Colledge experiment appears over

[K-town]

Per Journal-Sentinel, if Cliffy can't go, then T.J. Lang becomes the LT.

"If Chad Clifton can't play - and McCarthy said Clifton will "definitely" need the week to prove he's fit - rookie T.J. Lang would almost certainly get the start. Colledge's time there appears to be over."

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/64002082.html

[MJZiggy]

Oh thank GOD.

[bobblehead]

I think this benefits College. He is playing LG as his main position and still had some pretty bad blocks. If he is shitty at LT might as well leave him at LG and let someone else be shitty at LT.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I think this benefits College. He is playing LG as his main position and still had some pretty bad blocks. If he is shitty at LT might as well leave him at LG and let someone else be shitty at LT.
Yep, keep him at LG where he does a good job and quit messing with him.

[red]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

[bobblehead]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

I wouldn't say its as CLEAR as you think. He had a bad game against Jarred Allen, which puts him in a pretty non exclusive club. But that being said I think moving him all the time is bad for the team.

If Cliffy were to up and retire I wouldn't be upset if they worked him at LT all offseason and let him compete for the job coming into camp though.

[red]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

I wouldn't say its as CLEAR as you think. He had a bad game against Jarred Allen, which puts him in a pretty non exclusive club. But that being said I think moving him all the time is bad for the team.

If Cliffy were to up and retire I wouldn't be upset if they worked him at LT all offseason and let him compete for the job coming into camp though.

its wasn't just the 1/2 a game or whatever it was, he's tried to play tackle before, i don't know if it was preseason or whatever. but i thought i remembered being pretty unimpressed by his play there

[pbmax]

He might be able to adjust to tackle, but its not happening this season, so Lang makes sense for now.

Long term, I think he is a better guard. Even if he is passable at tackle, that just means we have failed to fill the spot.

If I were McCarthy, this might be a good way to exert more control over the bottom of the roster. Problem though, is that this began in March.

And its always a good time to point out that Mike Flanagan, bad leg and all, somehow managed to do this for a half a season when he moved from center to tackle. That has to make a highlight film of best individual player accomplishments somewhere.

[Fritz]

One point unmentioned so far I think is that Colledge's poor game at tackle may save the Packers some money. His agent would have a hard time arguing for more money on the basis that he's also your backup LT.

[hoosier]

The thought of Lang playing LT is somewhat scary. I hope that next week we're not speculating on how Matt Flynn will perform. But I suppose we can choose to emphasize the positives in this: Colledge gets to return to LG where he seems to perform somewhere between adequate and very good. And although Lang is an untested rookie, he can't be too much worse than Colledge at LT. And, most positive of all, now ARod knows he doesn't have the luxury of being able to hold onto the ball. Maybe he'll even start performing better under this kind of durress.

[sharpe1027]

For what I saw, Lang didn't do any worse than Colledge in his limited action. I think he might hold his own given the chance. It is really a roll of the dice with rookies though.

[Packers4Ever]

Oh thank GOD.



My thoughts exactly ! :roll:

[Pugger]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

I wouldn't say its as CLEAR as you think. He had a bad game against Jarred Allen, which puts him in a pretty non exclusive club. But that being said I think moving him all the time is bad for the team.

If Cliffy were to up and retire I wouldn't be upset if they worked him at LT all offseason and let him compete for the job coming into camp though.

Colledge was bad against Allen cuz Colledge is no tackle. Of course Allen can make a lot of tackles look pretty inadequate. :? The interior of our O line isn't as terrible as some think if we keep Sitton, Spitz and Colledge in there and not move them around. It is at tackle where we have our issues. Hopefully Tauscher's presense will light a fire under Barbre or Mark can take that spot in a couple of weeks.

[denverYooper]

I'm starting the Twanger fan club.

[Sparkey]

The thought of Lang playing LT is somewhat scary. I hope that next week we're not speculating on how Matt Flynn will perform. But I suppose we can choose to emphasize the positives in this: Colledge gets to return to LG where he seems to perform somewhere between adequate and very good. And although Lang is an untested rookie, he can't be too much worse than Colledge at LT. And, most positive of all, now ARod knows he doesn't have the luxury of being able to hold onto the ball. Maybe he'll even start performing better under this kind of durress.

It's not like Lang has never played LT before. He was the starter at LT for Eastern Michigan for his last two years in college. I think you give the guy some experience and see what he can do.

Biography:
The Packers' fourth-round pick started at tackle and will be in the mix at right guard and right tackle as a rookie entering training camp. Recruited to play defense but went on to start 36 consecutive games, including his last 26 at left tackle. First-team all-MAC as a senior. A physical blocker because of his defensive background. Played in a zone scheme. Athletic and intelligent.


CBSSPORTS
04/27/2009 - COULD SURPRISE: OT T.J. Lang of Eastern Michigan is a player to watch as the Packers approach a transition at the position. Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher have been the starting bookends at left and right tackle, respectively, since they were rookies in 2000. While Clifton will be back for another season but has chronic knee problems, Tauscher apparently won't be re-signed as a free agent after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in January. That leaves a huge void, which could be filled by the promising Lang, a fourth-round choice. He made his mark the last two years of college at left tackle, but Lang also has starting experience at right tackle. Wherever he lined up, Lang shut down explosive Northern Illinois defensive end Larry English (No. 16 overall pick of the San Diego Chargers) in their Mid-American Conference matchups. The Packers like the 6-foot-4, 316-pound Lang's athleticism and feistiness.

Draft Scout Snapshot: 2008: All-Mid American Conference first-team and Super Sleeper Team selection by The NFL Draft Report, adding second-team All-MAC honors from the league's coaches...Earned the Harold E. Sponberg Award, given annually to the top down lineman scholar-athlete...Lined up at left offensive tackle, coming up with 86 knockdowns, 11 touchdown-resulting blocks and nine downfield blocks, grading 83.08% for blocking consistency...Penalized three times and handled a reception for a four-yard loss (turned the ball over on a fumble) while also making a solo tackle...Allowed 4.5 quarterback sacks and three pressures on 499 pass plays...Helped the team rank 20th in the nation and third in the MAC in passing (269.33 yards per game) and 25th in the major college ranks in total offense (417.5 yards per game)...Career: As an offensive lineman, Lang started 26 games at left tackle and 10 on the right side, producing 243 knockdowns and 28 touchdown-resulting blocks...Over his final two seasons, he recorded 21 touchdown-resulting blocks, 169 knockdowns and 17 downfield blocks, grading 81.67% for blocking consistency...Allowed seven quarterback sacks and nine pressures on 860 pass plays...For his career, he collected 16 tackles (eight solos) with an assisted stop for a 3-yard loss and blocked a pair of kicks.

[rbaloha1]

Thank goodness. Maybe continuity returns.

[SkinBasket]

Thank goodness. Maybe continuity returns.

Or maybe we continue to suck like we did before Clifton got injured. I'm assuming that's not the continuity you meant.

[Brohm]

"Earned the Harold E. Sponberg Award, given annually to the top down lineman scholar-athlete"

The anti-Barbre :P

[mmmdk]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

Let him move on into free agency.

[hoosier]

The thought of Lang playing LT is somewhat scary. I hope that next week we're not speculating on how Matt Flynn will perform. But I suppose we can choose to emphasize the positives in this: Colledge gets to return to LG where he seems to perform somewhere between adequate and very good. And although Lang is an untested rookie, he can't be too much worse than Colledge at LT. And, most positive of all, now ARod knows he doesn't have the luxury of being able to hold onto the ball. Maybe he'll even start performing better under this kind of durress.

It's not like Lang has never played LT before. He was the starter at LT for Eastern Michigan for his last two years in college. I think you give the guy some experience and see what he can do.

Yeah, I have to agree, at this point they don't seem to have any better options. Certainly keeping Colledge out there and hoping he suddenly figures out how to play LT isn't the answer. But seeing as Lang is a rookie from Eastern Michigan I wouldn't be hugely surprised if he fell on his ass a few times either.

[MJZiggy]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

Let him move on into free agency.

Like we have o-linemen to spare...

[mmmdk]

he's a decent LG, leave him there and never move him again.

he clearly can't play tackle, so there's no point in trying him there over and over again

is he healthy now?

Let him move on into free agency.

Like we have o-linemen to spare...

U got a point there :lol:

[esoxx]

My colledge experiment ended after five years. :lol:

[rbaloha1]

My colledge experiment ended after five years. :lol:

Not helping himself during $ year.

[bobblehead]

The thought of Lang playing LT is somewhat scary. I hope that next week we're not speculating on how Matt Flynn will perform. But I suppose we can choose to emphasize the positives in this: Colledge gets to return to LG where he seems to perform somewhere between adequate and very good. And although Lang is an untested rookie, he can't be too much worse than Colledge at LT. And, most positive of all, now ARod knows he doesn't have the luxury of being able to hold onto the ball. Maybe he'll even start performing better under this kind of durress.

Now that is a more than half full glass....Hoosier, you need to swing by my "reasons to be optimistic" thread.

[wist43]

If an OL has to function as a single unit, and that unit consists of 5 parts, how disruptive is replacing 3/5 of the unit??? Very disruptive of course.

I've been against all of this musical chairs nonsense from the beginning... in some circumstances it can be justified, i.e. moving 1 guy, but in this case, you're essentually replacing 3 guys, when 1 goes down - it's bad enough to have already lost a starter, you're just compounding the problem with the musical chairs approach.

Combine that with the fact that the 1st guy off the bench is deficieint, IMO... and you have a recipe for 8 sacks.

Glad to see Colledge back at G.

[hoosier]

The thought of Lang playing LT is somewhat scary. I hope that next week we're not speculating on how Matt Flynn will perform. But I suppose we can choose to emphasize the positives in this: Colledge gets to return to LG where he seems to perform somewhere between adequate and very good. And although Lang is an untested rookie, he can't be too much worse than Colledge at LT. And, most positive of all, now ARod knows he doesn't have the luxury of being able to hold onto the ball. Maybe he'll even start performing better under this kind of durress.

Now that is a more than half full glass....Hoosier, you need to swing by my "reasons to be optimistic" thread.

I was trying to see both sides of the coin. I'm really not feeling too optimistic about the OL right now, and am especially disappointed that McCarthy and his coaches, who seem to have been given at least average OL talent to work with, haven't been able to put together a consistent line yet. Maybe I got spoiled by Shermy's OLs in the last years of his tenure, and by GBs success in finding and developing gems in the late rounds (Timmerman, Rivera, Flanagan, Tauscher). The current regime doesn't seem to be very good at that kind of development.

[PackerTimer]

If an OL has to function as a single unit, and that unit consists of 5 parts, how disruptive is replacing 3/5 of the unit??? Very disruptive of course.

I've been against all of this musical chairs nonsense from the beginning... in some circumstances it can be justified, i.e. moving 1 guy, but in this case, you're essentually replacing 3 guys, when 1 goes down - it's bad enough to have already lost a starter, you're just compounding the problem with the musical chairs approach.

Combine that with the fact that the 1st guy off the bench is deficieint, IMO... and you have a recipe for 8 sacks.

Glad to see Colledge back at G.

I totally agree. I've never liked either. Colledge is pretty much a guard now. He should not be moved out to Tackle. To me all the adjustments seem to make multiple positions weaker as opposed to one.