Packers are releasing OT Chad Clifton today

[Scott Campbell]

Totally disagree. The one game (no I don't remember) he got extended playing time, as he got more and more comfortable he looked quiet good. Until his injury at KC, he was starting to settle in a bit there as well. No pre-season work because of lockout, many OL rookies looked bad last year, just tough for them. If we went off of a rookie season, Rodgers would have been cut by GM Wist...(no, I'm not saying Sherrod is a comparision)

I saw Newhouse up close last year in the Atrium. He was giving an interview, and wearing shorts, and I swear his legs looked just like Drivers. It was almost shocking to me to see a guy playing that position, with that kind of lower body build.

[Guiness]

What made both Clifton and Tauscher such good passblockers was that even when they did get beat, they would get a small piece of a guy, shove him as he went past, lunge at him, do anything to divert his path to the QB.

And Rivera.

Maybe I'm waxing poetic about that solid line we had, but I don't think you ever saw a guy get to the QB clean with the 5 we had around 2000-2001.

[ND72]

I saw Newhouse up close last year in the Atrium. He was giving an interview, and wearing shorts, and I swear his legs looked just like Drivers. It was almost shocking to me to see a guy playing that position, with that kind of lower body build.

maybe Driver has very large legs?

I'm not in the "we need to draft a tackle" now because of Clifton being gone, I seriously expected him gone anyway. I think Newhouse, while I'm not big on him, can be a decent guy for now, and I still think Sherrod will be fine. He needs some work, especially since he did not have a full offseason last year because of lockout and likely not a full offseason this year because of his leg. Sherrod just has a LT build to him, crazy long arms and HUGE hands. Guy has potential and very high ceiling. I'm not saying he'll be that guy, but I think he has the chance to be our LT for many years.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Guy has potential and very high ceiling.

I was skim-reading and thought you were talking about the DE from Arizona.

[Upnorth]

maybe Driver has very large legs?

I'm not in the "we need to draft a tackle" now because of Clifton being gone, I seriously expected him gone anyway. I think Newhouse, while I'm not big on him, can be a decent guy for now, and I still think Sherrod will be fine. He needs some work, especially since he did not have a full offseason last year because of lockout and likely not a full offseason this year because of his leg. Sherrod just has a LT build to him, crazy long arms and HUGE hands. Guy has potential and very high ceiling. I'm not saying he'll be that guy, but I think he has the chance to be our LT for many years.

I saw quite a bit of good from Newhouse last year and if he improves this year will be very impressed. I hope SHerrod can take the position away from Newhouse, but doubt it.

I agree with you 100% that we don't need to draft a LT in this draft.

[ND72]

I was skim-reading and thought you were talking about the DE from Arizona.

I should have said COULD have a very high ceiling. Was Guy on the DL last year or was he cut?

[Fritz]

I've already written Sherrod off as a bust... if he's your starting LT, ARod might as well book his rehab schedule for September now.

If it's based on performance, and giving the team the best chance to win?? Newhouse will be the starter. If it's based on draft status, ARod is a dead man.

You've already written Sherrod off as a bust?

man, I'm glad you're not the GM. But I'm glad I'm not the GM, too.

[Fritz]

I saw indecision in Sherrod but not inaction in desperation. Newhouse had a tendency to block to a point and then just stop. Like a timer had gone off in his head.

Yeah, when I saw Patler's comment about Sherrod stopping, I disagreed. I think Sherrod looked lost sometimes, like a rookie would who'd been shuffled around a lot and was already acknowledged to need work to develop. I liked Newhouse, but he's the one who disturbed me with his reluctance to finish a block. He'd get a guy blocked and just stop, as if his work was done. Then the Defensive lineman would get up and make a play. It happened against Jared Allen last year, and cost the Pack a sack on Rodgers. And it happened more than once or twice. I wonder why he didn't just fall down on guys he'd blocked? Can't they teach him that more easily than the correct footwork or the pad level stuff?

[Tony Oday]

If Sherrod is already a bust then with that thought process AR is a bust because he doesnt have a HOF nomination wrapped up already. Good lord.

[ND72]

If Sherrod is already a bust then with that thought process AR is a bust because he doesnt have a HOF nomination wrapped up already. Good lord.

It hasn't happened sooner, Brett Favre?

[wootah]

I should have said COULD have a very high ceiling. Was Guy on the DL last year or was he cut?

He was on IR. When drafted however it was said he had better finished his senior year instead of declaring. That's already another front 7 addition even before the draft has started.

[Patler]

Oh, and releasing Cliffy opens up some money to extend some big players for us. Unfortunately, Driver may need to take a pay cut because his salary could be better spent on a guy like Jennings.

About half of what is gained from Clifton's release seems to be needed just for the rookie allocation that Packers will be assigned, providing the numbers that are being reported are accurate. But frankly, since the uncapped year the reliability of salary cap info for teams generally and for players individually has been awful.

[Bretsky]

What bothered me about Sherrod's performance last year was that he seemed completely overwhelmed at times, and more importantly didn't always look like a scrapper who would do anything and everything to stop a rusher. What made both Clifton and Tauscher such good passblockers was that even when they did get beat, they would get a small piece of a guy, shove him as he went past, lunge at him, do anything to divert his path to the QB.

Colledge drove me crazy because of the number of times he gotten beaten cleanly, without getting a hand on the guy. I saw a little of that from Sherrod last year, indecision that seemed to cause him to freeze, which is the last thing you want an athlete to do. Better to do something, even if wrong, than to do nothing at all.

Hopefully, that will all change this year.

Ditto; dude often looked lost and this is the guy I saw play last yr

[Brandon494]

A rookie LT who had no training camp looked lost? Get out of here! Seriously though he was shaky at first but he was starting to look good before his injury.

[Joemailman]

I think Sherrod had his confidence shaken by the rough preseason he had. After a tough first series at Atlanta though, I thought he played respectably. Bulaga struggled at times as a rookie too, but was one of the best RT's in the league last year. I could see Sherrod doing the same thing.