Cory’s Corner: Packers offensive line must be adequate

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Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 10 times already and pressured numerous more.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 10 times already and pressured numerous more.

Many people have been praising the offensive line for two straight solid rushing performances.

Granted, the numbers sure do look gaudy. The Packers racked up 139 yards rushing and 5.8 yards a rush against the Redskins. But let’s not forget that the Redskins haven’t exactly been scaring folks on the offensive side of the ball. Washington is tied for 30th in the league by giving up 155 yards a game. And Johnathan Franklin came in admirably in the second half at Cincinnati by tallying 103 yards, but the Bengals had never seen Franklin on tape before so his tendencies weren’t yet known.

Despite those performances from the last two weeks, the offensive has to play better. In three games, the Packers offensive line has been penalized 10 times, with the majority of the penalties coming by way of holding. Those are inexcusable penalties that can easily be fixed. Coming into the Bengals game the Packers had the ninth most holding penalties in the NFL.

When Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers saw the schedule for the first time last spring, they both saw the first three games and had a little trepidation. Everyone knew how good the 49ers defense was going to be after making an appearance in the Super Bowl last February but I’m willing to argue that the Bengals defense is even better.

And if you know a defense is big and physical, more time should be spent to make sure that Rodgers’ jersey stays clean for as long as possible. Obviously that mantra has been forgotten because Rodgers has been sacked 10 times already, which is tied for fifth-highest in the league.

I realize that Bryan Bulaga, the future personal protector of Rodgers at left tackle for the foreseeable future, going down for the season with a torn ACL was a huge blow.

But at the same time, David Carr was sacked 262 times in six seasons and is now watching his younger brother at Fresno State. Rodgers has been sacked 212 times ever since he took over as the starting quarterback in 2008. Every game he gets knocked sideways and pretty soon he’s not going to be able to get back up. And the moment happens, the Packers go from a legitimate 11-5 team to a 6-10 team.

When that happens, it won’t matter how many weapons the Packers have or how many fans pack the stadium. Because the moment Rodgers has to miss significant playing time means the Packers are roaming through the NFL wilderness without a compass to guide them.

The Packers have been pretty lucky to have a pair of Hall of Famers occupy the most important position since 1992. What’s so intriguing then, is why the Packers haven’t invested more to protect their biggest investment?

But right now McCarthy is stuck. Playing Marshall Newhouse isn’t the answer and Greg Van Roten and Lane Taylor are still too green.

So McCarthy is be left to trot Rodgers out there knowing full well that this line has had numerous cracks in it and is susceptible to breaking down at any moment.

On Sunday even when Rodgers was able to get throws off, he still took a beating. That of course led to long glares from him to his other offensive linemen, as if to say, “Come on fellas, I’m getting killed out here.”

But the guy that Rodgers should be glaring at is general manager Ted Thompson. Even with Bulaga, this offensive line wouldn’t be anything special and he would still be taking more punishment than NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would want for a guy that is one of the faces behind the NFL shield.

Until the offensive line gets upgraded to adequate levels Rodgers should limit his contact to fist bumps and high fives. He’s getting enough contact after each snap.

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Cory Jennerjohn is from Wisconsin and has been in sports media for over 10 years. To contact Cory e-mail him at jeobs -at- yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter: Cory Jennerjohn

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66 thoughts on “Cory’s Corner: Packers offensive line must be adequate

  1. The offensive line is not antiquate. They are not even average. I watched Barclay get beat like an old rug on every play. The only reason the line looked better the last two games is because Rodgers is getting rid of the ball sooner, shorter passes. This team is living in the past, they are not contenders. The personal even when healthy with the exception of Rodgers, Mathews, Cobb and Jordy do not belong in the big league…

    1. The line has to play better, But your run analysis regarding the Redskins and Bengals is questionable. The Redskins faced the Eagles in their first game. Shady has consistently torched every team the same way so far. Starks was running pretty well before Franklin took the field, Riddle me that.

      The Packers are a draft and develop team. That is who they are, and I like it. Last year they were in a worse spot than this and they made the playoffs and won the division.

      TT and MM are truly football experts. I study the things they do and try to understand, because year after year they get to the playoffs.

    1. While the OL technically may not be “old furniture,” it routinely falls apart like old furniture. A more apt analogy is to “kindling,” which is suitable only for burning.

  2. Teams are taking Aaron Rodgers out of the game primarly because of our O-line. Whether they jam our WR early or drop more men into coverage, good defenses are just buying enough time to get to the QB. Unless our opponent has a weak D-line, we are going to have trouble keeping Rodgers upright or the offense on the field.

    I think that teams are giving us the run or, at least, playing the run en route to the QB because it is the less of two evils. Without some creative play-calling, supported by adequate protection, this offense is limited in what it can do. At this rate it could be a long season, especially if our running backs keeping getting hurt.

  3. Good article, Cory. You’re telling it like it is. My only hope is that the Packers organization, namely TT, either reads this article or somehow senses the discontent of the fan base enough to make a trade and/or free agent acquisition to upgrade the Center and at least one Tackle position.

    You’re right. All it takes is one bad hit on AR and our season is over. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If we make it to the playoffs this year with the current offensive line, it will be more due to luck than anything else.

  4. I really don’t know if blaming TT is entirely fair. He has two #1 and a #4 round picks out with injuries. If they were available & had developed as their draft position would predict, we would have Sherrod & Bulaga at tackles & Bahkartia & Tretter to compete for time among the three interior positions. How would the 49ers oline look if they had two of their three first round choices out with injury?

    1. Yes, TT drafted Sherrod and Bulaga and that was the right thing to do. However, neither one of them can play. Is it acceptable to say, “Oh well, that’s the way it goes” and expose your franchise quarterback to a devastating injury? How responsible is that?

      1. quit playing madden football……
        after spending 2 #1 on future LT. and they both are out. Buluga out during this camp!
        Should TT should go back in time and draft another 1 to replace Buluga after camp started?
        How about go to the LT store and buy a pro bowler? Have you heard about the salary cap? They lost, ya I get it. Get a clue on how the NFL really works!

        1. Bulaga got hurt after this year’s draft and that is not on TT. But Sherrod has played 3 games in his entire career. He could not even earn playing time before he got hurt. He played those threee games only because other players got hurt ahead of him.

          It IS on TT for failing to respond to the busted Sherrod pick.

        2. 1. I never played Madden Football.
          2. I don’t believe in personally denigrating anyone with blog posts.
          3. Wasn’t Trent Richardson traded last week?
          4. If Aaron Rodgers takes a bad sack and is out for a significant amount of time, will Packers fans accept a “salary cap” excuse for the loss of their franchise quarterback and the end to their season?

    2. Rumor has it that Joe Thomas could be pried away from Cleveland for the right package. Wouldn’t he look great in Green and Gold?

    3. Sherrod’s been a bust his entire career. TT has had two drafts since the busted Sherrod pick to invest high picks in the O-line. He didn’t.

      His strategy all along has been to invest in other areas of the team and cobble together an Oline from low picks and UFAs. That’s never been secret. This year and the last two are show that strategy ain’t working.

    4. I agree that TT has directed the draft to address this line and, unfortunately, the picks haven’t help (because of injury). By next year we could have 3 bonafide left tackles and this line could be on solid ground. At this point, there is not much that we can do other than tune the offense to work with what we have. It is now a coaching thing.

      I am not sure what we can do about some of these draft picks that will forever be part of the injury list. When do you give up on a Starks, Quarless, Bulaga, Sherrod, etc..

      1. In the end, you can’t pour #1 picks into one position year after year. At some point you need to step back and allow those picks to mature while you invest in other places. I think that’s ultimately the mantra of draft and develop…you have to trust in what you picked while you work on other areas of the team.

        At this point, we look at the OL and there must have been some belief that a line of Bulaga-Sitton-EDS-Lang-Barclay/Newhouse could be more effective than last year’s group. It had to be deeper than just TT…had to include at least some of the scouts and coaches. When Bulaga got hurt (after the draft) the only options left to fix that problem were trades (which rarely happen in the NFL) or FA…and there just aren’t playable OLTs on the open market.

  5. Yes. It’s acceptable to say that. Let me ask you a question:

    If the Vikings lost AP, how would their ground game look? Bad you say?

    HOW DARE THEY NOT TAKE CARE OF AP’S BACKUP? I MEAN, ONCE THEY FOUND OUT THAT GERHARDT SUCKS, WHY WOULDN’T THEY DRAFT ANOTHER FUTURE HOF’ER TO ENSURE THEY CAN ALWAYS RUN THE BALL?

    Do you see how silly that argument is? It’s just not possible in the salary cap period of NFL history to have top flight depth at every position.

    Sherrod and Bulaga never had injuries in college. Tretter was EDS insurance, and didn’t have injuries in college either. TT has spent more resources on the OL and OLB/DE in the past 3 years than any other position. Face it, 1/3rd of picks are busts, and it looks like the Packers might have struck out at this point. Bad luck? Bad scouting? Who knows!

    So we’re left asking about the way GB treats injuries and why they happen so often to us. Again. AND THAT QUESTION ISN’T ANSWERABLE! If you REALLY want to decrease the odds of injuries, clean the whole operation out.

    Fire TT. Fire MM. Fire Capers. Fire Clements. Fire all the scouts. Fire all the doctors and trainers. Fire all the players. And Start over.

    Oh, you say you don’t want to be the Jaguars and be perennially starting over?

    We all need to stop being armchair QB’s/hypocrites and STHU. Let the pros do their job. Remember how good we’ve had it. No Lombardi’s since 2010. But neither do 29 of the 31 other teams. Our team has been very successful.

    We can only hope that the line gets better with the players it has. That is possible. Oh, and the MM and AR would keep running the ball. 😉

    1. “Bad luck? Bad scouting? Who knows!….Fire TT. Fire MM. Fire Capers. Fire Clements. Fire all the scouts. Fire all the doctors and trainers. Fire all the players. And Start over.”

      Did I just wander into a Milwaukee Brewers chat?

    2. You must be replying to a different article. I didn’t read anything about firing anyone. I read an article pointing out the Oline is not good.

      And no, TT has NOT invested more in the O-line than any other position. That’s a farce. GB has 3 4th rounders, 1 5th, and 4 undrafted free agents among its 8 active O linemen.

      We have 4 1st rounder at LB. 2 1sts on DL. Our secondary is full of 2nd and 3rd rounders. Our starting WRs are all 2nd and 3rd rounders. This is all off the top of my head so I might be off a number here or there.

      But it is plain nuts to assert the Oline has been the focus of TTs draft strategy. In truth, his strategy is the exact opposite.

      1. Add the three guys out with injury ( two #1’s, and one #4)and subtract three undrafted and the draft choices at this position are equal to any other group the Packers have.

        1. Sherrod has played 3 games in his career and he may well end his career with three total games played. You don’t get to add him to the team because he ain’t playing.

          Bulaga has been at least a journeyman but he’s never had a 16 game season either.

          No, the math does not add up. The other areas of the team simply have gotten more high draft pick attention. TT will tell you that himself.

          1. That’s the way, just keep denying the pesky facts and they will go away! TT has tried to address this issue, but failed due to injury to some very good picks. To say Sherrod is a bust is premature, as you said, he only played in 3 games and was lost to injury.

      2. I read the same article you did Kurt. And the comments.

        Armchair NFL fans infuriate. If TT hadn’t drafted any 1-3 round T’s or DE’s or OLB’s and instead stuck with WR’s like his first 3 years on the job, THEN we could bash him.

        If MM hadn’t followed through on his promise of running the ball so far this year. Or hadn’t fired the entire defensive staff after 2008. THEN we could slam him.

        They are doing their best? Are they human? Yes. But they’ve done what needed to be done to address the problems.

        The weakness of this team is (again) OL OLB and S. You can’t fix all of those positions in 1 draft.

        Across the NFL 1/3rd of 1st-3rd round picks don’t pan out, and the failure percentage goes up the lower the picks get.

        TT is not now and never will be a FA guy. If you don’t like it, then become a Lions fan and let me know in 10 years how that worked out. He has spent the draft resources and MM has kept coaches and players accountable.

        That’s all you can ask for.

        1. I have never once posted a comment here suggesting TT add more free agents. Not once.

          TT has a philosophy that an adequate Oline can be cobbled togetehr from “overachievers” gathred from the lower half of the draft and from UFAs.

          He did draft two #1s… that was 4 and 3 years ago, not 1. Since then Sherrod has been a total bust and Bulaga has not been able to play a single 16 game season. There’s been no high pick reinforcement to this unit since the Sherrod pick has gone bust. Those are simply the facts.

          TT has his strategy and he’s pursued it. The results say it hasn’t worked. The depth on Dline we have has not made up for the crippling effect of a bad Oline. The depth at LB has not. The depth at secondary has not. Carrying 4 or 5 TIGHT FREAKING ENDS has not.

          GB started last year with only 7 O linemen in the 53 but we kept 5 TEs! This year with 8 Oline men and 4 TEs. Most teams carry 9 or 10 and only 2 or 3 TEs. Tell me with a straight face that represents a commitment to the Oline.

          Maybe just maybe it is time to revamp the Oline last strategy.

    3. The item I wanted to emphasize from Bearmeat’s well justified rant was what he said about the salary cap and depth.

      Under the current cap structure it’s nearly impossible to keep all your best players as their contracts come due. For the last few years the cap has remained fairly static and I believe is not expected to rise substantially for a few more. In the mean time the market for the top players keeps going up – eating larger and larger pieces of that non-expanding pie. Choices must be made. Instead of keeping players A AND B it becomes keeping player A OR B. You’re going to have to let good players walk and fill in with the draft FA’s or their current backups. That’s what the Packers did with Scott Wells and Saturday/EDS. And because of decisions like that they can resign some of the up & coming younger guys like Burnett or franchise guys like Arod and CM3.

      So it’s important to accept, unless you draft well and are a few years away from your best players hitting the market, you’re not going to be able to throw cash at the problem and just trade for a Joe Thomas and his $11 to $12 million salary. I suppose you could, but say goodbye next year to nearly every roster FA you may want to keep.

      I won’t say it’s impossible, but it’s very very difficult to have a stud at every position because of the cap. Now mix in the unpredictability of injuries…

      1. “…you’re not going to be able to throw cash at the problem and just trade for a Joe Thomas and his $11 to $12 million salary.”

        I see what you did, there… 😉

  6. The way I see it, these are the cards the Packers have to play. Like them or not, these linemen need to get the Packers–and ARod–through the season.

    Screen passes and delayed runs/sweeps help slow a rush. We’ve documented here that the Packers just don’t do those much anymore. I liked some of what we saw vs. San Fran: the Packers did a few designed rollouts and moved the pocket against the Niners rush. I think that’s part of why there were only 2 sacks in that game. They need to do that more, and it should be effective against teams like Detroit and Minnesota that rely on their D-line but have a week back-end on their defense. You inherently cut the field in half, though, and it often leads to some poor INTs. With AR’s accuracy, the second point should be less of an issue.

  7. I agree with all the the central points in this article. It was good to read in the conclusion that if Bulaga had not been hurt the line would still be inadequate. That shows analysis triumphed over wishful thinking.

    I’ve been ragging on the O-line since the 49ers game was in the books. Those comments typically got me about 4 likes and 15 dislikes. I was thinking this site was for kool-aid chuggers only. So it’s good to see unwelcome news does not just get hidden after all.

    I hate the fact this is the 3rd year in a row GB has a terrible O-line. But pretending it’s not a terrible line doesn’t do anyone any good.

  8. Its not a great line, and I agree that injuries shouldn’t be cause to slam TT. I agree with the ‘blame coaches play calling crowd’. Where are the rollouts and screens, and chip blocks?
    But it definitely looks better this year…because of a run game has started to kick in. Without the +100 yards of running v Bengals; probably would have been a 7 sack night.

  9. Pretty much every week, win or lose, AR takes a beating. So there’s a consistent and on-going problem with the ability of the OL to protect the QB.

    So, when folks that are invested in the team look for answers or point out deficiencies, they all can’t be off point. Responsibility for this condition has to land somewhere. Fan or management rebuttals that focus on the ‘ya, buts’ such as ‘ya but, they got a lot of injuries’, or, ‘ya but, they’re finally run-blocking’, or ‘ya but, how would so and so team be if they lost so and so’ are just blind faith in something that’s failing.

    So who steps up and says ‘the buck stops here’? Who’s accountable for fixing this? I would love for MM to take a presser and just come out and acknowledge the problem and say ‘our OL play is unacceptable and I’m not going to tolerate it anymore. If the people who are here, and that includes the coaches and the players can’t fix it, I’ll find someone who can’.

    But year after year, the loudest sound coming out of 1265 Lombardi Ave. in response to those questions is…

    Crickets.

  10. Let’s review TT’s major decisions in recent years re: OL.

    (1) Gave mega-bucks to G Sitton to stay;
    (2) Gave mega-bucks to G Lang to stay;
    (3) Refused to give C Scott Wells the same type of contract to stay;
    (4) Drafted Bulaga at bottom of R1 to play OT; and,
    (5) Drafted Sherrod at bottom of R1 to play OT.

    All of that could have worked out except for C. What was his plan for C? Was it EDS? We don’t know. Now, two years after sending Wells packing, TT finally drafts a developmental prospect at C (Tretter). That is strike one.

    Bulaga has missed major portions of the last three seasons with serious leg injuries. Even worse for Sherrod.

    Last year he came up with Barclay as an UFA to play RT. Newhouse was a disaster at LT. This year Bakhtiari is doing as good as could be hoped for at LT. Sherrod we’re told, will play this year.

    TT was in a tough position i.e., ignore the needs on defense and keep drafting OTs who, when everyone returns to health, will not be needed OR rebuild the defense while waiting for Bulaga/Sherrod to return to health? Very tough choice and though I often disagree with TT, I think he did the only thing possible and draft defense. He at least drafted Bakhtiari as an insurance policy. He could not foresee Bulaga losing an entire season. Why he waited so long top draft a C prospect I have no answer for. I would have found one in the draft preceding Wells contract year. Give him one year to apprentice under Wells and then move him in to start if Wells hits the road. That I can blame on TT. However, what has happened at OT has just been very bad luck. I’m sure they were thinking early on that Sherrod would be back last year. That didn’t happen and a 2nd surgery was required to fix a problem from the 1st surgery. Tretter getting injured and missing his rookie year was more bad luck. So, except for C, I think it is hard to criticize TT for the Packers’ current problems at OL. I think by 2014, fans will sing a different tune but that doesn’t help in 2013. Packer fans better hope the injuries stop here because if we continue to lose OL, they will see what UGLY really looks like. So, until 2014, MM needs to design game plan that mixes runs, screens etc. with quick hitting passes etc. and make the deep verticals the exception rather than the rule. But don’t run little rookie RBs into the middle of the line against dominating defenses.

    1. Good job looking at the whole picture rather than just one small corner. If he hadn’t considered needs at other positions we’d be hearing the same rants about them. Oh, yeah, that’s right, we have.

    2. He also signed the totally washed up Jeff Saturday as a ‘replacement’ for Wells. That didn’t pan out at all.

    3. I think a different tune will be sung before the end of 2013. We have two young tackles that are getting better and two guards that will improve when they feel they can trust the young tackles more. The center, well, too bad we couldn’t get a couple of years out of that free agent TT hired. But then, free agents are more of a crap shoot than the draft. And TT knows that.

  11. With a draft and develop philosophy (please tell me one team that does NOT employ this philosophy…)coaching is at the core of the prospect of improving as a team.

    That is the DEVELOP part.

    I can remember Tom Lovat, Larry Beightol, Joe Philbin for one year, all OL coaches before Campen. The OL was better. Players DEVELOPED. Not any more.

    MM’s blind loyalty to his coaching staff is hurting this team. Shawn Slocum anyone?

    Players are brought in to create competition to drive performance. Where is the accountability for performance with the coaching staff?

    MM has NEVER dismissed any staff member. You mean to tell me that every one of them has been perfect? MM preaches accountability but doesn’t apply it to the people he directly manages.

    Also, isn’t it about time he actually becomes a HEAD coach and hires a real OC? His game management is poor and I believe it is because he is doing too much on game day while his figurehead OC’s sit in the box and munch popcorn. The Packers could use some diversity in offensive philosophy and play-calling while actually GAINING a HEAD coach.

    1. People automatically assume that there’s a good coach or GM waiting out there for the Packers to open a slot for them to jump into, or that any change is better than what you currently have.

      I wish that were true. I won’t say that I don’t think there are changes in coaching that the Packers could/should make, but change doesn’t mean things get better…and when you’re winning 10+ games a year for several years running, there isn’t a lot a room to get better…so you’d better be damn sure when you make that change.

    2. Well said JohnBlood. The self-assessment must extend to the coaching performance and the blood must change at this level as well.

    3. So, we should fire the coach after 3 games? Even firing the o-line coach during the bye week is iffy. The Packers are who they are this season. Sit back and enjoy while they run off wins against the Lions, Vikes, and other patsies that they have coming up. By the time they play the Be@rs, the line will be much better.

  12. The O- line has not been strong for the last few seasons. This is true. But it’s not just due to injuries or a lack of focus by TT in the draft or poor coaching by MM and the staff. The league is driven by the pass, therefore defenses have focused on rushing the passer with good DL’s and all types of blitz packages with LB’s, and DB’s coming from all over the place. The Packers O – line problems are as much a matter of continuity and consistency. This is where the injuries do make a difference. An O-line needs time and continuity to become consistent. Someone should look at how many different players have started in the O-line since the 2010 season. This season alone we basically have 3 new players on the line with Bakthiari and Barclay basically as rookies. EDS still learning his position. It’s not a good situation but they can improve if they stay healthy and play together. As for FA’s and trades, I haven’t seen any rules that state FA’s or traded players won’t get injured. In the meantime the best QB protection is a solid running game with some screens and draw plays. Of course we will need some healthy running backs, which we have also run out of. Thanks, Since ’61

    1. Let’s swap your comment for the main article. Better analysis, less reactionary, and more to the heart of the matter.

      1. Screens are not run against teams with good LBs. After the first three weeks, we won’t be facing such LB talent again for a while, so you might just see more of what you are asking for.

    2. “In the meantime the best QB protection is a solid running game with some screens and draw plays.”

      Agreed. Now who is going to tell MM?

      1. But see, that’s just what they expect the Packers to do. Gotta do something surprising. Like run the small guy into the middle of the line.

    3. Then explain why other teams that play in the same league with the same variables, don’t make their QB’s look like a can of ALPO to a pack of starving dogs?

      Brady, Manning and Brees all manage to spend most of their time in the vertical.

  13. I thought our cure to rodgers being sacked too much was a good running game… now we have back to back 100 yard rushing performances (by 2 different RBs too!) and yet rodgers is still ending up on the ground. Plan B?

    1. Play some teams in the bottom half of league instead of in the top half (or even top 10 on D). Oh, we have just the ticket in the Lions coming to town and paying the Vikes in that so-called “stadium” that even they are embarrassed to call home and will be tearing down soon.

  14. “…why the Packers haven’t invested more to protect their biggest investment?”

    Well, there’s your answer. Ted Thompson seems pathologically incapable of spending money on players except to resign his guys. Whether it is due to ego – he really thinks he can draft and develop better players than every other GM in the league – or he is so terrified of not having squirreled away every dime the team makes on jerseys, the fact is that we just aren’t as talented as a lot of other teams in those positions that keep our superstars on the field. Contrary to the Thompson philosophy, not just anyone can take a kickoff or block a safety blitz.

    He’s like the Grandma with ten million dollars who eats cat food for dinner, because after all, if you spend that money, then you won’t have it.

    1. “Ted Thompson seems pathologically incapable of spending money on players except to resign his guys.”

      Bingo! And now he wants to give Raji $10MM/yr to stay around. Why? The guy does very little. Watch Donterri Poe (KC) to see what a real NT is capable of.

      1. Raji is a packer citizen , TT believes that the citizens have more value than anyone else .. some what delusional i believe . Denver Broncos sign Louis Vasquez guard as free agent in off season to protect franchise manning .. TT would rather hope for a citizen to come through .. not happening …

        1. Elway is shooting for the moon this year in Denver. The crash will come fast, in a year or two. The Packers are not looking at a crash for quite a while at this point in time. Which do you prefer? Unless you like to switch to the hot team every few years, I prefer the Packer Way.

  15. In this era of the NFL the professionals pay attention to the salary cap, drafting, and player development. The amateurs pay attention to stats, schemes and play calls. In the 90’s we had a team with more FA’s than the current team and we won 1 Super Bowl. Now the Pack is competing with the current cap rules and we have 1 Super Bowl but we’re still counting for this group. Don’t know yet how this season ends but we can win out at home and take 2-3 road games and make the playoffs. If we get hot we go as far as AR and the o-line can take us. Next season maybe we stay healthy and we finally see what we have. Either way we need to stay with the program or we become the Jags, Raiders, or heaven forbid the Viqueens. Thanks, Since ’61

  16. The NFL salary cap was imposed in 1994, so Wolf had to deal with it, too.

    As pointed out above, TT does spend money, but he prefers to spend it on his guys. That’s very different from Wolf who never had as much ego investment in his guys or his methods.

    We’ve seen where this o-line takes the team: to the loss column.

  17. Can’t fault the pack for not trying to fill holes in the o line via the draft. Bahktiari is looking like a bargain, Sitton is all pro & Lang is capable. Can’t blame tt for injury to Sherrod, Stetter and Bulaga – that’s just bad luck. My only complaint is that after all the injury news this year, we didn’t deal some of our surplus (d line or tight end) for someone else’s surplus at o line, or more specifically center. EDS is not a starting o lineman & continues to be a weak link. Just a capable center would be a big improvement. Someone has got to have one that needs a spare d line big body. We no longer have quality tight end depth, but still could dangle a d lineman in front of someone.

  18. Quit picking on TT. Don’t you recall he deviated from his antipathy and signed a big name free agent center before last season?

    Just because you can’t recognize how great Jeff Saturday was (and for just under $4M a year), doesn’t mean he was not a great great pick up by TT.

  19. GB hires and develops its coaches too. We have a lot of position coaches handling areas that are new to them. TT also spent a couple of 5th round picks on OL (Meredith and Giacomini). Meredith started 12 games for Tampa Bay at OG due to injury in 2012 and is a back up this year. Giacomini started 8 games in 2011, 16 in 2012 and all 3 games this year for Seattle at OT. I don’t know if Campen is a good coach or not. He got Flanagan, Wells, Sitton and Lang to develop & did not mess up Bulaga. I don’t know if Bulaga or Sherrod can play LOT until they do it. It seems unlikely that Sherrod will be able to play this year after 2 yrs off and it does not sound like he has been able to do any weight training on his injured leg.

  20. As always, the number of people who are talking is quite a bit larger than the number of people who know something.

    Alas, every team – even the Packers – has it share of knee-jerks.

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