University of Tennessee Athletics
Former Vol Clifton Back With The Pack as NFL Training Camps Opens
July 23, 2003 | Football
July 22, 2003
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
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| Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman talks to offensive tackle Chad Clifton (76) during training camp, Tuesday in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) |
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Just before taking his first snap in team drills, Brett Favre swiveled his head to the left and then to the right.
His face mask couldn't hide such a big smile.
For the first time since last September, the talented tackle tandem of Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher was intact, ready to resume protecting the Green Bay Packers' franchise quarterback.
"To see them back in there certainly is exciting," coach Mike Sherman said. "I know our quarterback's excited."
Tauscher wrecked his left knee at New Orleans on Sept. 15 and missed the remainder of the season following surgery.
Clifton suffered a horrific pelvic injury that threatened his career when he was blindsided by Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp during an interception return on Nov. 24.
Tauscher and Clifton, who also had knee and elbow operations in the offseason, became rehab buddies, pushing each other in the weight room and commiserating in the trainers room, spending all offseason in Green Bay.
The Packers planned for Clifton and Tauscher only to participate in position drills but they talked the medical and coaching staff into letting them do some hitting.
"It's good to go out there and actually block someone and not have any pain from it," said Clifton, who fended off Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.
"It felt pretty good for the first day and now I'll take the afternoon off and hopefully there's no swelling and I'll be able to get back out there tomorrow," said Tauscher, who held off Joe Johnson.
It was a milestone day for both men.
"When you have a serious injury, you think, 'Well, this could be it. You never know,"' Clifton said. "But fortunately for Mark and myself, we're going to be back."
Both ended up playing about three-quarters of the morning practice after some initial apprehension.
"A little anxious, a little nervous but mostly just excited to get back out," Tauscher said. "I was pretty jittery even a couple of days ago."
Ditto for Clifton.
"I was a little nervous, definitely," he said. "Putting on the pads in the locker room, I was like, 'Well, here it goes. We're about to see if I can do this or not.' And I came out today and I handled myself."
Sherman plans to limit Clifton and Tauscher to one practice per day early on. Both plan to get into some exhibition games and be in the starting lineup when the season starts Sept. 7.
"We're hoping that that's the line we can go with," Tauscher said. "It's great to see Chad back at it. He's done his work. I've done my work and now we're both just trying to get back to where we were before.
"It's been a long, long road."
Times two.
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