Diner morning news: How Injuries can be Fatal

QUOTE: “Your success story is a bigger story than whatever you’re trying to say on stage... Success makes life easier. It doesn’t make living easier.” —Bruce Springsteen, Q magazine (August 1992)

As we all know, injuries in the NFL have played a huge part in deciding the eventual champions. Good teams that avoid injuries become great teams in December when the talent pool has been depleted. Some teams are devastated by injuries at certain positions, and there’s no solution to fixing the problem.

In 2005, for example, I had a conversation with then-Dallas head coach Bill Parcells about an injury to Flozell Adams, who was going to miss the remaining 10 games of the season.

We talked about how there was no long-term solution to losing a left tackle, because if a team has a player with enough talent to become a good left tackle in the NFL, he’s not sitting on the bench. He’s in the game.

I realize there have been exceptions, especially in Pittsburgh where Max Starks filled in for an oft-injured Marvel Smith at left tackle and learned to play the position on the fly. But for the most part, losing a left tackle can be fatal to a team’s success.

Last week in Green Bay, we saw the Packers lose Chad Clifton early in the second half, which then forced them to make three moves, moving Daryn Colledge from left guard to left tackle, center Jason Spitz to left guard and inserting Scott Wells at center.

These moves had already been prearranged, so during practice week everyone had limited time working at their new positions. This week in practice, with Clifton out with a sprained ankle, the line will be able to practice the positions they’ll be playing in the game.

Will this help? Not really because the Packers must now try and cover up both edges from being exploited. It’s a good thing the St. Louis Rams are the next team on the Packers’ schedule and not the Vikings.

Did these injuries cost the Packers the game against the Bengals? I don’t think so since the Bengals were getting pressure on Aaron Rodgers before Clifton went down.

The Bengals were powering back the weak line of the Packers, who want to be more athletic and less powerful by the design of their run game. This lack of power has cost them, and at some point the Packers must find players who can anchor the line of scrimmage and keep the pocket clean for their quarterback.

What was interesting Tuesday in terms of transactions around the NFL was that the Packers’ fifth-round pick this year, Jamon Meredith from South Carolina, was on their practice squad and Bills-sign-Meredith-place-Butler-on-IR.html" target="_blank">chose to leave to go to Buffalo, which was looking for a tackle after placing Brett Butler on injured reserve.

Meredith is raw as an athlete and a player. He can run, but he’s not always a power player, although that description fits into what the Packers want from their offensive linemen. Meredith played tackle and guard at South Carolina, so he had position flexibility, but he must not have been the right fit for the Packers as they could have easily made room to keep him on the active squad had they chosen to promote him.

Letting any offensive lineman leave at this time of the year is not prudent, not normal, and not smart—unless you don’t feel the player has NFL talent. But if you feel that way, why was he on the practice squad? Was he good enough for practice squad but not good enough to promote? That logic is hard for me to accept.

Can the Packers recover? It’s early, but offensive lines are like almond trees; they take planning and years to develop before they realize their full potential. With problems now at right and left tackle, this makes the recovery even more difficult—but then again, thank God for the Rams.

Can the ‘Skins recover from Redskins-place-Thomas-on-injured-reserve.html" target="_blank">losing Randy Thomas? With the lack of depth in their offensive line, I would have a very hard time believing they can withstand this loss over time.

The ‘Skins put Will Montgomery at right guard to replace Thomas, and this will make them even more prone to run the ball left. I was concerned about their offensive line all last year, yet the front office chose to do nothing other than replace Pete Kendall with Derrick Dockery and move up Steve Heyer to starting right tackle.

Where is the youth? Where is the plan for developing an offensive line in Washington? Where are the bright young “Hogs” grazing the field in D.C.?

They don’t have any—and this will cost them again this year. At what point does “The Daniel” stop spending on players and build a state-of-the-art personnel department? Great lines take time, and the longer the ‘Skins keep fooling themselves with this line, the longer they’ll be watching the playoffs in HD TV.

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