<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Klemm out for the year</span>Backup tackle's injury thins offensive lineBy LORI NICKELlnickel@journalsentinel.comPosted: July 30, 2006Green Bay - Kevin Barry will spend the season in the trainer's room, Adrian Klemm will join him and suddenly the one position with depth on the Green Bay Packers' offensive line - tackle - is a concern.Barry was lost for the season in June with a ruptured quadriceps tendon, and tests Sunday by Packers doctors disclosed that Klemm ruptured his right Achilles' tendon Saturday in practice. He is finished for the season.That's bad news for the Packers because they were counting on the seven-year veteran to be the top backup behind Chad Clifton. Though Klemm has been sidelined throughout his career with injuries that have prevented him from realizing his potential, he still has a veteran's knowledge."It's tough anytime you have an injury to an experienced guy," center Scott Wells said. "That's something we don't have a lot of, veterans on the line. It's unfortunate that it happened for him, but it is fortunate that it happened for us now so we can get somebody prepared."Clifton's backups haven't had much playing time, but the Packers have also been lucky that Clifton has gutted out a few injuries of his own to start 80 of 85 games. He has been the Packers' starting left tackle the last five seasons, and has started every game the last three. That's 51 consecutive games, including playoffs. His only serious injury was in 2002 at Tampa Bay, when Warren Sapp caught him with a blind-side hit that left Clifton with a pelvis injury so bad he didn't walk for six weeks.But his 30-year-old body has racked up injury miles. Last season, he played three-fourths of the season on a bad ankle that required surgery in January. He did not practice at all in the recent minicamps and was withheld from the Sunday morning practice to rest.He has also played through stingers, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee after suffering a sprain of the medial collateral ligament and had his left elbow scoped.If anything sidelines Clifton this season - whether it is a game or just a quarter - the Packers could be in deep trouble. Unless they uproot Mark Tauscher from right tackle, they're down to inexperienced young replacements to protect quarterback Brett Favre."We'll see," Packers general manager Ted Thompson said Sunday. "That's the reason we bring guys into camp, to see if they can compete. Injuries are a part of the NFL, so you can't get too worked up about it. Certainly we're sorry that Adrian got hurt, though."Next in line behind Clifton is William Whitticker, the former seventh-round draft pick who suffered more downs than ups last season when thrust into the starting right guard position as a rookie. At least he has game experience, although none of it at tackle.After Whitticker there is Josh Bourke, a 6-foot-7 undrafted rookie free agent. Since Klemm got hurt Saturday, Whitticker has taken all of the snaps at left tackle with the starting offense, and Bourke has taken all of the snaps with the second and third team offense.Another candidate, rookie Tony Moll, is a fifth-round draft pick who could also slide over from backup right tackle to left. But that's three candidates who haven't played left tackle in the National Football League.For Whitticker, this all leads up to a second chance. There was speculation that Whitticker might not have a job with the Packers when coach Mike McCarthy took over and brought in the zone blocking scheme. Pushing 340 pounds, Whitticker wasn't a good fit.But Whitticker has dropped 14 pounds and is playing in the low 320s. He has gone from a question mark to a marketable commodity."'Whit' has done a great job throughout the season," McCarthy said. "He's kind of moved around a bunch, and also has the ability to potentially compete for an inside spot. Very happy with what 'Whit' has done so far."Bourke's offensive line at Grand Valley State ran a lot of zone blocking, so he's familiar with its concepts. What he needs to constantly strive for is a lower pad level because of his height. His modest goal of just making the team could be realized now with the team's needs.Although other teams have found success with zone blocking with supposedly less talent, that doesn't mean the Packers can throw their youngest players onto the field and expect everything to work perfectly this season. However, they are confident they at least have smart young players."Playing offensive line is a little more complicated than probably any of us realize," Thompson said. "The tackles that we have, some of them are young, but they're all very bright. It's not going to be a learning problem; these guys have a smaller learning curve than others because they're real smart guys. We'll see how it goes. It's just where we are."</div>Wow this team used to have one of the best o-lines in the NFL. Now with the loss of Klemm (yeah I know he's a backup) and Barry I cannot honestly name a starter on their line. The sad thing is that I could name all of them 2 years ago because they were all highly regarded players.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Jul 31 2006, 10:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Favre must want to shoot himself in the foot.</div>Or the face for that matter. Every NFC north defense is licking their chops waiting to play against this o-line.
Tasucher and Clifton are still two GREAT tackles, plus Wells is excelling in the zone blocking system.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PurplePeopleEaters @ Jul 31 2006, 09:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Jul 31 2006, 10:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Favre must want to shoot himself in the foot.</div>Or the face for that matter. Every NFC north defense is licking their chops waiting to play against this o-line.</div>Espicallly DA BEARS!!!! :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2:
