1) Introduction: In a strange way, Daryn Colledge reminds me of all the public-sector employees protesting in Wisconsin. On the surface, you want to dislike the protestors. They pay next to nothing for healthcare and retirement benefits while the state runs a deficit and the private-sector struggles. But when you dig deeper, you realize there’s more to the story. Here we are less than a couple years after Wall Street fat cats, crooked home lenders, and clueless politicians wrecked our economy, and somehow we have now managed to blame teachers, 911 operators, garbage men and other public employees for all of our woes. I feel the same way about Colledge. We blamed him for much of the offensive line’s incompetence early in 2009. Then we got mad at him in the offseason when he had the audacity to be upset at the contract tender the Packers offered him. No, Daryn Colledge is not a standout lineman. But like the protesting public employees, he also doesn’t deserve all the angst that’s been spewed in his direction.
2) Profile:
Daryn Wayne Colledge
Position: T
Height: 6-4 Weight: 300 lbs.
Born: August 28, 1981 in North Pole, AK
College: Boise State (school history)
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2nd round (47th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft.
3) Expectations coming into the season for that player: Low. College allowed five sacks in two games filling in at left tackle in 2009 and that’s what most people remembered. What people don’t remember is that Colledge has spent most of his career hopping around at different positions on the OL. Once he settled at left guard in training camp, he seemed establish himself.
4) Player’s highlights/lowlights: It’s tough to point to specific highlights for a guard, but I recall noticing Colledge playing well in the first Vikings game and providing solid pass protection in the Super Bowl. He also grew a sweet beard for the playoff run. Lowlights include a horrible game in the regular season against the Falcons and a bad false start on the Packers final drive in the Super Bowl.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: The Packers are built to pass and Colledge provided solid protection all season. Playing exclusively at left guard seemed to help. Colledge doesn’t appear strong enough to hold off good edge rushers when he’s moved to tackle. It doesn’t look like Colledge will ever be a dominant lineman, but for what the Packers do on offense, he’s capable.
6) Player’s contributions during the 6-win end-of-season run: Player values are always inflated on Super Bowl winning teams, and I expect some organization to throw a fair amount of cash at Colledge in free agency. Just like he was the first part of the season, Colledge was solid, but unspectacular, down the stretch. The fact that the Packers won the Super Bowl, however, might cause some teams to think Colledge played better than he actually did. While Colledge did not deserve to be beat up as badly as he was in the offseason, the fact remains that he’s still basically a league-average lineman.
Season Report Card:
(C+) Level of expectations met during the season
(C) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(C) Contributions to team’s success during the playoff run (last 6 games)
Overall Grade for the year: C
——————
Adam Czech is a a freelance sports reporter living in the Twin Cities and a proud supporter of American corn farmers. When not working, Adam is usually writing about, thinking about or worrying about the Packers. Follow Adam on Twitter. Twitter .
——————
Perhaps the average player is the player that insures/creates consistancy from the above average.
Even though I consider him the weak link to our running attack ,I agree that it could be worse.The question I’ve been asking myself is this. If Pouncey is drafted will he be an upgrade at the LG position? Initially I would ans. yes ,but on further reflection a rookie with no experience in the zone blocking scheme might not. Also, thank you for the common sense comments towards teachers.By the way,I paid 7 thous.towards my N.J. teachers’ pension last year..That’s not a complaint,I realise that’s still a good deal,but some people think that we don’t contribute at all.
I think that it’s easy to over-analyze the OL sometimes. Yes, the blocking schemes have gotten more complicated over the years. But I still believe that OL play is mostly about beating people up, regardless of the blocking scheme or defensive package you’re up against.
If the Packers feel that someone like Pouncey has the skills to wreck havoc on the line, they shouldn’t hesitate to draft him. Better talent will hopefully make up for the inexperience.
When I got to the grade [B+] I had to look back to see if I had forgotten who he was evaluating! A B+! What are you smoking? In other words, he should have been elected to the all pro team!
Mcginn’s evaluation is a C- which is a little harsh but a lot closer to reality.
And the political talk is unnecessary and offensive.
Just got home from work and noticed my Colledge evaluation is up. Obviously, I made a mistake! Colledge does not deserve a B+. I wrote this the night before I left for Mexico and obviously forgot to change the grades from someone else (probably Clifton). Changing it to C+, C, C, C.
Thanks for calling me out on this one.
Fixed.
I was hoping you made an error-I couldn’t see you giving a run blocking deficient, middle of the road average guard a B+. Although I still think a C is high, it is more in line as to what I was thinking
What little credibility I have in the Packers blogosphere flashed before my eyes.