Clifton, Collins and Driver

The report is out this morning that the Packers will release Nick Collins.  It has seemed for awhile now that this was where the Packers were heading, what with Coach McCarthy making comments about how he would not want Collins to play if Collins were his son.  Without having lots more information about the injury, and without having the medical knowledge to evaluate it, it is hard to know if this is the right call, or an overly cautious reaction by the Packers.  But I am sad for Collins, who was certainly a talented player and a valuable contributor to the Packers' march to Super Bowl XLV.  I wish him well, hope he gets another chance to play if that is what he wants, and hope that he stays healthy.

Meanwhile, the Packers released LT Chad Clifton a few days ago.  Given his age and his injury history, it is hard to be surprised about this.  But he was a fixture at LT, until injuries started knocking him out of games.  Who will replace him?  The Packers have drafted two LTs in the first round the last two years.  Bryan Bulaga, drafted in 2010, seems settled in as the starting RT.  Derek Sherrod, drafted in 2011, played in spots before breaking his leg in December.  He is expected to be ready for training camp.  Marshall Newhouse, a 5th round draft pick in 2010, got a lot more playing time than Sherrod last year, and acquitted himself well.  So I suspect that the LT battle will be between these two, rather than looking for another LT in the draft this year.

On the Dancing With The Stars front, Donald Driver continues his impressive dancing career, with a very effective foxtrot this week.  Even though he slipped slightly during one maneuver, Donald and his partner Peta still got 27 out of 30 points.  Jersey Al posted a link to the video here.  Len Goodman, the "Simon Cowell" of the show (more or less), told Peta that Donald's talent is greater than the routine they did Monday night, and that she should challenge him more in future dances.  The waltz is up next week.

Defense of the Title Starts This Week

I feel as if my normal off-season rhythm was thrown off completely this year by the lockout, and even though I don't normally post much during the off-season, this year I have hardly posted at all.  And here the pre-season opener against the Cleveland Browns is only three days away.  It is high time to get myself back into a football frame of mind.

But before turning to the pre-season, why not take a couple of minutes and watch the story of the making of the Packers' Super Bowl rings.  The rings are stunning, and I love the fact that Jostens traces the history back to the Super Bowl I rings, designed jointly by Jostens and Vincent Thomas Lombardi.  Anyway, enjoy, and know that a lot of these rings will be on display in the White House on Friday.  Fire up the metal detectors.

Turning to the pre-season, the big news of the week is that Clay Matthews played the second half of the season, and the entire post-season, with a broken leg.  OK, it was a stress fracture, but that is still a broken leg.  It was over 30 years ago that the Rams' Jack Youngblood played in Super Bowl XIV with a broken leg, and I gather that his broken leg was also a stress fracture.  But it still is a powerful thought, that these guys can play, and play well, with that kind of an injury.  Play well?  My goodness.  I still get the chills when I see the video of Kevin Greene telling Clay Matthews that "it is time" [to make a play], followed by Matthews forcing a fumble to preserve and lengthen the lead over the Steelers.  To me, that Kevin Greene/Clay Matthews combination is right up there with Babe Ruth's called home run shot in the 1932 World Series.

Obviously, the key to this or any other Packer season is protecting Aaron Rodgers.  Just today, Packers.com posted an article that pointed out something I had not thought of before.  The starting offensive line this year will consist of three left tackles, along with a center and a right guard.  Chad Clifton, Bryan Bulaga, and rookie Derek Sherrod are all left tackles by past experience.  Given that, for a right-handed quarterback, the left tackle is the most important member of the offensive line, having three of them in the starting lineup provides some promise that Rodgers' sack total should drop again this year.

Let the games begin.