Colledge wants to make the LG his own FOREVER starting now!

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Packersnews:

Notebook: Colledge wants to prove he deserves to be starter

By Pete Dougherty
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Daryn Colledge is hoping to turn his first NFL start Sunday into a full-time gig.

The Packers' second-round draft choice is starting at left guard against New Orleans in place of injured Jason Spitz, who didn't practice all week because of a bruised thigh. Colledge had been the starter there from the day he was drafted until two weeks into training camp, when he lost the job after a bad opening preseason game at San Diego.

Now, he's looking to play well enough Sunday that the Packers won't drop him from the lineup when Spitz is ready to play, which could be as early as next week.

"You never know what's going to happen the next week," Colledge said Friday, "so I'm going to go in there if I'm the starter, and I'm going to fight to try to keep that job the week after this one and the week after that. I'm going in there with the anticipation that I'm the left guard for the rest of the year."

Though Spitz didn't practice all week, coach Mike McCarthy didn't rule out suiting him up as a backup. The Packers' other available backups at guard are Tony Palmer, a rookie claimed last week off waivers, and second-year pro Chris White. Junius Coston, another backup guard, is out because of a sprained knee.

"Jason still has 48 hours. He made a lot of progress from (Thursday) to (Friday)," McCarthy said. "He's doing everything he possibly can to get ready for the football game. I don't know how well you know him — he's a resilient young man, and it's important for him to get ready to play."

Walk through: Though McCarthy doesn't conduct separate walk-throughs on the practice field during the week or a mock game at Lambeau Field on Saturdays, he said he still holds those teaching sessions, but in the team's gymnasium.

Many teams, including the Packers' three preceding coaching staffs, conducted morning walk-throughs on the practice field and then held regular practice in the afternoon. They also did mock-game substitutions in Lambeau on Saturdays.

McCarthy on Friday said he does walk-throughs in the gymnasium as part of his meetings schedule. He does a mock game at the end of practice on Fridays as well as a walk-through in the gym on Saturdays that is part of the Saturday meeting schedule. He decided on that routine to eliminate the time it takes to get players and coaches to and from the practice field for walk-throughs, and then all over again later in the day for practice. He won't do mock games at Lambeau because he and General Manager Ted Thompson decided it should be used only for games.

"We don't think Lambeau Field should be used as a walk-through," McCarthy said. "We did it from a scheduling standpoint this past preseason, but we may never do that again. It's a privilege to walk on Lambeau Field. It's not somewhere you have walk-throughs."

Kicking in the wind: Neither kicker Dave Rayner nor punter Jon Ryan has worked in Lambeau Field except at the two preseason games and last week's regular-season opener, so they've had only a limited chance to acclimate themselves to its unpredictable environment. McCarthy, though, said he's open letting them occasionally work there if needed.

Rayner and Ryan are in their first seasons with the Packers.

"As long as we get out there in pre-game," Rayner said, "and get a good warm-up in, and figure out which way the wind is blowing. We've kind of figured out you can't (get a consistent read on the wind). The thing we thought was funny (last week against Chicago) is the flags up top (the luxury boxes) will be whipping, and the uprights flags will be dead, and on the field it feels like a 15 mph wind is blowing around you."

Top secret: McCarthy expects the Saints to get as much information as they can about the Packers from fullback Vonta Leach, whom New Orleans claimed on waivers this week after the Packers cut him.

"It's part of the business," McCarthy said. "I never found that I won a football game because of a player we acquired from the team before (playing it). Vonta knows the intricacies of the offense, but quite frankly there's a number of other individuals that know a lot about our offense too, because I spent five years (as an assistant) there. So, there's a lot of things you factor into your game plan. Times change, your offense changes, faces and conceptually what you're trying to do changes almost year to year. So, I don't feel we're at a competitive disadvantage."

Etc.: Newly signed Koren Robinson appears set to return kickoffs Sunday. "He practiced and we're going to have him ready," McCarthy said. Robinson had a sore knee when the Packers signed him, and they have an injury clause in his contract so they don't have to pay him for any game he can't play because of that pre-existing injury. … Fullback William Henderson practiced Friday and appears ready to play after missing last week's game because of a knee injury. He's listed as probable on the Packers' injury report.
 

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