Railbird Central : Nick Collins

Packers could fall victim to the Pro Bowl conundrum

Brian Carriveau — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:52:10 GMT

A topic that's been brought up many times is that of the decisions the Green Bay Packers have to make about extending the contracts of players currently on their roster before the end of the season such that the money doesn't have to be prorated over future salary caps.

There's nearly 10 players headed into free agency this upcoming offseason, so there's plenty of players to choose from when deciding who to extend before the end of the year and who can wait.

The player the Packers need the most also happens to be the same player who will most likely command the most money on the open market, safety Nick Collins.

Of course, the future of the collective bargaining agreement will play a huge role in Collins' future as well. If the CBA is extended, Collins will become an unrestricted free agent. If the two sides can't come to an agreement, the safety will become an unrestricted free agent severely limiting who or who he can't sign with.

Collins has had a a good season with the Packers, but not exactly what some would characterize as great. He's been reliable. He's made the occassional interception, has been a solid tackler and has rarely gotten beat in coverage. But he also hasn't been the big time playmaker that he was a year ago when he returned three interceptions for touchdowns.

For his effort, Collins was awarded a Pro Bowl nomination a year ago and deservedly so. The problem with the Pro Bowl, however, is once you're voted in, those players tend to get voted in year after year on name recognition whether or not they deserve it.

There's nearly half a season left in 2009, and Collins may well have a huge second half with several turnovers generated. It's hard to see into the future and predict what kind of season he'll have. But based upon his performance so far, I wouldn't exactly call it Pro Bowl material.

Regardless, there's a fairly decent chance that Collins will be elected to the Pro Bowl once again based upon historical precedent. And if Collins goes to the Pro Bowl once again, he'll come to the bargaining table with even more ammunition.

The Packers are in a tough situation. Beyond Collins and Atari Bigby, there isn't a single safety on the roster that can be trusted. And it would be extremely risky to count on a rookie to fill such a role next season.

They nearly have to re-sign Collins whether or not the CBA is extended. If the CBA is extended, which is probably the most likely scenario, and Collins makes the Pro Bowl, he'll be asking to be one of the top paid safeties in the entire NFL even if he may not be, thanks in part to the ridiculous Pro Bowl precedent. And Cullen Jenkins thought he was handcuffed a few weeks ago? How about the Packers organization?

Three tweets 11.6.09

Brian Carriveau — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:20:50 GMT

I'll be providing at least three thoughts about the Green Bay Packers per day on Twitter. Here what I'm tweeting about:

1. Remember when Nick Collins returned three INTs for TDs last year? Somehow I knew that could never happen again. #Packers #NFL

2. Now that Charlie Peprah has signed on with another NFL team, I'm thinking that he would've been a better option than Matt Giordano.

3. The #Packers need a big win this weekend to gain some momentum heading into the following week's game against the #Cowboys.

Join the craze. Click here to follow Railbird Central or Brian Carriveau on Twitter.

Both Packers and Collins face difficult decisions on possible contract extension

Brian Carriveau — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:51:22 GMT

The Green Bay Packers face a tough decision in whether to extend the contract of safety Nick Collins. Given the circumstances regarding the collective bargaining agreement, it may be one of the toughest decisions they've ever had to make.

As has been discussed many times, the Packers have some of the most salary cap room in the entire NFL (in the neighborhood of $20 million). Not to worry, though. Ted Thompson and company will use nearly the entire allotment of salary cap space by the end of the season. The majority of it will be taken up by extending the contracts of current players.

Here's the tricky part. They have to sign players to extensions by November 9 in order to not have to prorate the money over future salary caps.

The Packer have to decide which player or players to offer extensions to with about half a season left play. They have 11 players headed into free agency after this season and have to choose among this group: Chad Clifton, Aaron Kampman, Ryan Pickett, Brandon Chillar, Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz, Nick Collins, Johnny Jolly, Atari Bigby, Will Blackmon and John Kuhn.

Based upon past performance and having the highest future ceiling, Collins probably is the most deserving of an extension. But multiple factors will play into the decision whether he'll be offered an extension by November or not.

If the players union and the owners don't come to an agreement before March, 2010 will become an uncapped year, which will have players asking for more money than ever before. At the same time under that scenario, it will also push the number of years needed to become an unrestricted free agent from four to six.

This is currently Collins' fifth year of NFL service. If there's a new CBA in place, he'll become an unrestricted free agent after this season. If that's the case, Collins could elect to test the waters of free agency and spurn any offer made by the Packers.

On the other hand, if no new deal is struck, Collins would become a free agent after this season, but a restricted one. His choices then would be to either agree to a one year deal and wait one more year for free agency or to accept a generous contract extension by the Packers.

Given that the Packers don't have an owner with deep pockets, they would seem to want a new CBA and will probably operate as such. Under such a scenario, they would have to assume that Collins would become an unrestricted free agent after this year and, more than likely, offer him a generous contract extension.

Collins, in turn, has to weigh their offer against the possibility that he may not become an unrestricted free agent for two more years. He faces a near impossible choice given that it's impossible to see into the future.

Given the Packers' lack of depth at safety, the face a gaping hole at the position should Collins decide to try free agency. It would seem to give Packers extra motivation to strike a deal.

But at the same time, Collins is his own man. After holding out of this past offseason's OTAs, there stands to be a decent chance of Collins going out and seeking a new deal and a new team.

Packers Daily Links 9.19.09

Brian Carriveau — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:57:00 GMT

Railbird photo of the day:

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The Packers have some of the most salary cap room in the entire NFL. "Just because the Green Bay Packers have more than twice the National Football League average for available cap room doesn't mean they intend to save it to sweeten their bottom line during recessionary times," writes Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Packers have nine starters heading into free agency after this season. They're going to extend the contract of a player or two around mid-season just like they did with Aaron Rodgers last year. So who should be given the highest priority? Probably Nick Collins given the team's lack of depth at safety and Atari Bigby's injury concerns. But will Collins spurn an extension for a shot at free agency?

The Packers didn't trust rookie Clay Matthews 100 percent during his first ever regular season game. "In the opener, Matthews replaced Brady Poppinga at right outside linebacker in sub-packages," notes McGinn. "At times in the second half, Poppinga replaced him in sub before the rookie came back to finish the game." I didn't even notice this at the time. However, this probably had more to do with Matthews missing a bunch of time during training camp. Injury concerns combined with inexperience, no doubt, made the Packers make this call. Pulling Matthews out of the lineup will probably happen less often as the season wears on, though.

It's Bob McGinn's world today. We're just living in it. This article about Johnny Jolly is only available with subscription on the Journal Sentinel's website, but for some reason it appears in the Victoria Advocate. Anyway, Jolly told McGinn that he thought his legal troubles were over, but "a spokeswoman for the Harris County district attorney's office indicated that the charge against Jolly probably would be refiled." In any case, it seems like the longer this court case lasts, the less steam it picks up. I tend to believe things will eventually work out in Jolly's favor.

Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette picks up on something I've never really thought about before.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');"Based on Week 1 depth charts, 24 teams — including all but three in the NFC — subscribe to the philosophy that it’s necessary to anchor a line around at least one first-round pick," writes Demovsky. The Packers are one of eight teams that don't have a first-round draft pick on their line. This trend could chance in 2010 depending on how the offensive line performs this season. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine the Packers selecting the left tackle fo the future with their first round choice next year.

Don't doubt for a second that Daryn Colledge is going to miss any playing time after spraining an ankle this week. "I expect to be out there," Colledge told the Press-Gazette. "I haven't missed a start yet, and I don't plan on missing one this week."OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_ That's a good point made by Colledge. He's been extremely durable ever since joining the Packers. Maybe that's one more reason the Packers may decide to extend his contract before that of some other potential free agents.

I didn't like the sound of this brief note. "(Head coach Mike) McCarthy said it wasn't a given that Raji would play against the Bengals," reports Demovsky. I think Raji will play, but it really wouldn't surprise me to see the Packers keep Raji inactive for one more week to give him some more rest. He practiced all week long, but a setback would be disappointing. They're going to need Raji for the long haul.

No need to worry about kicker Mason Crosby according to ESPNMilwaukee's Jason Wilde. "Kicker Mason Crosby kicked field goals inside Lambeau Field and proclaimed that he will kick against the Bengals, despite the pulled abdominal muscle he has on his left side," writes Wilde. It's was nice to not only see him practicing, but practicing on Lambeau Field.

The Tyrell Sutton debate isn't dead yet. "If Sutton were here now, he could be getting some playing time and doing some damage on the field because the guy can flat out play," writes Andy Hayes of packergeeks. "Even though Jackson still has potential and I don’t think he’s bad, he has some trouble staying healthy." You're right, Andy. Sigh...

I found an update from a Virginia newspaper on recently cut defensive lineman Dean Muhtadi. “Apparently I’m on a short list to receive a call from some different teams for either a workout or a spot on a practice squad,” Muhtadi told the Alexandria Times. “There are a few different routes I can expect to go, so I guess I’m just waiting my turn again.” Good for Muhtadi. When injuries start cropping up, he could find himself on a practice squad by the end of the season.

Bob Fox of Packer Chatters gives us a reason the Packers can't afford to overlook this Sunday's game. "For one, the Bengals are VERY familiar with the 3-4 defensive scheme, being in the same division as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens," writes Fox. "In addition, the Broncos ran a 3-4 defense last week, run by Mike Nolan, one of the coaches head coach Mike McCarthy considered to be defensive coordinator, before he settled on Capers." Good call, Bob.

Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV goes over this week's offensive and defensive match-ups. This weekly feature is unique and one you won't find in the mainstream media.

Even after all those nice words, you should still vote for Carriveau at the Packers Lounge.

Wow, this is one of the worst ideas the Packers have ever had. It won't get much attention, but it's probably worse than the signing of Joe Johnson. Who buys this crap?

Railbird endorsed video: Garaj Mahal is playing at the Orpheum in Madison tonight, which has me thinking of going. Here's a preview of what you might see...

Photo credit: Mary Jo Walicki for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Collins getting off easy after poor decision

Brian Carriveau — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:02:42 GMT

Lost in the afterglow of last night's victory for the Green Bay Packers over the Chicago Bears was Nick Collins' lapse in judgment that cost the Packers a touchdown.

On the Bears' lone touchdown on the day, Jay Cutler found wide receiver Devin Hester streaking down the right sideline. Hester beat Charles Woodson fair and square, but the Packers cornerback also knew he had help over the top from Collins as the left safety.

Collins lined up nearly 20 yards off the ball and shaded towards Woodson's side of the field. He had plenty of room to make a play if the Bears decided to throw in his direction. What ensued was Cutler making a throw over the top of Woodson and a late arriving Collins for a score in what appeared to be a half-hearted effort by the safety.

Collins was slow to arrive. He didn't look like the ball-hawking safety Packers fans have come to know. Normally Collins would be in a position to make a play on the ball that was every bit as much his as Hester's.

Following the touchdown, Collins limped off the field of play, a victim of severe cramps. He even received fluids through an IV, and he can't be blamed for that.

What he can be blamed for is not taking himself out of the game one play earlier. It surely didn't seem like any cramps set in during the middle of the play as he was running to cover Hester. Collins was slow the entire play.

Utilizing poor judgement, Collins is partially responsible for costing his team a touchdown. At the time, that Cutler touchdown pass pulled the Bears to within one point of the Packers, 10-9.

All he had to do was take himself out of the game one play earlier and allow a healthy Aaron Rouse take his spot on the field, which would have given his team a better chance to prevent the Bears from scoring.