Bretsky
09-16-2006, 12:06 AM
Colledge seeks redemption
Rookie will start in place of injured Spitz
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 15, 2006
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers will find out Sunday whether rookie offensive lineman Daryn Colledge is capable of blocking any better in the regular season than he did in the exhibition season.
Attempting to regain some self-esteem and the trust of his coaches, Colledge is to start at left guard for injured Jason Spitz against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.
"When someone takes it away from you, you want it back," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think he's improved."
Colledge, a second-round draft choice, lost the job at left guard with a woeful performance Aug. 12 in San Diego. He didn't play much better as a backup guard against Atlanta, looked much better at left tackle in Cincinnati and then regressed at tackle against Tennessee.
Spitz, who continued to limp Friday with a bruised left thigh, has been starting along with right guard Tony Moll since Aug. 14.
From his perspective, Colledge doesn't see himself as far removed from reclaiming one of the starting berths.
"I'm going in there with the anticipation that I'm the left guard for the rest of the year," he said. "Spitz has been playing the most solid but we've learned a lot from him. Who knows what this will lead to?"
If Colledge isn't markedly more effective than he was in August, the game will mean little more than a return to the bench. He must play with more power and less finesse, displaying more anchor in pass protection and better reliability in the run game.
Colledge, who weighs 299 pounds, keeps going back to the Chargers game as a catharsis for his season.
"It was probably one of the few times in my career that I didn't play full speed," he said. "I've tried to make a lot of changes since the San Diego game. You've got to be a guy that's instinctive and just flies around. I was ready to go the day after San Diego. I knew the mistakes I made and I knew how to correct them."
The No. 4 guard, Tony Palmer, will move up a notch Sunday and possibly could see time in relief of Moll. The 323-pound Palmer has worked exclusively at right guard since being awarded on waivers Sept. 3 from St. Louis.
Palmer's chances to compete for the starting job probably hinge on his ability to grasp the system. He scored 15 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test and isn't regarded as a quick study by some personnel people.
"I think I've adjusted well to it," said Palmer, who played strictly left guard at Missouri. "I think I could (play). All I can do is keep learning."
Ready to roll: Wide receiver Koren Robinson returned to practice Friday and pronounced his sore right knee good to go.
Noah Herron returned kickoffs in the opener but expects Robinson and running back Vernand Morency to return Sunday.
"I hope so," Robinson said. "I like doing kickoff return because I feel it's one of my advantages. I can make people miss. It's just open-field running, which I did growing up as a running back and a quarterback."
Robinson, 26, didn't return a single kickoff for Seattle from 2001-'04 but made the Pro Bowl for Minnesota last year with a 26.0-yard average.
"He's a tough kid," one scout said. "He's a long-strider type and he's not a good route runner, but you give him a crease on a kickoff and he can go."
Not even close: McCarthy used the word "setback" on Wednesday to describe why cornerback Will Blackmon would be idle in practice this week.
Blackmon, who had surgery May 30 to repair a broken foot, said there was no one moment when the injury worsened.
"The bottom line is I'm just not ready to play yet," he said. "It's a long season. I want to be 100%."
Meanwhile, Blackmon takes up a roster berth that could have gone to a healthy cornerback. The Packers had the option of placing Blackmon on the physically unable to perform list for at least the first six weeks but general manager Ted Thompson kept him active, stating that his return was imminent.
They meet again: Formers Packers cornerback Mike McKenzie, now with the Saints, will be covering two of his former teammates, Robert Ferguson and Donald Driver.
"From what we saw on film I don't think he runs as fast as he has in the past," Ferguson said. "He gambles a lot, and that's what makes him good, too. If he's got a hunch he'll play it. Same old Mike.
"He's a lot like Charles Woodson. He uses mirror technique, runs with you, likes to get in your hip pocket and tries to guess your routes. Al (Harris) is more hands-on. Mike never jammed a lot."
Sacred ground: The Packers have used Lambeau Field for walk-through practices for years, and did so again this summer on days before exhibition games. Now they conduct the light workouts in their gym.
"One thing Ted and I talked about, we don't feel Lambeau Field should be used as a walk-through," McCarthy said. "We did it for pre-season games but we may never do it again. It's a privilege to walk on Lambeau Field."
Odds and ends: McCarthy, on trying to rebound: "We didn't have no séances or crazy drills or anything like that. We got down and had good hard-nosed, padded practices Wednesday and Thursday with the emphasis on running the ball." . . .
Fullback Vonta Leach, claimed on waivers Wednesday by New Orleans, might be active. Either way, the Packers aren't worried about tips he might give his new employer. Said Ferguson: "Those things (checks and audibles) don't pertain to him. I don't think he knows much about the passing game. He might know a little bit about the running game." . . .
Linebacker A.J. Hawk, on corralling running back Reggie Bush: "If you have guys around you then you definitely want to take a shot so he can't change direction and get moving. If you're the only guy you might want to hold him up a little bit and rally everyone else to the ball."
Rookie will start in place of injured Spitz
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 15, 2006
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers will find out Sunday whether rookie offensive lineman Daryn Colledge is capable of blocking any better in the regular season than he did in the exhibition season.
Attempting to regain some self-esteem and the trust of his coaches, Colledge is to start at left guard for injured Jason Spitz against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.
"When someone takes it away from you, you want it back," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think he's improved."
Colledge, a second-round draft choice, lost the job at left guard with a woeful performance Aug. 12 in San Diego. He didn't play much better as a backup guard against Atlanta, looked much better at left tackle in Cincinnati and then regressed at tackle against Tennessee.
Spitz, who continued to limp Friday with a bruised left thigh, has been starting along with right guard Tony Moll since Aug. 14.
From his perspective, Colledge doesn't see himself as far removed from reclaiming one of the starting berths.
"I'm going in there with the anticipation that I'm the left guard for the rest of the year," he said. "Spitz has been playing the most solid but we've learned a lot from him. Who knows what this will lead to?"
If Colledge isn't markedly more effective than he was in August, the game will mean little more than a return to the bench. He must play with more power and less finesse, displaying more anchor in pass protection and better reliability in the run game.
Colledge, who weighs 299 pounds, keeps going back to the Chargers game as a catharsis for his season.
"It was probably one of the few times in my career that I didn't play full speed," he said. "I've tried to make a lot of changes since the San Diego game. You've got to be a guy that's instinctive and just flies around. I was ready to go the day after San Diego. I knew the mistakes I made and I knew how to correct them."
The No. 4 guard, Tony Palmer, will move up a notch Sunday and possibly could see time in relief of Moll. The 323-pound Palmer has worked exclusively at right guard since being awarded on waivers Sept. 3 from St. Louis.
Palmer's chances to compete for the starting job probably hinge on his ability to grasp the system. He scored 15 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test and isn't regarded as a quick study by some personnel people.
"I think I've adjusted well to it," said Palmer, who played strictly left guard at Missouri. "I think I could (play). All I can do is keep learning."
Ready to roll: Wide receiver Koren Robinson returned to practice Friday and pronounced his sore right knee good to go.
Noah Herron returned kickoffs in the opener but expects Robinson and running back Vernand Morency to return Sunday.
"I hope so," Robinson said. "I like doing kickoff return because I feel it's one of my advantages. I can make people miss. It's just open-field running, which I did growing up as a running back and a quarterback."
Robinson, 26, didn't return a single kickoff for Seattle from 2001-'04 but made the Pro Bowl for Minnesota last year with a 26.0-yard average.
"He's a tough kid," one scout said. "He's a long-strider type and he's not a good route runner, but you give him a crease on a kickoff and he can go."
Not even close: McCarthy used the word "setback" on Wednesday to describe why cornerback Will Blackmon would be idle in practice this week.
Blackmon, who had surgery May 30 to repair a broken foot, said there was no one moment when the injury worsened.
"The bottom line is I'm just not ready to play yet," he said. "It's a long season. I want to be 100%."
Meanwhile, Blackmon takes up a roster berth that could have gone to a healthy cornerback. The Packers had the option of placing Blackmon on the physically unable to perform list for at least the first six weeks but general manager Ted Thompson kept him active, stating that his return was imminent.
They meet again: Formers Packers cornerback Mike McKenzie, now with the Saints, will be covering two of his former teammates, Robert Ferguson and Donald Driver.
"From what we saw on film I don't think he runs as fast as he has in the past," Ferguson said. "He gambles a lot, and that's what makes him good, too. If he's got a hunch he'll play it. Same old Mike.
"He's a lot like Charles Woodson. He uses mirror technique, runs with you, likes to get in your hip pocket and tries to guess your routes. Al (Harris) is more hands-on. Mike never jammed a lot."
Sacred ground: The Packers have used Lambeau Field for walk-through practices for years, and did so again this summer on days before exhibition games. Now they conduct the light workouts in their gym.
"One thing Ted and I talked about, we don't feel Lambeau Field should be used as a walk-through," McCarthy said. "We did it for pre-season games but we may never do it again. It's a privilege to walk on Lambeau Field."
Odds and ends: McCarthy, on trying to rebound: "We didn't have no séances or crazy drills or anything like that. We got down and had good hard-nosed, padded practices Wednesday and Thursday with the emphasis on running the ball." . . .
Fullback Vonta Leach, claimed on waivers Wednesday by New Orleans, might be active. Either way, the Packers aren't worried about tips he might give his new employer. Said Ferguson: "Those things (checks and audibles) don't pertain to him. I don't think he knows much about the passing game. He might know a little bit about the running game." . . .
Linebacker A.J. Hawk, on corralling running back Reggie Bush: "If you have guys around you then you definitely want to take a shot so he can't change direction and get moving. If you're the only guy you might want to hold him up a little bit and rally everyone else to the ball."