Nick Collins Injury: Packers Need Star Safety to Help Ailing Pass Defense

Nick Collins laid motionless on the field, a scene that we have witnessed many times by other players but hardly gets any easier to watch. By Monday, fans breathed easier once news surfaced Collins would be fine. Now about that Packers defense. 

The Green Bay Packers are on a roll, if you consider just one half of their total game. The Packers are still one of the most dangerous teams on the offensive side of the ball. 

This team has put up 818 total yards in the first two games of the season. Aaron Rodgers has too many targets to count, and the benefit of versatility shows in the score lines. 

On Sunday, Packers' Nick Collins was going to tackle Panthers' running back Jonathan Stewart. The Panthers' leg hit Collins in the helmet, causing his neck to bend awkwardly. The video can be seen here. 

The good news is that Collins is doing fine. The worst was thought as Collins was removed on a stretcher, neck stabilized, on Sunday. 

After the game, tidbits about the injury were slowly coming in. ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Collins had normal feeling in his extremities. 

The website has Collins listed as questionable on their injury report. Week 3 is hardly the biggest worry. I join with every other NFL fans that hope Collins makes it back as healthy as possible. His health trumps any game. 

Now that he is doing well, we can consider the fallout that losing Collins for any time would be to the Packers. 

This team has given up an average of 400 yards of passing in their first two games, good enough for dead last in the league. 

Their defense against the run and the touchdown machine that is Rodgers is keeping this team afloat. At some point, a porous passing defense will catch up to them. 

Losing Collins for any amount of time will be felt as teams continue to attack the Packers by air. 

Next up for Green Bay is Chicago, a team that loves to get vertical. With the Packers allowing receivers to get sunlight, the Packers may be staring their first lost dead in the face. 

Packers fans are corralling around Collins, hoping he comes back quickly. This team can hardly afford to lose any of their defensive stars. 

LIFE HURTS. THIS INJURY UPDATE BROUGHT TO YOU BY DICKIES