If Allen is chortling, it stays within

Jared Allen wasn't about to give the Packers any bulletin-board material, but the Vikings' Pro Bowl right end has to know that he might have one of the most favorable matchups for Monday night's game against Green Bay.

Because Packers left tackle Chad Clifton has a sprained right ankle and is not expected to play for a second consecutive week, converted guard Daryn Colledge will shift to tackle and protect quarterback Aaron Rodgers' blind side.

So how tough does Allen think it would be for a lineman to make that move and then go against him? "Pretty tough," he said, "and I'm going to make it as tough as I can. There's guys that struggle that play tackle [ordinarily] so it will be fun. It's going to be interesting. You expect them to [provide] some help over there with chips and stuff like that. You rock with it. But the more they have to worry about a certain position the more we have other people free."

Allen, who has two sacks in three games and leads the NFL with 59 1/2 since 2004, has had some good battles with Clifton. Last season, Clifton held Allen without a sack or quarterback hurry in Allen's regular-season debut for the Vikings. Allen had a sack and two hurries in the second meeting between the teams at the Metrodome.

But Colledge -- who played against Allen while he was at Boise State and Allen was at Idado -- will be making only the fourth start of his four-year career at left tackle.

"Am I as prepared as I would like to be for a guy like this? Probably not," he said. "[Allen] makes left tackles that are starters in this league look bad. So as a guy who's had five days [to prepare for him], I would like to have more time. But we don't have that option. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to compete and try to play at his speed, and I might give up some technique but I'm going to try to match his effort."

Colledge, who started 14 games at left guard last season and will move back to that spot when Clifton is healthy, has had a rough go of it at times this season. After Clifton was hurt two weeks ago in a loss to Cincinnati, Colledge moved to tackle and gave up three sacks and two more pressures against Antwan Odom. Last Sunday, Colledge gave up a handful of pressures in a victory over St. Louis.

In addition to having to worry about Allen, Colledge will have to deal with playing in the loud environment of the Metrodome. That means that before Colledge focuses on Allen he will have to avoid false starts while the Packers are using their silent count.

Clifton, meanwhile, was listed as questionable on the Packers injury report, and even though coach Mike McCarthy said the veteran wouldn't play unless he practiced this week, Allen is making no assumptions about who he will face. "I've prepared for both of them all week," he said. "You never know how he's going to feel, and we've still got a couple more days. So I'm prepared for either one, and either way our game plan doesn't change. Go out there and get the job done."