Pack's Collins done for the year, to seek treatment for neck injury

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GREEN BAY - Green Bay Packers’ safety Nick Collins will see a spine doctor in New York to determine his best treatment for his neck injury.

Coach Mike McCarthy said yesterday the 28-year-old Collins would be out for the year. That was after his neck got turned while trying to tackle the leaping Jonathan Stewart in Sunday’s win at Carolina. Collins’ agent, Alan Herman, says it appears to be a disc-related injury – but the specifics are not known yet. All he knows is that Collins did not have a broken neck or a spinal cord injury. He stayed at a Charlotte hospital Sunday night, and returned to Green Bay early yesterday afternoon. McCarthy says it’s too early to tell if the injury puts Collins’ career in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, the Packers must decide how to replace the three-time Pro Bowler on the field. Charlie Peprah took over right after Collins got hurt. He filled in at the other safety spot for most of last season, after Morgan Burnett was lost after five weeks with a torn knee ligament. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers said he would not rule out moving veteran corner Charles Woodson to safety.

The Packer players are off today, and they’ll start practicing tomorrow for next Sunday’s contest at Chicago.

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Packers’ receiver Donald Driver thanked fans on his Facebook page, after he broke the Green Bay record yesterday for the most career receiving yards. Driver thought he broke the record on a 14-yard pass over the middle in the third quarter. But a holding penalty wiped out that play. Driver caught a similar pass for 10 yards just two plays later. It was his only catch of the day, but it was enough to break James Lofton’s Packer record for career yardage after he tied the mark in Week-One. Driver now has 9,666 career yards. On Facebook, Driver thanked Packer fans for quote, “the opportunity to play for the greatest franchise, and best fans, in all of sports.” Driver told reporters he can relax quote, “not worry breaking any records but my own.” He continues to extend his team record for catches, now with 703. He also has the Packer record for the most consecutive games with a catch – 133 in the regular season – which he snapped a year ago.

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Former University of Wisconsin guard Gabe Carimi left yesterday’s Chicago Bears’ game with an injured right knee. And his playing status is uncertain for the Bears’ next game on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. Carimi was Chicago’s first-round draft choice in April. He said he his knee got rolled on – and he was able to walk to the locker room under his own power. Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler was not sacked until Carimi left – then he got tackled six times with Frank Omiyale playing in Carimi’s place.

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The Dallas Cowboys said yesterday that quarterback Tony Romo played with a partially-collapsed lung as well as a broken rib on Sunday. Romo – a native of Burlington in Racine County – was hurt on the third play of the Cowboys’ overtime win over San Francisco. He kept playing until the third quarter, when Jon Kitna took over. Romo took pain medication which worked well enough to let him return. And he led the Cowboys on a pair of scoring drives which took the game to overtime, and later gave Dallas its 27-24 victory. Romo threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns. The recovery time from partially-collapsed lung varies, and the Cowboys say they’ll monitor the situation. Romo’s status for his next game is undetermined. The players will have both today and tomorrow off, before getting ready for a Monday Night contest against Washington. Cowboys’ coach Jason Garrett said he’s “hopeful” that Romo will be ready. He said the quarterback appeared nauseous on the sidelines after Sunday’s first series, after he took a hit to the waist. Romo missed more than half of last season, due to a broken left clavicle.

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