Clifton endures as Packer changes begin

By David Murray  |   Wednesday, June 28, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

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As aging gunslinger Brett Favre prepares to saunter out for yet another campaign at the helm of the Green Bay Packers, he can take tremendous comfort in the fact that the man who has long protected his blind side will once again be holding down the fort.

Big No. 76, left tackle Chad Clifton, has been held out of action thus far after off season ankle and knee surgeries, but he is expected to be ready when training camp begins.

Clifton and his longtime running mate on the other side at right tackle, Mark Tauscher, remain the fixtures on a Green Bay offensive line where the winds of change have begun to blow with a fury. New head coach Mike McCarthy and new offensive line coach Joe Philbin have introduced a zone blocking scheme which relies on lighter, quicker offensive linemen, and last season's starting guards may well be replaced by a pair of rookies, second-round draft pick Daryn Colledge and third-round pick Jason Spitz.

Colledge was a four-year starter at left tackle at Boise State, but he was selected so that he could line up beside Clifton at left guard, not take his place.

Clifton, the 6-5 330 pound seven year veteran out of Tennessee, will be manning his post as always. He was the only Packer to take every snap in 2003, and again in 2004. Ironically, Clifton suffered a serious hip injury on November 24, 2002, and many thought, at least initially, that he might never play again. Clifton was blindsided by former University of Miami great Warren Sapp, who later admitted that he was looking for the big Packer tackle, at the end of an interception return. Some thought that it was a cheap and unnecessary shot, including former Packer coach Mike Sherman, who angrily confronted Sapp after the game.

But in a testament to his hard work and dedication, Clifton returned to Tampa Bay nearly a year to the day later with a vengeance and shut out Pro Bowl defensive end Simeon Rice as the Green Bay Packers turned the tables on the Bucs. In 2004, Clifton led an offensive line that allowed only 14 sacks during the entire season, an all-time team record. But 2005 saw the Packers stumble badly as they finished 4-12, and Sherman was shown the door. And now, apparently, so will last year's starting guards, Scott Wells and Will Whitticker.

Colledge and Spitz won't be mistaken for Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston. Nor will they rival the duo of Marco Rivera and Mike Wahl, at least not right now. But there are high hopes for the rookie guards, who are part of what many are starting to believe may be one of the best draft classes in Packer history. The Pack grabbed AJ Hawk with their first round pick, and later added prime prospects Colledge, Spitz, Abdul Hodge (a middle linebacker out of Iowa) and Greg Jennings (a wide receiver from Western Michigan.)

New faces are everywhere for the Packers after last year's disaster, and new head coach Mike McCarthy seems determined to make whatever changes are necessary to right the ship. But the big man from Tennessee remains firmly entrenched at left tackle as the changes swirl all around. Packer fans--as well as one veteran QB named Brett Favre--can rest easy knowing that Chad Clifton will be lining up at his old familiar spot when another campaign begins.

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