It's a battle of second round disappointments as Mike Neal faces off against former Packer Daryn Colledge. Will each man show on Sunday why Packer fans have been fed up with each of them?
This may be overly optimistic at the moment given that Mike Neal did not practice on Wednesday, but assuming he does play Sunday, this should be an interesting matchup between a couple of disappointing second round picks for the Packers. Daryn Colledge’s time with Green Bay did not necessarily come to a pretty end, even though he was able to get a Super Bowl ring. Colledge was a scapegoat for the offensive line troubles during his last few years in Green Bay and was not a fan favorite. Maybe the best evidence of that is the lack of wailing and mashing of teeth over Colledge’s departure no matter how badly replacement T.J. Lang struggles. For a comparison, people still complain about Cullen Jenkins leaving when the defensive line fails to generate pressure. Yes, it’s safe to say that not many miss Colledge’s presence along the line.
That said, it was interesting to see Cardinals fans this week list Colledge as the team’s offensive lineman. Okay, interesting probably is not the best word as much as shocking. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Cardinals line is not in good shape at the moment. There are injury concerns as well as just a straight up failure to perform. In the midst of that Colledge is still doing his thing that he did in Green Bay. He’s okay and solid enough. Probably plays a bit too high at times but can get the job done. What this says about the four guys around him is uncertain, but it will be interesting to watch to say the least.
One of Colledge’s tasks this week, at least God willing, will be stopping Mike Neal. Neal is a player who has worlds of potential and little production to show for it. There are injuries a plenty in his history as well as a rather odd suspension. Add it all up though and you will find accountability problems and a lack of push coming from the man who should of replaced Cullen Jenkins. It’s the failure of Neal to pan out that has Packer fans still pine after Jenkins. It’s also this failure to pan out that caused the dramatic trade for Jerel Worthy...and the unexpected pick of Mike Daniels. The funny thing though is that Neal has not done a terrible job this year when given a chance. Since coming back he has had one bad game (this past week) two okay games, and one pretty good game.
So which one of these disappointing second round picks will get the last laugh…or at least will get the chance to shine on Sunday? Hopefully we will get to see this match up with Neal being healthy enough to contribute. And if Neal can’t go then we may see exactly why neither pick really worked out in Green Bay. Colledge for his play and Neal for his availability.
Devin Shanley  wrote: