'OL COLLEDGE TRY GUARD SEEKS TO BECOME 'DOMINANT'.(SPORTS)

Byline: JASON WILDE jwilde@madison.com 608-252-6176

GREEN BAY -- Daryn Colledge has improved. There's no question about that.

He staved off challenger Allen Barbre in a training-camp battle for his starting spot on the offensive line, and he's played with more consistency than he'd shown in his previous two NFL seasons, when his job security was in question.

But until the Green Bay Packers' third-year left guard eliminates the one bad play that tends to ruin his otherwise good days, Colledge won't be close to being the player he knows he is capable of becoming.

"I'd like to be a dominant player every single down, and I'm not that yet. I still make mistakes," Colledge said. "But I feel like I've taken more steps forward this year and I'm not taking as many back."

In a disappointing season that has the Packers (5-9) out of playoff contention entering Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears (8-6) at Soldier Field, Colledge's improvement has been one of the bright spots.

You could argue he's been the team's most reliable lineman, with left tackle Chad Clifton struggling through injuries and ineffective play, right tackle Mark Tauscher out for the year with a torn ACL in his right knee, center Scott Wells having battled a myriad of injuries and right guard Jason Spitz's play fluctuating as he's bounced between guard and center.

Colledge is also becoming one of the team's more recognizable players, with his own Internet show, "The Colledge Experience," on Packers.com , and his brief appearance with Spitz in a State Farm TV ad, in which they sing along to Frank Sinatra's "Feelin' Kinda Sunday" (Colledge's mom, coincidentally, is a State Farm agent in Alaska).

That all adds up to a significant accomplishment for a guy who was benched after struggling in the preseason opener his rookie year of 2006 - he came back to start 15 games - and was benched against Dallas late last season before regaining his starting job for the regular-season finale and playoff run, then had to beat out Barbre this summer.

"The fact is, I'd always been on top," Colledge replied when asked what he took from those experiences. "I went to a small high school (in North Pole, Alaska), and I was always a starter. I went to a mid-major college (Boise State), and I was a starter for four years. There was never a question whether I was going to be a starter or not.

"So for me, it was a chance to face adversity in a game where I'd never had to face it before. I think you find out what you're made of. You find out if you have the ability to fight back and go back to work." Colledge acknowledged despite his strides, he still needs to improve. Never was that more apparent than on two critical plays late in the fourth quarter of back-to-back losses recently.

With the Packers facing a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line in their 35-31 loss to Carolina Nov. 30, Colledge was beaten by defensive tackle Darwin Walker, allowing fullback John Kuhn to be stuffed for no gain with 2 minutes, 19 seconds to play. The Packers settled for a field goal to snap the 28-all tie, only to watch the Panthers respond with the go-ahead touchdown.

Then the following week, in a 24-21 loss to Houston, Colledge was beaten for a sack of Aaron Rodgers by linebacker DeMeco Ryans on second-and-17 from the Houston 32 with 2:56 to play. The 9-yard sack on what was supposed to be a screen pass pushed the Packers out of field-goal range and forced them to punt, and instead of snapping the 21-all tie, they watched as Houston won the game on the succeeding series with a field goal as time expired.

"You make critical mistakes at critical points in the game, and that hurts. That's tough. Especially when you take your team out of its chance to score," said Colledge, who had given up only two sacks in the first 12 games before giving up two against the Texans. "I made a critical mistake at a critical time, and good players don't do that."

CAPTION(S):

STEVE APPS - State Journal archives

Packers third-year left guard Daryn Colledge, right, had given up only two

sacks through the first 12 games this season before allowing two against the

Texans two weeks ago.