I just read the article that discussed Lang taking over as the backup to Clifton. Acouple things bother me about it so I will start with my opinion.

TJ Lang may or may not be an up and coming LT. But I believe this decision is based solely on his performance against the Vikings on the last 20 plays of Mon Nights game. TJ Lang came into that game after Allen was almost completely out of gas. He was getting maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of Jared Allens full potential. When they interviewed Allen after the game he said he was completely exhausted and looked it. I'm not saying he was giving less effort just exhausted. A fraction slower, weaker, etc. Being moved from RG to LT due to that body of work is disturbing to me. LT is arguably the most important position on the line. Until the 4th Qtr nobody had an inkling Lang was LT in waiting.

My next issue, not opinion but rather statements made in the article are more disturbing. The article points out that TJ Lang had an outstanding college career as a RT and LT, all true. The Packers went into training camp with no established starter at RT. And the article stated that (i'll paraphrase) it hadn't dawned on Campen to open up the RT competition to Lang. Philbin covers his butt after basically stating the same thing by saying having too many people compete for one position only dilutes the quality reps for all. I agree. But you drafted a Right Tackle, you need a Right Tackle yet it doesnt dawn on you to consider him for the position. And now because Lang gets pressed into duty at LT out of sheer desperation he is suddenly promoted to be a backup at arguably the most important position on the offensive line (LT) after 20 plays against an admittedly exhausted Jared Allen. You (Packers coaches) didnt realize until that performance that hey maybe this guy can play tackle. Rags to Riches story.

Lets hope Clifton stays healthy and we never find out if this is a good or bad move but with our complete ineptness to this point on the Oline I am just losing faith in Campen. If you have a talent on your team at a position of need and a coach doesnt realize until an act of sheer desperation reveals his promise what does that say? To me it says that either it was a one time event (beginners luck if you will) or the coaches blew it up to this point. Either scenario cast a bad light on the Oline Coach - if Lang is pressed into duty and fails you overreacted to 1 qtr of adequate play and promoted him or if he succeeds he did so because he was in the right place at the right time, not because the staff was grooming the LT of the future.

Any other year I would probably look at this as a great find but 20 sacks in 4 games, shifting 3 lineman due to one injury and continual poor running game has me questioning the coaching.

Lang played LT in college but the coaches wanted to see if he'd be a good guard. He's just a rookie so I doubt he is now damaged goods cuz he practiced some at guard. And if Lang developes into a decent LT isn't that a good thing? I suspect the coaches didn't want to put a rookie in there to block J. Allen. Allen can make seasoned veteran tackles look pretty silly. Colledge is no tackle but they probably thought he'd be a better option at LT until Clifton came back. Frankly I'm glad they are now going to keep DC at guard.

I'm not holding out much hope that Lang will be our long term answer at LT, but I do hope he's given a legit shot to compete at RT next season. The staff seems to have zero faith in Breno, and Barbre needs the competition.

The alternative would be moving Colledge back over if Clifton gets hurt again. I'd rather see Lang get a shot.

I think the Colledge experiment at LT is over for good. I expect we'll be spending a day 1 pick at LT in the next draft. If not, TT almost has to spend some money in FA (*gasp*) to bring in a LT superior to both Colledge and Lang. I don't have any problems with giving Lang his shot somewhere on the OL, but unless he really shines this season backing up Clifton, we've got to be going a different direction next season.

Yup Yup Yup.....

Yes it is. ANd that is exactly the point. IMO our coaches shuld have had enough tape, scouting, practice time with Lang that they should have known he has what it takes to be a tackle. Instead they moved our entire line around playing guys out of position and only when Colledge goes down they use Lang at Tackle. Apparently little or no faith that he could play the position and after 1 qtr he is the #1 Backup.

Please remember the post isnt about Lang perse. It is more about my lost confidence in Campen as a coach.

And okay, now we have given up 3 sacks in the 1st half to the Lions. As Moose pointed out you cant come out of your bye week and have total breakdowns in assignment. THe Oline did not get beat on the sacks they simply left players unblocked!!!!

Inexcuseable Mr Campen and that falls on MM.

Lang looked solid in run protection today.

To make any judgment about TJ Lang's play against a DL that was so injury depleted that they used an OL as a sub, is unwarranted to say the least.

Agreed. You get the impression that nobody knows what they're doing with regard to the offensive line: not McCarthy, not Thompson, not Philbin, not Campen. If Clifton is hurt again, who knows what they'll do?

I hope Lang succeeds. He would have more chance with a year on the bench, or playing next to some competent teammates.

It must be obvious to anyone by now that:

1. Campen cannot coach the OL
2. TT does not beleive in drafting OL in the first round
3. MM goes with this flow
4. Philbin follows MM's lead

To me its sort of like the blind leading the blind. And the results are there for anyone to see.

We lead the league in sacks, and our RB averages less than four per carry.

Since Cliffy Looked RUSTY today after 10 plus years... hmmm Maybe a time to try Lang next week at tackle as a starter...I mean why not... You know a ROOKIE will get a few offsides ...and maybe give up a few sacks and stuff....

Does anyone have any updates on Clifton's status?

I hope this doesn't freak you out, but I agree with you again. Even if Cliffy can play the rest sure won't hurt those weary bones. I say let's get Lang some more playing time.

Can we change this to TJ Lang now the starter at LT?

He earned it today with his play.

Washed up.

He's not rusty. He's like my car. It's not rusty either. There's holes where the rust used to be.

The guy was never better than a poor run blocker. He was the most penalized LT in the NFL last year and probably leads again after, what has he played, 6 quarters? Just the nature of his penalties today, show that he's lost confidence in himself.

Lang was head and shoulders above Cliffy in run blocking today (BTW they were both blocking the same scout team players) they might as well leave him there and see if he's going to be something. If he needs help, so what? So does Clifton, but at least Lang has a future.

TJ came in the game with some attitude today. maybe it will rub off on some people.

I thought he played well to, but remember I don't think we passed more than 1 or 2 times while he was in. So I'm not sure we can judge his pass blocking, which is what you need a left tackle to excel at.

It is time to move on from Clifton. The last two years and now the start of this season he has become a problem on the line. He hs been getting more false starts than anyone and holding calls have picked up. His career is at and end as a Packer, and I think Lang should get the first crack.

Lang might as well get a chance to see what he can do with a full week of practice. Run game will improve as it was mentioned Clifton was poor in the run game. Lang surely could be the answer to the LT puzzle. For those of you doubting this many moons ago a couple rookies took over the tackles spots during a season. One was a 2nd rounder the other a 7th rounder from Wisconsin. Where a guy gets drafted doesnt have anyting with how a guy plays on Sundays.

The running game certainly improved once Lang entered the game, but it's hard to read too much into it when it was garbage time vs a beaten down opponent. I hope Lang does get the start vs CLE just to see if yesterday was more than a mirage.

Was anyone else discouraged to see that Meridith started at RT for BUF this weekend and apparently held up pretty well? It's looking more and more like our organization knows very little about developing the OL.

Sure doesnt appear to be a strength does it. But I wouldnt read a lot into starting for Buffalo. The injury bug has hit them like the plague.

I heard Mereidith didn't fit in with the oline and that the coaches and veterans players for the oline didnt like. The only reason he got on the Practice squad was because the front office and scouting department wanted him.

Forget trades or trying to get better oline players. If we just got a great oline coach Im sure our oline problems would go away.

The rest of the OL probably didn't like him b/c occasionally he was able to block somebody

EDIT: In all seriousness, if he was able to hold up at RT for even one game, he should not have been cut. Anyone think Breno could make a legit showing at RT if he had to this week? Me either. The stuff about releasing Meredith b/c he didn't get along with the other OL is a joke. If likability is the basis for how we're building the OL it's no wonder we're a mess.

Probably mazrimiv. It was just a rumor. Apparently the oline is really close and Mereidith didnt want to be buddy buddy with them and during training camp kinda stayed under the tent near the water cooler. Just left a bad impression on the coaches and teammates. ut who knows if thats true. He was still a top OT talent that we let get away.

I don't know if I'd say 'top OT talent'. I'd just say, 'he's an OT that got away'. There's a reason he slid to the 5th round and then only made GB's practice squad. I had high hopes for him too. It just didn't pan out that way. Too bad. But OT had better be extremely high on Ted's to-do list this next off-season!

Isn't it weird how every player who shows a little something in preseason and gets traded, cut or claimed off waivers suddenly becomes the last, best hope for the season?

Heh, unfortunately Ted has committed that he only adds talent via draft. And we've told a zillion times that it takes years for o-linemen to get strong enough and able to play, you can't expect anything from a rookie. So even if Ted does prioritize tackle, will it help much next year?

I hear ya. At the end of TC folks were wringing their hands cuz Smith got cut. That guy can't get on the field for one of the worst teams in the league and has a grand total of 3 tackles so far this seasn. Sutton is sitting at the end of the pine in Carolina and has yet to have rushed for one measly yard.

That's a little deceiving, just to support your argument. Smith was entrenched in the Packers defense, suddenly he's with the rams just before the season starts. He wasn't in their plans, and it may take him a little time to fit their system. Regardless, it's hard to argue he wouldn't have done better than Rouse, Martin, etc.

And Sutton is behind two very good RB- better than any RBs the Packers have. Does that mean Rodgers wasn't a good QB worth keeping because he was sitting on the bench for two years?

Sutton is better than Ryan Grant? I would have kept him over Wynn but there is no way that I would say he is better than Grant.

Also, I would argue that it is no sure thing that Smith would have been better than Rouse. Martin I agree with for the same reason you state about Smith with the Rams. IMO, the problem was that behind Collins & Bigby there were no solid players, Smith included.

I wasn't clear. Sutton is behind two RB in Carolina that are better than any Packer RBs. Willaims and Stewart. THAT'S why he hasn't been on the field.

I certainly agree with that, and was going to make the same point if you hadn't beaten me to the punch. In hindsight, Williams would have been a top-5 pick in his draft class. That guy is a stud, and Stewart ain't too shabby either.

That said, Wynn made the team because none of the other backs could run AND block AND catch. The guy's portfolio (college and the pros) may qualify him as one of the biggest underachievers of the past decade, mind you, but at least he doesn't completely suck at any one of his three main responsibilities.

So it really wasn't Sutton vs Wynn; but rather, Sutton vs Jackson/Grant.