Saturday Injury Report: Green Bay Packers at Vikings

by Brandon on Oct 3, 2009 6:52 PM CDT in News Comment 12 comments

Usually this is written on Friday, but with a Monday night game, the final practice of the week is on Saturday instead. More time to heal!

For the Packers, there are a lot of familiar names. SS Atari Bigby has been out since week 1, but he should be back after the bye week (next week). It means the first big game for SS Derrick Martin who barely played last week because they substituted him for an extra LB. RB Brandon Jackson has been out since the preseason. LB Jeremy Thompson has been battling a knee injury the past two weeks, but he's gotten off to a poor start on special teams so his absence might be noticed in a good way. The big name this week has been LT Chad Clifton, who's been listed as questionable but hasn't practiced all week. I'm not a big fan of LT Daryn Colledge, but I'd rather see him start then an injured player. Mike McCarthy expects Colledge will start, so don't expect Clifton to be active. Everyone else should play.

For the Vikings, they've got a number of big names on their injury list. Of course QB Brett Favre will play, so there's no need to discuss that one. I wonder if he's only being listed because of the Jets injury-report fiasco. LB Erin Henderson probably won't play, but since he's most famous for being LB E.J. Henderson's brother, and only has 15 career tackles, I don't expect they'll miss him. The Vikings struggling pass protection would take a blow if Pro Bowl LG Steve Hutchinson is out with a back injury. He looks like a game-time decision. Don't expect WR Darius Reynaud will play, which might not seem like a big loss, but he's having a great season as a punt returner. It looks like starting FB Naufahu Tahi won't play either. They won't miss his meager offensive production, but his blocking could be missed.

These are not game changing injuries for either team, but they are hitting both teams struggling pass protection units. Complete injury list after the jump.

From Packers.com:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Atari Bigby	S	Knee	Out	Out
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Brandon Jackson	RB	Ankle	Out	Out
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Greg Jennings	WR	Wrist	Full Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Abdomen	Full Participation	Probable
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Knee	Did Not Participate	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Foot	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Brett Favre	QB	Foot	Limited Participation	Probable
Cedric Griffin	CB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
E.J. Henderson	LB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Erin Henderson	LB	Calf	Limited Participation	Doubtful
Steve Hutchinson	G	Back	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jim Kleinsasser	TE	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chris Kluwe	P	Illness	Full Participation	Probable
Darius Reynaud	WR	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Naufahu Tahi	FB	Back	Limited Participation	Questionable

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Comments

If Clifton can't go

there is no other choice but to put Colledge at LT. This causes a ripple effect throughout the whole left side of the line, unfortunately. What if Colledge gets hurt?

by ktenreb on Oct 3, 2009 6:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Haha

Then we’re more screwed then we already are.

by packallday555 on Oct 4, 2009 3:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mark Taucher---Where are you? Better get suited up..haaa

by Buddyruff on Oct 5, 2009 4:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Haha honestly though. I know he is better then Barbre

by packallday555 on Oct 5, 2009 7:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Colledge _is_ at LT, he doesn't need to be put there...

He’s been practicing there for two weeks. The disruption would be greater if Clifton were inserted at LT on game day, which would shift Colledge and Spitz to positions they haven’t played in two weeks.

And if Colledge gets hurt during the game on Monday and Clifton is inactive, then TJ Lang needs to find his helmet and get through the game. No team in the league has a roster solution in place if they lose both 1st and 2nd string LTs. They all have guys they can put in the lineup to fill the hole, but they are about the same level as Mr. Lang.

by RobertArthur on Oct 3, 2009 8:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

If Clifton were completely healthy, he would be the answer. At 80 percent, he’s not the answer. Colledge is the starting left guard; now, he’s the starting left tackle, and the starting center becomes the starting left guard, and the second string center becomes the starting center. A genuine backup tackle would have been better, but that’s not an option.

God help us if TJ Lange gets any extended playing time.

by ktenreb on Oct 3, 2009 9:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who is the backup left tackle?

I don’t know what they’d do if Colledge had to be removed. He’d only come out if he got hurt. At this point, they can’t afford to pull him and I’m not expecting he’ll play that poorly. I haven’t seen either play at left tackle this season, but it might be Barbre over to the left side and Giacomini to replace Barbre at right tackle. Barbre played almost exclusively on the left side in his first two seasons, so it might be even easier for him to slide over to left tackle then for the rookie Lang, who’s played almost exclusively at left guard. Giacomini played a lot at right tackle during the preseason, so he wouldn’t be much, if any, drop off from Barbre.

by Brandon on Oct 4, 2009 10:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

From Silverstein and Bedard on Sept 23rd...

If something were to happen to Colledge against the Rams, it appears rookie T.J. Lang would move to left tackle. Lang played there in college, but he played solely at guard and right tackle until last week.

The coaches became concerned when Lang blew a couple of assignments in practice, but he said it was nothing to panic about and that he would be ready if called upon. He said he did not think a foot injury he suffered at the end of August was affecting him, although he said it occasionally caused him some discomfort.

That was over a week ago, so Lang has been getting reps at LT for two weeks. He was a LT his Junior and Senior years at Eastern Michigan. Looking at the film I could find online, he reminds me a little of a young Chad Clifton. Every down looks like a fight in an alley. He’s the anti-Colledge. Short arms, though.

Switching sides during a game is very difficult. I doubt very much that they would switch Barbe from right to left during a game, especially because his physical tools are not superior to Lang’s. In a lot of ways, they are bookends. If Colledge was hurt during the game, they would probably leave the right side alone and take their chances with Lang on the left side (with help). During the week, the line would be reshuffled, I’m sure.

Giacomini would be a noticeable drop-off from Barbe at this point. Barbe has had 3 games of live-fire competition that he has responded well to. The start of a growth curve is where you see rapid changes, and Barbe has put some distance between him and Giacomini. You would definitely notice if he was in at RT instead of Barbe.

by RobertArthur on Oct 5, 2009 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Charles Woodson - foot

lol not the broken toe again, that seems to help him play better

Or if Peterson's "troublesome" back gives out. Because he's, you know, carrying the team. And some of those guys are heavy.

Mitchell M

by blackoutsox on Oct 3, 2009 9:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Clifton Haiku

One receiver routes?
Packer O-Line SOS
Calling Chad Clifton
http://PackerHaiku.com

Clark Osborn - PackerHaiku.com | FavreHaiku.com | BadgerHaiku.com

by PackerHaiku on Oct 4, 2009 7:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Two years ago Clifton played a lot without practicing

If Clifton is healthy I expect they will activate him but keep him on the bench. If College gets hurt or implodes then Clifton goes in and the LG and C stay the same.

Thought?

by 50 years and Counting on Oct 4, 2009 5:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Veteran rules

If Clifton is active, he’s starting. There’s no point in letting him stand on the sidelines for an hour, letting his bad ankle get stiff, and then putting him out there. Clifton missed a lot of practice last year, and McCarthy still let him play, but his injuries usually weren’t as serious as his current bad ankle.

by Brandon on Oct 4, 2009 10:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs