The Cranberry Eagle
If the print dialog box does not automatically appear, open the file menu and choose Print.


 Article published December 10, 2012

Barclay getting noticed
SV grad sees action Sunday with Packers

By Associated Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Undrafted rookie free agent Don Barclay may not be Green Bay’s answer at right tackle, but the Packers’ coaching staff is at least entertaining that possibility.
The 23-year-old Barclay took over at the position after veteran T.J. Lang went down with a left ankle injury with 6:42 left in the first half of Sunday’s 23-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Barclay did well.
“I thought he did a nice job — pretty much what I thought last night when I left here,” McCarthy said Monday during a news conference at Lambeau Field. “(When) he went into the game, we tried to protect him a little bit there in the 2-minute drive. Then at halftime, we made some protection adjustments.
“I thought in the run game, he was physical. That’s a trait that we really like in Don. I thought the pass protection, a lot of his (mistakes) were technical. I thought he did a solid job. When a rookie comes in for his first time in game action and you’re able to keep playing throughout your game plan, I think that’s a big credit to him.”
Now, the Packers must decide if Barclay played well enough to merit starting Sunday night at home against Detroit.
“That was his first real playing time. He’s been on some special teams a little bit at times throughout the year, but it was his first time playing a lot on the line,” offensive coordinator Tom Clements said of Barclay. “He went in and did a good job. He wasn’t perfect, wasn’t expected to be perfect, but he’s a battler and he did well.
“He’s on the roster for a reason. He earned his way on the roster and we always say when someone has a chance to play, they have to step in and do the job. He did that.”
Lang had moved to right tackle from his customary left guard spot on Nov. 4, when starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga, the team’s 2010 first-round draft pick, suffered a dislocated hip that landed him on season-ending injured reserve.
If Lang is able to play Sunday night, he could return to his left guard spot and Barclay could get the nod at right tackle. Evan Dietrich-Smith, who has been starting at left guard since Lang’s move, would then return to being the first lineman off the bench. Or, Lang could remain at right tackle, Dietrich-Smith could stay at left guard and Barclay could return to the bench.
If Lang can’t play, the Packers’ decision would be made for them. Barclay would make his first NFL start and Dietrich-Smith would remain at left guard.
Lang’s sprained ankle was one of two injuries to starters the banged-up Packers suffered against the Vikings, as wide receiver Jordy Nelson left after the second offensive series with a strained hamstring. Coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that the injuries “are not of serious nature” but said Nelson would be “pressed hard to play this week.”
As for Lang, McCarthy said, “I feel probably a little bit better about T.J. than I do about Jordy,” but the coach admitted he didn’t know if Lang would be ready to play against the Lions.
The only other offensive lineman on the 53-man roster as of Monday night was Greg Van Roten, another undrafted rookie free agent. The Packers have two linemen on their practice squad: seventh-round pick Andrew Datko, a rookie tackle, and Joe Gibbs, a first-year guard.
“The first couple of plays was (I) kind of getting used to it. And then the second half I think I settled in and I got comfortable with it,” said Barclay, who’d been a three-year starter at left tackle at West Virginia and made the team coming out of training camp. “The first play was maybe a little tunnel vision. I was just out there. It happens to everyone. But after that I got comfortable.
“You know, a couple plays probably weren’t as pretty. But every play I was out there fighting my butt off and that’s what it’s all about.”