the five best offensive linemen on the field, wouldn’t it make sense to see what Bulaga could do? I happen to think he would be a really good guard. His strength, balance and ability to anchor are ideal for the interior and his short arms and lack of great feet wouldn’t be as big of an issue.”

While all that may be true, it doesn’t appear as if the coaches have any intention of working Bulaga at guard. They are determined to get him ready to step in at left tackle if – make that when – veteran Chad Clifton gets hurt. That leaves Colledge to battle it out with Spitz and perhaps Lang for the starting job. And while he could still come out on the short end of such a fracas, would it really be a surprise to see him wind up on top? Say what you will about Colledge, but he’s stepped up every time the coaches have either benched him or threatened to do so.