Reported by Jason Wilde on ESPN Milwaukee.

He hasn't signed but he did work out.

At least they are not sitting on their hands.

I hope he can play at a high level again. I like Tausch, but I'll admit I figured he was beyond-a-doubt done after his injury last year.

My opinion on our offensive line:

Left Tackle: Absolutely need a stud. When Clifton's not in there, it's a disaster. Must be addressed eventually.

Of the other 4 spots, I'm fine if we stood pat at any 2 of them - but we must improve the other 2. I don't care which 2 it is. You can get by with a couple mediocre linemen. Most teams do. But you can't get by with 5 mediocre linemen. And you can't get by with a mediocre LT.

Agreed. I like Sitton and I like Spitz at center. Beyond that -- Colledge, Barbre, Giocomini, Lang, etc... they are all easily replaceable.

About time... Could be seeing a completely different o-line from yesterday's Lang-Spitz-Wells-Sitton-Barbre. Hopefully Clifton-College-Spitz-Sitton-Tauscher will fare better with 4 of the 5 positions changing hands for the better, and the Allen Barbre experiment shelved for the time-being.

If they signed Tauscher today, do you guys think he'd be ready to go in two weeks against the Lions?

Link: http://twitter.com/jasonjwilde/statuses/4662762265

How can you like anyone on this line right now? They all look pathetic in their own way.

Don't be such an alarmist. The majority of the issues we had last night were because we had a guard playing tackle, followed by a rookie coming in off the bench.

If Tauscher is healthy, he can be ready for the next game with Minnesota. Get him in, a couple of weeks to get going, and he can be ready to go. Back to Clifton and Tausch at the tackles, Colledge and Sitton at guard and Spitz at center. Again, if Tausch can go, he would be a huge benefit. Hopefully not to big of an if.

Sign him now. I would bet TT feels some heat today and knows the OL has to pick it up. If that means bringing in Tauscher, so be it. An 80% Tausch is better than a 100% Barbre.

Exactly. Colledge is a good guard but not a tackle and not against a D lineman like Allen who is a speed rush specialist on that turf.

could not agree more. And that said Clifton does not have much left, can he hold up the rest of the year? Reality is that Clifton was not playing that well to begin with.

I think that mediocre would be an upgrade to what we currently have, outside of Clifton when he is healthy.

McCarthy on his press conference just said "he looks good."

Healso said Blackmon is done for the year with an ACL. I guess that would open up the roster spot for Taush.

ok. so where is the depth?

I am also hoping we sign Levi Jones .. and when Clifton returns ..let the best man battle it out for LT. We have the money to spend and it would be nice to have a quality back up.

I was responding to your comment that everyone on the line looked pathetic, not commenting on the depth at those positions.

Thing about Jones from what little I've seen of him is that he's s-l-o-w and not very mobile. I wouldn't think of him as being a panacea.

... even for a back up? or what if Colledge and Clifton cannot go, would you rather have Jones or Lang in there?

Well you said players coming off the bench and switching positions. Isn't that depth? Regardless of where they play, it's an embarrassment watching these guys.

Maybe I misunderstood your point. I'm saying that I think we have servicable players on our line, that they're not all pathetic. I agree with you that our thinness at LT is a major issue and that it causes problems with the rest of the line.

Clifton isn't going to help when he comes back.

Clifton was doing bad before he got injured. Go back and look at the film if you don't believe me. So keep believing Clifton is going to fix things.

Oh he will help dont kid yourself . He is a solid left tackle, If you want to watch film watch the last two games without him. then do your comparison.

Is there some reason you feel compelled to write as if you're obviously the only intelligent person in this thread?

The guy was allowing sacks and pressures left and right before he went down, he doesn't have it anymore.

Sounds like it's a done deal. Per Bedard on his Twitter account:

"Joining the team is imminent provided things work out."

When did Clifton allow sacks and pressures left and right? Last year when he went to the pro-bowl, or in the game-and-a-half he's played so far this season?

I'm talking about this season.

Against CHI and CIN he was bad (just like everyone else). In the CIN game, there were times he couldn't even hold his guy for 2 seconds (and he didn't even play the whole game).

It may not help with Clifton and Tauscher back in. Tauscher worked out for the Chiefs last week, and they didn't sign him, so what does that tell us? They might as well try, as they need to do SOMETHING about the line, and Tauscher at least knows the offense. GB just opened up a roster spot with Blackmon assuredly moving to the IR list. I hope they're scouting other teams for O-line and corner. Trade deadline Oct. 20th.

I'm not ready to write off Lang yet. Guy is just a rookie and was thrown in there at tackle.

Thats all well and good Mark is in their thoughts, not to be picking nits or nitpicking have they brought in any Left Tackles? That seems to be a slightly more pressing issue.

Against Chicago, Rodgers was sacked four times. Two of those were by Adewale Ogunleye, who beat Barbre. The other two were made by safeties coming on blitzes which the protection didn't pick up.

Against the Bengals, Rodgers was sacked six times. One of those was in the first half when Antwan Odom beat Clifton.

So Clifton has given up exactly one (1) sack this year. For comparison, Colledge gave up four sacks just in the second half of the Bengals game after moving to tackle.

I think it's fair to say that the o-line is better with Clifton than without. As such, I think I will "keep believing Clifton is going to fix things", or at least improve them significantly.

Agreed. Not just thrown in there, thrown in against one of the best pass rushers in the NFL in a high pressure situation.

Tausch would be an upgrade, as will Clifton's return. That's not a great O-line, but we need the best we can get, and if Clifton and Tauscher can provide even mediocre play at the tackle positions, the effects will be very noticable. The key will be whether Clifton can hang on for the rest of the season. They have no legitimate backup at LT, and as much as I will defend TT, that is inexcusable at this stage in the game.

Tells me that he wants to stay with the Packers?

Tauscher not signing with KC may just mean he is loyal to the pack and wants to finish in Green Bay. At this point I wouldn't rule him out. As I said before, he might be able to mentor Barbre and help him turn into a good offensive tackle.

Tauscher,like Clifton, are not long term answers, but might be able to add some veteran presence to settle things down a bit.

Just because he didn't show up in the stat column, doesn't mean he hasn't been bad. In the CHI and CIN games he pressured Rodgers many, many times. From my count, the amount of times he gave Rodgers time in the pocket can be counted with only 2 hands. And there has been a couple sacks that weren't pinned on Clifton but he definitely had an "assist" on them.

If I knew how to get game film on the computer I would, because I could string every single offensive line play together show that Clifton probably only does a good job in blocking, about 20% of the time (at best).
This whole line is in shambles.

Which sacks weren't pinned on Clifton? I assume you don't mean the ones Babre gave up, so you must be referring to the sacks the Chicago safeties rang up during week 1.

Honestly, the facts speak for themselves here:

1. Clifton gave up one sack before he got hurt.
2. When Clifton has been playing, most sacks and pressures came from the right side (Barbe).
3. When Cliton has been out, most sacks have come from the left side (Colledge).
4. With Clifton out, Rodgers has been sacked and hurried significantly more often.
5. Clifton is nine months removed from playing in the pro-bowl.

These are the facts. Unless you can come up with concrete counterexamples that prove I'm wrong, I think it's safe to conclude that the Packers o-line is better with Clifton than without.

JS is reporting a deal is close.

Yep. That's promising.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/packers.html

When that defensive back sacked Rodgers in the CHI game, in 2 seconds, Clifton's guy got around the edge and began to put his hands on Rodgers, Rodgers immediately stepped up, and the safety being blocked by Hall, was able to sack him.

That's what I mean where Clifton wasn't officially the cause for it, but realistically he was.

Also in the CHI and CIN games, almost every, single passing play, Clifton could only hold his guy for 2 seconds.

Clifton has been a good OL, but he's on the downside of his career.

He's a far better option at the position than Lang or Colledge.

He may be a tad better option, but this line is going to continue at its record pace of allowing 80 sacks unless unless McCarthy changes up the plays.

OK - point made - let's move forward

Agree with many of the comments posted on this thread. I projected this problem last Spring before the draft. Tauscher was hurt and Clifton was always week to week, who is going to protect our franchise QB. Water under the bridge at this point but we have some holes to fill not only at both tackles but our CBs arent getting any younger.

Agree Coco, My only question is when did TT call Tauscher?. Was it during the game or after, or was it a prearranged tryout that was going to happen anyway. Monday Night was a disaster, Tuesday morning Tauscher is working out. Interesting and much needed.

I'll make a quick point here... For everyone who says the preseason is meaningless, take note that Aaron Rodgers was not sacked once during the preseason.

We're currently at 20, 4 games in... Just, wow.

And a warm welcome back to Mark Tauscher. Who knows what he has, but at this point, we need to try everything. We simply cannot let Rodgers sit back there and wait to get injured. Good move by the Pack.

From JSO


If he looks healthy, that deal better get done.

I totally agree. I think Tauscher and Clifton are short-term players. I look at Tauscher as a quick fix to get us decent pass protection for the rest of the year. Thompson is going to have to quit playing around and seriously do some aggressive trades to either acquire a proven OT or trade up in the draft to pick up a franchise OT. All this drafting of OL in the 4th and 5th rounds just isn't going to cut it anymore. We have a frighteningly good QB that is just getting killed. 20 sacks in 4 games is just embarrassing. Some people blame Rodgers for holding too long. I think he has lost complete confidence in the OL and just doesn't know what to do anymore. The timing of this offense has been completely disrupted by the poor play of the OL and all the plays are being made only because of the great talent we have at QB and WR. The OL isn't doing squat to help this team. None of these guys deserve a starting job next year. They all should have to earn their spot after this debacle. While Rodgers is holding the ball he also seems to be avoiding big hits. He is watching the pass rush and tucking the ball to avoid the contact. A QB should always be looking up the field and trusting the OL. He was taking big shots the first couple of weeks and I really think that has led to him holding the ball too long. He just doesn't know what to do anymore. We can't blame Rodgers for holding the ball too long. He doesn't know what to do anymore. Teams are beating our OL with 3-4 guys and dropping 7-8 guys into coverage. Nobody is open and our OL is getting beat badly. A lot of other QBs would be making lots of mistakes behind this OL.

4 years now and we are still discussing the same problem with the Oline. What makes anyone think that Ted will act differently?

I have defended Ted Thompson in the past but I have to agree with this post. To give Aaron Rodgers such a huge extension and put this pathetic group in front of him to 'protect' him is inexcusable. Ted always tries to get cute and land a stud OL in the later rounds. Games are won and lost in the trenches and our guys on the OL are terrible.

I also wonder why Campen is still there??? It seems to me every year it takes this line several games to 'hit its stride'. This year it's going to get Aaron killed. Thompson needs to be held accountable. GB was 25-30 mill under the cap. Why not use at least some of it to get some help? He acts like it's HIS money! Quit grabbing the 2nd tier guys only to cut them, Ted. I'll bet Minny is thrilled to have Steve Hutchinson! Spend some of the money and build up the lines or it's time to go.

I also wonder about Campen. If Thompson truly believes the guys he has drafted on the OL are good, then why does Campen have a job. Something's gotta give. Somebody has got to be held accountable for this. Either Thompson hasn't done enough to address the OL or Campen isn't doing a good enough job. Its one thing to not want to spend money on DL and have a bad defense as a result. Its another entirely to be cheap and not want to spend on an adequate OL and get your QB killed in the process. This is Thompson's 5th year and this OL is one of the worst I've ever seen. 20 sacks in 4 games. That is the most by a Packers OL in 40 years. This is unacceptable. Its nice to see them at least doing something. Colledge and Barbre turn average DEs into superstars. Odom is tied for most sacks in the NFL with 8. 5 of those came in one game against the Packers. Ogunleye already has as many sacks as he did all of last year but 2 of those came against Barbre. This OL can't run block or protect the QB. This is just unacceptable.

I seriously better see Thompson trading some picks for an OT or moving up to pick up an OT in the draft. We don't need 10 rookies every single year. We have a good team that is tremendously being held back by our OL. We have an outstanding QB, elite WR group, great secondary, solid LBs and a decent DL. Our OL is obviously the weak link of this team. I have supported Ted Thompson up to this point but last night was a complete disaster. We have an OL consisting of mediocre players that went up against an elite DL. It was painful to watch.

Than you need to ask yourself what would these guys do?

A few names for consideration

Kevin Colbert: Director of football operations for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tom Heckert: General manager of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bill Kuharich: Vice president of player personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs.


Randy Mueller: Senior executive for the San Diego Chargers.


Scott Pioli: Vice president of player personnel for the New England Patriots.

Charlie Casserly: Former GM of the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans, Casserly is now working on CBS' "NFL Today" show.
James Harris: Just resigned front office executive of the New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ron Hill: Former front-office executive for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons, Hill is presently assistant director of football operations for the NFL.

Mike Lombardi: Former front office executive for the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, in addition to club experience with the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles.

Floyd Reese: Former general manager of the Tennessee Titans for 13 years, Reese is now working in television

Mark Dominik: Director of pro personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

John Dorsey: Director of college scouting for the Green Bay Packers.

Brian Gaine: Assistant director of player personnel for the Miami Dolphins.

Ron Hughes: College scouting coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Scott Studwell: Director of college scouting for the Minnesota Vikings.

Doug Whaley: Pro personnel coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Im not to sure I understand the question 66...?

IMO if a GM sees that the a certain part of the team is dragging it down they do everything they can to change it.

I dont think Ted has done everything he could do.