MM:The Possibility Collins Could Be Reinjured "Scares The Hell Out Of Me Personally"

I think the chances of Collins being cleared by McKenzie, TT and MM are slim and none. They just don't take chances with a player's health and I don't see that changing with Collins.

Packer Update chimes in on the same subject.

Packers unlikely to clear Collins

As I've said cautious optimism but at the same time this kid is 28. That's a hell of a long life ahead of you. Not to change subjects but word leaked out that Manning had a 4th neck surgery. I can't believe he's been cleared again in the NFL.

Love the question TT put to MM. Shows how much they think of the human and not just the football player.

If Manning's name was, say, Grossman, they might have had second and third thoughts on clearing him to play. But anyway you look at it, playing QB is far different than playing safety. Collins coming up to hit a Tony Gonzalez with his weight or an AP with his knee action is a lot different than the pattycake they have to hit QBs with in order to not get a penalty.

Collins is 28 and he has four kids. I'd rather he be able to play football with his kids in the future than risk having them push him in a chair.

If I could go back in time and take every negative thing I said about McCarthy back, I would. He's shown he can win it all, and just when I think I couldn't possibly like the guy more, not as a coach, but as a person, I am surprised once again. Coach M just gets it. He always seems to get the big picture, and while the man has an intensity to win more than any of us will ever know, he knows that football is a game.

While I am certainly no professional athlete, I can tell any of you that haven't had a spine injury just how much it affects everything you do once you've had one. I can't imagine being Nick Collins, an elite player at his position, trying to go back out there with any lingering doubts, and memories of what happened, and how much worse it could have been. If he came back, and appeared at full health, on some level, he is always going to be a little tentative. Any human being would. And I wonder if that wouldn't expose him to more risk of injury.

It would be a great boost to the team to see Nick Collins back on the field. I don't think it's selfish at all to want to see #36 running at a full sprint, picking balls out of the air. It's what he loves to do, and we all love watching him. But I don't want to read stories 15 or 20 years down the road that Nick can't walk, or that he's had to endure several painful surgeries because he tried to make a comeback and failed. Nick Collins the man, the husband, the father...deserves to live his life surrounded by those that love him, without any long term debilitating injuries ruining his quality of life.

The Pack would be smart to retain him as a coach. Let the guys we have learn from his expertise without the risk of injury. Win win for both sides.

Nick has recently said that he and the wife have invested a lot of their football money wisely. Good thing, as he's stated he would not be in poor straights if the medical clearance is negatory.

Sure, he'd probably get a regular type of gig like us regular type folks, but he's got a nice cushion to last a long time to live comfortably on in the event the Docs or MM/TT say no more play ball.

It's not fantasy football.

I think both he and TT care about the PEOPLE on the team, the players realize that, appreciate it and it makes Green Bay seem like a classy organization that players should want to play for...

None of us really know what's going to happen. PackerUpdate generally knows what they're talking about, but Gary Berry, Terrence Murphy and Jeremy Thompson all had spinal stenosis, Nick Collins doesn't. The article didn't even mention that factor. Tim Lewis played a long time ago (1986) when surgical techniques were far more primitive, and Sharpe's injury happened only 8 years later. Having spinal stenosis basically guarantees that a guy will not come back, but Collins still has a chance with modern treatment techniques.