September 4, 2023 • 6 mins
Wayne Larrivee sits down with former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Chad Clifton to discuss the bonds he had in his position group (0:56), the magical 2010 season (4:14) and comparing Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers (5:02).
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
For more than a century, the Green Bay Packers have
been a benchmark for football excellence. Thousands of players have
helped pave the way, and we're here to tell you
their stories. I'm Wayne Laravy. This is the Packers alumni.
Spot White. Offensive tackle Chad Clifton was a second round
(00:27):
draft pick in two thousand who combined with Mark Tauscher,
Marco Rivera, Mike Wall, Frank Winners, and later Mike Flanagan
to form one of the greatest power lines in Green
Bay Packers history.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
We really were had. We had a great running game
with the mone Mont Green and all the guys you
just mentioned played played a big role in the success
we had in those early two thousands.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
That offensive line unit, though, I mean, you guys get
really close, don't you year to year as you go.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We absolutely do. It's a very close knit union. You
have to be you have to, uh, the camaraderie has
to be there for on the field success and u
and off the field. And so you've become really good
friends basically like brothers, and uh, it's a it's a
it's a good deal.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Well, tell me about the Gunslinger. What was it like
to play with and block for Brett Farv.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well bred, as everyone knows, phenomenal Hall of Fame quarterback.
He he is kind of what what you think he
would be like. He is just a guy from from
southern Mississippi and he's going to lay it all on
the line each game, every play. And it was a
lot of fun playing with Bread. I mean he was
(01:46):
I always said he was kind of like a linebacker
playing quarterback. You know he was. He was just a
lot of fun to be around and a heck of
a football player.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Now do he go to some of your Thursday night
dinners with you guys?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Are not? I think uh? I think I did one dinner.
I think we did one dinner with with Bread my
whole time here. So when he was when work was over,
it was kind of over for him. He went to
the went to the house and did his deal. But
you know it was it was still a lot of
fun to play with him.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
A two thousand and two battle in Tampa is remembered
today for an infamous intident involving Chad Clifton and Hall
of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sap. Cliffy was savagely cheap
shotted by Sap following a Brett Farve interception. The injuries
he suffered from that hit took him out for the
rest of the season, and some two decades later, that
(02:41):
kind of unnecessary hit is no longer allowed in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Well, I think it's uh. At that point in time,
plays like that just happened, you know that. I think
the defense was even tall. You know, if it's an interception, hey,
look to clean somebody up. You know, some good things
came from that where the rule has been changed. No,
just kind of egregious hits like that away from the play.
(03:08):
But yeah, it was a tough deal. It was a
tough rehab to come back from. But I came back
stronger than ever. And the next the following season, which
would have been no fourth season or three season, I
think I had my best year as a Packer.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
I remember a game though, following that a year or
two later, when you guys went down there to Tampa
and it's a tight ball game, as it always seemed
to beat, and you guys got the ball late in
the game, five minutes or so to go, and just
drove it, ran every play and just drove it down
their throat. It was one of the great offensive line
displays I've ever seen. Can you talk a little bit about.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
That, Well, yeah, just going back to the Frank winners
and the Marco Rivera's and Mark Townsher's and Amn Green.
You know, with that line, we h it was a
badge of honor to Biber run the ball. Biber run
the ball well and kind of seal, you know, kind
of put the game away. And with the mind run
(04:01):
as the running back, we were able to do that
quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Late in his career, Cliffe was part of a memorable
Super Bowl run in twenty ten.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, we had a lot of injuries that year, we did,
and I think the guys just stepped up and it's
kind of the next man up mentality. Guys perfected that.
They really did. They knew it was their turn and
they came in and they played well there. Towards the
end of the season. We had to win our last
two games to get in and that gave us ten wins,
(04:35):
and you know, once we got into the playoffs, we
were just kind of hitting on all cylinders. We were
playing our best football at that point and we were
able to get into the Super Bowl and we just
felt like we were not going to be denied. You know,
Aaron was starting to come into his own and just
become that quarterback that we all know today.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
You know, you played the two great ones here. Your
career spanned far up to run. Tell me about the
two it.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Shorted, I mean, and you can even go back to
my college. I had Peyton in college and t Martin.
We won a national championship with him, and then Brett
and then Aaron. So I've been fortunate and really lucky
to have the quarterback talent that I've had throughout my career.
You know, the difference in Bread and Aaron. Brett is
more of a you know, he's the gun slinger. He's
(05:23):
going to go for it all Aaron. You know Brett
would Brett would he didn't want to get hit, so
he would throw the ball. He'd get rid of it quickly,
which made offensive line as Jabalotti, Aaron didn't want to
throw the interception, so he was going to hang on
to the ball a little bit longer. But both phenomenal quarterbacks,
Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and just could not be more
(05:45):
fortunate to play with those guys.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
The two time Pro Bowler played twelve years with the Packers,
starting one hundred and sixty of one hundred and sixty
five regular season games and another thirteen in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
I just couldn't ask for a better organization or a
better town community to have spent my NFL career to
raise a family. Both my boys were born in Green Bay.
Just looking back on my career, it's made a lot
of close, close friends that are still really good friends
today
For more than a century, the Green Bay Packers have
been a benchmark for football excellence. Thousands of players have
helped pave the way, and we're here to tell you
their stories. I'm Wayne Laravy. This is the Packers alumni.
Spot White. Offensive tackle Chad Clifton was a second round
(00:27):
draft pick in two thousand who combined with Mark Tauscher,
Marco Rivera, Mike Wall, Frank Winners, and later Mike Flanagan
to form one of the greatest power lines in Green
Bay Packers history.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
We really were had. We had a great running game
with the mone Mont Green and all the guys you
just mentioned played played a big role in the success
we had in those early two thousands.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
That offensive line unit, though, I mean, you guys get
really close, don't you year to year as you go.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We absolutely do. It's a very close knit union. You
have to be you have to, uh, the camaraderie has
to be there for on the field success and u
and off the field. And so you've become really good
friends basically like brothers, and uh, it's a it's a
it's a good deal.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Well, tell me about the Gunslinger. What was it like
to play with and block for Brett Farv.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well bred, as everyone knows, phenomenal Hall of Fame quarterback.
He he is kind of what what you think he
would be like. He is just a guy from from
southern Mississippi and he's going to lay it all on
the line each game, every play. And it was a
lot of fun playing with Bread. I mean he was
(01:46):
I always said he was kind of like a linebacker
playing quarterback. You know he was. He was just a
lot of fun to be around and a heck of
a football player.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Now do he go to some of your Thursday night
dinners with you guys?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Are not? I think uh? I think I did one dinner.
I think we did one dinner with with Bread my
whole time here. So when he was when work was over,
it was kind of over for him. He went to
the went to the house and did his deal. But
you know it was it was still a lot of
fun to play with him.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
A two thousand and two battle in Tampa is remembered
today for an infamous intident involving Chad Clifton and Hall
of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sap. Cliffy was savagely cheap
shotted by Sap following a Brett Farve interception. The injuries
he suffered from that hit took him out for the
rest of the season, and some two decades later, that
(02:41):
kind of unnecessary hit is no longer allowed in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Well, I think it's uh. At that point in time,
plays like that just happened, you know that. I think
the defense was even tall. You know, if it's an interception, hey,
look to clean somebody up. You know, some good things
came from that where the rule has been changed. No,
just kind of egregious hits like that away from the play.
(03:08):
But yeah, it was a tough deal. It was a
tough rehab to come back from. But I came back
stronger than ever. And the next the following season, which
would have been no fourth season or three season, I
think I had my best year as a Packer.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
I remember a game though, following that a year or
two later, when you guys went down there to Tampa
and it's a tight ball game, as it always seemed
to beat, and you guys got the ball late in
the game, five minutes or so to go, and just
drove it, ran every play and just drove it down
their throat. It was one of the great offensive line
displays I've ever seen. Can you talk a little bit about.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
That, Well, yeah, just going back to the Frank winners
and the Marco Rivera's and Mark Townsher's and Amn Green.
You know, with that line, we h it was a
badge of honor to Biber run the ball. Biber run
the ball well and kind of seal, you know, kind
of put the game away. And with the mind run
(04:01):
as the running back, we were able to do that
quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Late in his career, Cliffe was part of a memorable
Super Bowl run in twenty ten.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, we had a lot of injuries that year, we did,
and I think the guys just stepped up and it's
kind of the next man up mentality. Guys perfected that.
They really did. They knew it was their turn and
they came in and they played well there. Towards the
end of the season. We had to win our last
two games to get in and that gave us ten wins,
(04:35):
and you know, once we got into the playoffs, we
were just kind of hitting on all cylinders. We were
playing our best football at that point and we were
able to get into the Super Bowl and we just
felt like we were not going to be denied. You know,
Aaron was starting to come into his own and just
become that quarterback that we all know today.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
You know, you played the two great ones here. Your
career spanned far up to run. Tell me about the
two it.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Shorted, I mean, and you can even go back to
my college. I had Peyton in college and t Martin.
We won a national championship with him, and then Brett
and then Aaron. So I've been fortunate and really lucky
to have the quarterback talent that I've had throughout my career.
You know, the difference in Bread and Aaron. Brett is
more of a you know, he's the gun slinger. He's
(05:23):
going to go for it all Aaron. You know Brett
would Brett would he didn't want to get hit, so
he would throw the ball. He'd get rid of it quickly,
which made offensive line as Jabalotti, Aaron didn't want to
throw the interception, so he was going to hang on
to the ball a little bit longer. But both phenomenal quarterbacks,
Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and just could not be more
(05:45):
fortunate to play with those guys.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
The two time Pro Bowler played twelve years with the Packers,
starting one hundred and sixty of one hundred and sixty
five regular season games and another thirteen in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
I just couldn't ask for a better organization or a
better town community to have spent my NFL career to
raise a family. Both my boys were born in Green Bay.
Just looking back on my career, it's made a lot
of close, close friends that are still really good friends
today
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