GREEN BAY -- Thoughts on the Packers while I try to figure out what the definition of "demotion" is, since the coaching staff and I apparently differ on what constitutes one...

The decision to shake up the offensive line after its abysmal performance in San Diego can be viewed a couple different ways -- as decisive action in the face of a horrible performance; an overreaction based on one bad game; or, as the coaches claimed, "just taking a look at guys." We'll see.

Here's the thing, though. All the talk about building cohesion on the line, and now you bench a second-round pick (Daryn Colledge) and reshuffle the deck 2 1/2 weeks into camp? You're essentially back to Square One at guard now because moving Jason Spitz from right to left guard and inserting Tony Moll, who had been working at tackle, at guard means you still have changed two positions.
 
Coach Mike McCarthy admitted after practice Tuesday night that the move does have its risks, like pushing back the date that he decides on his starting five. "That's the danger that you're falling into, but also, I think that's part of our jobs. You need to make an educated decision at some point," he said. "By no means am I looking to go into Week 4 of the preseason not knowing who my line is. We're going to gather the information this week and hopefully have a decision sometime next week." Good luck with that, Mike.
 
The only reason the Packers can't give up on cornerback Ahmad Carroll is they don't have anyone better that they can count on. You'd think that GM Ted Thompson, having drafted Mike Hawkins in the fifth round last year, would love to see Hawkins beat Carroll out for the third corner job. But Hawkins is developing a terrible reputation in the locker room as a, well, I can't use the word they use, so let's try "wuss."
 
Hawkins has been in and out of practice with a sore right knee and missed the first preseason game. He didn't practice Monday or Tuesday, either. Said Thompson: "When you’re really thinking about your team and how it’s going to be made up, you have to think in terms of people you can really count on. The guys that go out there every day and practice everyday, they stay in the coaches’ minds. And the guys who aren’t practicing you can kind of forget about them a little bit."
 
Carroll, meanwhile, needs to shut up and play, to put it bluntly. The kid has talent. He really does. But he's so inconsistent, and he spends more time acting the fool than acting like he's been there before. To me, that's the mark of a pro -- doing what he's EXPECTED to do and not celebrating it like he did something of significance. "There's a fine line,'' McCarthy said. "I really like his energy, but also there's a time and place for all that too. And sometimes he does cross the line."
 
One thing I like about Kurt Schottenheimer is he's no B.S. Even though his secondary was Dura-flamed in 2004 and Mike Sherman canned him, he was one of my favorite coaches on that staff because he always shot it straight. Here's what he told me about Carroll for my story: "I was very optimistic when we drafted him. To throw him into the fire the way we did that first year was a big task for a 20-year-old kid. Again, we wanted him to be better than Mike McKenzie because that was the guy he was replacing, because of all the issues (with McKenzie's unhappiness). So he was put in a hell of a position. His personality rubs people the wrong way and so forth, but there's a lot of enthusiasm in that young man."
 
I am still reserving final judgment, and I still want to see what he does when he makes his preseason debut -- most likely on Aug. 28 in Cincinnati -- but I must admit, Ahman Green looks good. He practiced in pads, in 11-on-11 team drills on Tuesday night, and I'm starting to think that he may come back from that ruptured quadriceps tendon after all. He may not be the 2003 Ahman Green, but he could be better than the 2005 version who wasn't very good even before his injury.
 
That said, I still think it's dangerous to count on him as the savior of the run game. And I have even greater doubts about Najeh Davenport. To me, the key to the whole thing is whether Samkon Gado can come through. If he masters the zone-blocking scheme and reads-and-reacts the way the coaches want him, he is a powerful back who will prove to be more than a one-year wonder.

Jason Wilde covers the Packers for the Wisconsin State Journal. You can read his stories at the newspaper Web site -- www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports. Wilde also talks about the Packers each morning on "The D-List" and each afternoon on "The World's Greatest Sports Talk Show," on Milwaukee's ESPN Radio 1510 Days / 1290 Nights and Madison's Fox Sports Radio (100.5 FM).