Colledge Beats Out Bulaga

[Scott Campbell]

It looks like the injury settled the issue.

http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100829/PKR01/100829016/Colledge-to-start-at-left-guard

Green Bay Packers Coach Mike McCarthy declared Daryn Colledge his starting left guard for the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 12 today after practice.

[rbaloha1]

As a frequent DC critic, DC earned it. The competition and expiring contract motivated DC's solid play.

The future is bright for the Packers with Bulaga taking over for Colledge and Newhouse And Lang taking over for Cliffy and Tauscher respectively.

[red]

makes me want to vomit

his reflexes/reactions are light years slower then the other linemen in camp. at least thats what i saw at practice when they were doing their drills

if baluga is not the starting LG then you need to end that little experiment ASAP and let him focus on LT

[Brandon494]

Not surprising, Colledge always seems to play better when he is being pushed for his starting job. Hopefully he'll continue to play well and not back track after winning the job.

[Joemailman]

Unless Colledge has his best year, I think Bulaga will be the starting LG before the season is over. In the meantime, he will get plenty of reps at LT since Clifton misses plenty of practice time.

[vince]

To his credit, Colledge has been solid and available.

Bulaga is going to get a lot of playing time this year one way or another. He needs to be ready at LT because Clifton's knee is acting up on him already. Cliffy was out today with fluid in his knee

[pbmax]

makes me want to vomit

his reflexes/reactions are light years slower then the other linemen in camp. at least thats what i saw at practice when they were doing their drills

if baluga is not the starting LG then you need to end that little experiment ASAP and let him focus on LT
He lost it when he got hurt. He would be a fine guard.

[Tony Oday]

I am happy we have to talk about this. Two decent Guards fighting for a starting role...good job TT

[ND72]

This has been stupid from the start. Bulaga is the LT, you drafted him to surpass Clifton, keep him there and let him learn and grow. Don't screw him up. I'd like to think our future OL is Bulaga, Colledge, Spitz, Sitton, and Lang, but I don't think Spitz will ever be the same he was before last year, and I recently read that McCarthy does not want to play Lang at tackle anymore and only at Guard...why, I have no idea.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Colledge also plays a lot better when he's allowed to focus on the one position instead of drifting up and down the line.

[bobblehead]

Colledge also plays a lot better when he's allowed to focus on the one position instead of drifting up and down the line.

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

[Tarlam!]

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

Na, Bobble, he's not really had enough reps to be an effective LT. Also, he's performed well at times, consistancy is the key.

[retailguy]

This is very distressing. I'm extremely disappointed.

[Fritz]

I think the JSO headline should have read "McCarthy Goes Back to Colledge."

[MichiganPackerFan]

I don't think colledge played badly last year at guard at all. He was certainly exposed at tackle however.

[bobblehead]

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

Na, Bobble, he's not really had enough reps to be an effective LT. Also, he's performed well at times, consistancy is the key.

thats not what I meant. I meant that playing a couple games at LT shouldn't mess him up as an LG. He has plenty of time at LG in the NFL, he should be able to step back over and be fine. I agree he hasn't had enough time at LT to play it to his fullest.

[Bossman641]

I know Colledge winning out will frustrate a lot of people, but it's not like he backed into the position. I think he's had a pretty good preseason. If he sucks he'll get benched anyways.

[get louder at lambeau]

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

Na, Bobble, he's not really had enough reps to be an effective LT. Also, he's performed well at times, consistancy is the key.

thats not what I meant. I meant that playing a couple games at LT shouldn't mess him up as an LG. He has plenty of time at LG in the NFL, he should be able to step back over and be fine. I agree he hasn't had enough time at LT to play it to his fullest.

But he did play well at LG last year. Most games he played great.

[pbmax]

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

Na, Bobble, he's not really had enough reps to be an effective LT. Also, he's performed well at times, consistancy is the key.

thats not what I meant. I meant that playing a couple games at LT shouldn't mess him up as an LG. He has plenty of time at LG in the NFL, he should be able to step back over and be fine. I agree he hasn't had enough time at LT to play it to his fullest.
There are two different factors here. One would be whether the move caused him difficulty. After getting shellacked, it might have. Some players can do it and it is entirely possible some cannot. Flanagan did it, but he did it for the balance of the season. If he had to shuffle back and forth, the result could have been different. The techniques are different and despite what some people remember, he usually required during his previous stints at LT.

The second factor is that Colledge struggles in pass pro more than in run blocking. So there are players and teams he struggles against, It happened versus Cincinnati (pass pro) and a couple more times later in the season (2nd Minn (run) game, San Fran (pass pro) and Baltimore (run)).

We may need to face facts that despite athleticism and being a second rounder, he is entirely average and can be exposed by quality opposition.

Bulaga will be the Left Tackle eventually, barring injury. Even if he fails, he will fail first at LT than be moved.

[rbaloha1]

Why does the board forget Newhouse? So far Newhouse is assignment sure and not been beaten by a pass rush (unofficial).

IMO Newhouse is the future lt next to Bulaga. Sitton and Lang are the future right side protectors.

[bobblehead]

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

Na, Bobble, he's not really had enough reps to be an effective LT. Also, he's performed well at times, consistancy is the key.

thats not what I meant. I meant that playing a couple games at LT shouldn't mess him up as an LG. He has plenty of time at LG in the NFL, he should be able to step back over and be fine. I agree he hasn't had enough time at LT to play it to his fullest.
There are two different factors here. One would be whether the move caused him difficulty. After getting shellacked, it might have. Some players can do it and it is entirely possible some cannot. Flanagan did it, but he did it for the balance of the season. If he had to shuffle back and forth, the result could have been different. The techniques are different and despite what some people remember, he usually required during his previous stints at LT.

The second factor is that Colledge struggles in pass pro more than in run blocking. So there are players and teams he struggles against, It happened versus Cincinnati (pass pro) and a couple more times later in the season (2nd Minn (run) game, San Fran (pass pro) and Baltimore (run)).

We may need to face facts that despite athleticism and being a second rounder, he is entirely average and can be exposed by quality opposition.

Bulaga will be the Left Tackle eventually, barring injury. Even if he fails, he will fail first at LT than be moved.

I don't mean to suggest he sucks, I agree with your assessment. I'm merely saying that the 2? games at LT after several years at LG should not be an excuse for a poor season. I LOVED College at RT in that Detroit game and would actually like to see him compete for that spot. But alas, he is our LG and hopefully he does it well.

[pbmax]

I think the JSO headline should have read "McCarthy Goes Back to Colledge."
One distressing point is that Colledge seems to believe he had a fine season at LG last year save for the Tampa game. Now, these are just public comments, but it makes it seem like Colledge is out to lunch on his self-assessment.

I would love to know what actual grade the team/coach gave him. Would you be comfortable with an average grade but the worst performer on the line?

Pro Football Focus did grade him out top 1/3 in the league. But isn't the standard higher than that?

[pbmax]

I don't buy that. I think it was a convenient excuse. When you are an NFL lineman who plays almost exclusively LG, a short stint at LT won't suddenly make you a bad LG. He hasn't performed.

Na, Bobble, he's not really had enough reps to be an effective LT. Also, he's performed well at times, consistancy is the key.

thats not what I meant. I meant that playing a couple games at LT shouldn't mess him up as an LG. He has plenty of time at LG in the NFL, he should be able to step back over and be fine. I agree he hasn't had enough time at LT to play it to his fullest.
There are two different factors here. One would be whether the move caused him difficulty. After getting shellacked, it might have. Some players can do it and it is entirely possible some cannot. Flanagan did it, but he did it for the balance of the season. If he had to shuffle back and forth, the result could have been different. The techniques are different and despite what some people remember, he usually required during his previous stints at LT.

The second factor is that Colledge struggles in pass pro more than in run blocking. So there are players and teams he struggles against, It happened versus Cincinnati (pass pro) and a couple more times later in the season (2nd Minn (run) game, San Fran (pass pro) and Baltimore (run)).

We may need to face facts that despite athleticism and being a second rounder, he is entirely average and can be exposed by quality opposition.

Bulaga will be the Left Tackle eventually, barring injury. Even if he fails, he will fail first at LT than be moved.

I don't mean to suggest he sucks, I agree with your assessment. I'm merely saying that the 2? games at LT after several years at LG should not be an excuse for a poor season. I LOVED College at RT in that Detroit game and would actually like to see him compete for that spot. But alas, he is our LG and hopefully he does it well.
A poor season at certain times, is what I am after. Some games, he was fine. Others he struggled. I think he has proven he is average.

Against Ngata of Baltimore or the Williams of Minnesota (2nd game) he looks like a cold dog pile. Against the others, he looks fine. The frustrating thing is that physically, he has handled Fat Pat. He can do it, at least run blocking. Had he even come close to average in pass blocking, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

I think McGinn's point when he quoted the scout about toughness, is that when something bad happens in pass pro, he never recovers. The complete opposite of Tauscher, who if he gets beat on the first move, still blocks the guy.