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Chad Clifton will be the Packers starting left tackle in the 2012 playoffs.

Any lingering question about who would start at left tackle for the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional round of the 2012 NFL playoffs was answered Monday morning.

Without hesitation, coach Mike McCarthy proclaimed Chad Clifton as the starter at that position over second-year tackle Marshall Newhouse.

“Chad Clifton will be our starter,” McCarthy said. “There is no gray area for that.”

Clifton started on Sunday against the Detroit Lions and played the first three series for the Packers. McCarthy said on Monday that the goal was to play him for 25 or so snaps.

There was plenty of rust visible in those 25 snaps, which is understandable for a 35-year-old tackle coming off a torn hamstring. Clifton hadn’t played in a game since Week 5 when he suffered the injury in Atlanta and just returned to practice full-time this week.

Clifton was beat a handful of times in pass protection against the Lions, including one allowed sack. McCarthy acknowledged that Clifton still has work to do over the next two weeks to be ready for the Packers’ Divisional round playoff game.

Asked why he was choosing Clifton over Newhouse, who started 10 games at left tackle this season, McCarthy said, “Experience, and Clifton is a damn good player.”

Zach Kruse is a 23-year-old sports journalist with a passion for the Green Bay Packers. He currently lives in Wisconsin and is working on his journalism degree, while also covering prep sports for The Dunn Co. News.  Read more... (276 words + 1 image, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

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With the 32^nd pick, the Super Bowl Champions selected Derek Sherrod, offensive tackle from Mississippi State and raised one big question, where is he going to play?  The question stems from the 2010 NFL draft, where the Packers used their 1^st round selection to nab offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga from Iowa.

Bulaga and Sherrod seem to have a lot in common; both players were predicted to be drafted far ahead of where they actually ended up and both were technically sound and athletic offensive linemen who weren’t as highly touted as some of the other offensive linemen in their respective drafts (such as Russel Okung and Trent Williams in 2010 and Gabe Carimi and Tyron Smith in 2011).  Both are considered more technicians than maulers and were considered left tackle prospects.

The Packers have claimed after drafting Sherrod that both will get a chance to battle it out in training camp, but lets see how they compare to each other and who fits the mold of a left tackle.  Below is a side by side comparison of Bulaga and Sherrod.  I don’t claim to be a evaluator of talent, so I’ve used analysis from CBSports.com (most likely written by Rob Rang), Doug Farrar (of Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner and Football Outsiders) and Kevin Seifert (of ESPN).

   Read more... (1477 words + 1 image, estimated 5:54 mins reading time)

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