Rookies have a tough road with Packers

[Gunakor]

Prior to 2009, Chad Clifton had started 94 of a possible 96 games the previous six years. The two he missed? One for the flu, one for an adverse drug reaction from a shot he had at game time.

So what?

Clifton was old...and his play on the field had started to noticeably slip. His footwork was no longer as quick, and he went from subpar in run blocking to virtually useless.

I agree his play on the field had started to noticeably slip, but is that alone an indicator of your earlier observation of him?

Clifton can't make it through 16 games

What does going from subpar to virtually worthless in run blocking have to do with making it through 16 games? If you're argument is that TT should have had a backup because of Cliffy's decline in play I'd agree that a future replacement might have been worth drafting and developing starting before last season began, but that's a far different argument than saying TT should have had a ready backup because Cliffy is injury prone and won't last 16 games. Especially considering he hadn't missed very many at all since recovering from the Warren Sapp incident, I don't think that argument would have held up prior to week 3 of the 2009 season.