Building on last week’s thoughts, which you can find here:

1. Bryan Bulaga going down with a torn ACL is an awful blow to the Green Bay Packers. He is the only halfway competent tackle on the roster, and while I openly questioned his ability to handle the left side, he was certain to fare better than Marshall Newhouse did a year ago. The Packers are trying to completely reshuffle their woeful offensive line, and the centerpiece of that was sticking the two best linemen on the roster, Bulaga and guard Josh Sitton, together on the left side. Now the whole plan is up in the air.

Sitton, far and away the best run blocker on the team but merely adequate in pass protection, is probably better on the right side at guard. Most teams prefer to run to the right. TJ Lang is not as violent off the snap as Sitton, so expecting the run game to improve is unlikely. Newhouse is apparently sticking at right tackle even though he’s one of the worst run blocking tackles in football. Granted his pass blocking on the left side was scary too, but at least on the left he was only hurting the passing game. There probably won’t be much of a negative impact on Aaron Rodgers and the passing game, as Rodgers is accustomed to playing QB under duress and Mike McCarthy is excellent at creating plays that capitalize on getting the ball out quickly, plus Rodgers is a strong runner. The running game, on the other hand, figures to once again rank at or near the bottom. The Packers haven’t had a 100-yard rusher since Brandon Jackson on 10/10/10. Even with the addition of both Johnathan Franklin and Eddie Lacy, that appears unlikely to change. Lacy ran behind a better offensive line last year at Alabama than he will this year in Green Bay.

2. Riley Cooper isn’t injured, but his mouth hurt a lot of people including himself. The wideout for the Philadelphia Eagles barked out a racial epitaph in a hostile manner at a Kenny Chesney concert. Cooper briefly left the Eagles for sensitivity training before returning to practice a few days after the “n word” incident. Pictures later in the week show Cooper laughing with black teammates and it appears the team is prepared to keep a penitent Cooper in the nest. Much, in my opinion too much, has already been disseminated by far too many people about the subjective nature of the “n” word and the connotations it carries depending upon the race of who says it. I’ll take the discussion in a different direction. What if he yelled “I’m gonna kill all the redskins” instead? Would Native Americans be up in arms? Would non-Native Americans care so passionately about it? Because that word is the equivalent of the “n” word for Native Americans. There aren’t any prominent Native American football players to speak out or lead the battle, and by and large most Americans simply don’t care one iota about the plight of the descendants of the indigenous. That’s a crying shame. Never mind that the team representing our nation’s capital, supposedly the fairest and most controversy-averse city in the nation, uses that racial slur as the nickname for their own football team. My quick take on Cooper is that he made a dumb mistake and took his medicine, and we should all move on.

3. One player making positive news is Cardinals rookie Tyrann Mathieu. The Honey Badger is making plays all over the field during camp, showing a rare playmaking flair. Observers have Tweeted about Mathieu anticipating the routes and abandoning his own man to make the interception. The Cardinals sorely need point production, and Mathieu appears to be capable of making things happen. However, riverboat gambling corners are a decided mixed blessing. Redskins fans know this all too well with DeAngelo Hall, another aggressive corner that loves to guess and jump routes but gets burned guessing wrong too often. I’m very pleased that Mathieu appears to have gotten his act together. His synthetic drug addiction was no joke. He was given a second chance and thus far he’s making the most of it. I wish we got to write more stories about this sort of thing, though Mathieu’s NFL story is just beginning. But it’s off to a smashing start.

4. Vince Young is back in the NFL, at least temporarily. Green Bay signed the enigmatic quarterback to compete for the backup role behind Aaron Rodgers. This is Young’s first opportunity since failing to make the QB-desperate Bills a year ago. It is very likely his last chance at salvaging any sort of a NFL career. That’s a testament to how far the No. 3 overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft has fallen. It wasn’t that long ago that he was winning more games than he was losing as the starter in Tennessee, but those days seem an eternity ago. Young never progressed as a quarterback, and the Titans tired of having to keep the offense watered down so Young could run it. When Young flashed repeated bouts of immaturity and selfishness the writing was on the wall. The Titans asked him to take more responsibility and step up in the offseason program. Young instead chose to skip town. He infamously cursed the Eagles with the Dream Team moniker upon signing there. Still, I like the signing for Green Bay. It’s a no risk proposition. The Packers desperately need a better backup than Graham Harrell, who would be unlikely to win a game should Rodgers get hurt. As mentioned above, with the offensive line woes the Packers have it’s a good idea to invest a little in the backup QB position. Young also brings a mobile dimension that could help prepare the defense for read-option opponents, something that was clearly lacking in the playoff debacle in San Francisco. I’ll admit to never being much of a Vince Young fan, but I applaud Green Bay for giving him one last chance. Here’s hoping he makes something of it.

5. One of the more intriguing camp battles is for the starting QB job in Buffalo, where Kevin Kolb and EJ Manuel are fighting it out. Kolb brings experience and is proven NFL-ready, while first round pick Manuel offers more athleticism and promise for the future. New head coach Doug Marrone faces an interesting and difficult choice here if the race isn’t obviously decided on the field one way or the other. The AFC East is the weakest division in football; even the vaunted Patriots face a lot more uncertainty and challenges than they have in years. There are many wins to be had, and if the Bills play to their potential they can handily secure at least nine wins and perhaps challenge the Patriots for the AFC East title. Kolb provides them with the better chance at doing that. Going with Manuel as the opening week starter could unwittingly send the message that the team is more concerned with the longer term. While that’s absolutely the proper way to approach things, it could make for a very difficult rookie year for Marrone. The veteran-laden defense is built to win now, and dealing with the struggles of a rookie QB can be dispiriting to that side of the ball. Plus, should Manuel falter, yanking him for Kolb could irreparably ruin his confidence. Look no further than Vince Young’s inability to handle losing his gig to Kerry Collins in Tennessee for evidence of that phenomenon. It’s a very fine line for a greenhorn coach to straddle. That’s why I believe Kolb will start the season unless Manuel is far and away superior during the preseason.