woodbuck27
09-09-2006, 10:56 PM
SAT., SEP 9, 2006 - 2:44 AM
Packers: Wells quietly effective on center stage
JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - You read about them all training camp long - rookie guards Jason Spitz, Tony Moll and Daryn Colledge. We chronicled their every move, told you about every up and down, devoted almost as much ink and airtime to their development as the tabloids do to Paris Hilton's partying, Britney Spears' parenting and Tom Cruise's weirdness.
But how much do you know about Scott Wells' training camp? Unless you're his wife, Julie, or his parents, Wayne and Cindy, probably not much.
There's a reason for that.
"At the center position, when no one talks about you, you're doing a great job. It's almost like growing up with my father - when he wasn't talking to me, I knew things were going very well," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this week. "Scott Wells has had an outstanding training camp. He's made all the adjustments, the blocking system fits him very well, we're very pleased with him. I can't say enough good things about him."
Even if very little was said about him all camp long. But just as McCarthy was fine with the no-news-is-good-news approach when he worked for his father Joe at the family bar in Pittsburgh, Wells is fine with the lack of attention he's received this year.
For while most of Packer Nation frets about how Spitz, a third-round pick who'll start at left guard in Sunday's regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears, and Moll, a fifth-round pick who'll start at right guard, will handle the Bears' interior rotation of Tommie Harris, Ian Scott, Tank Johnson and Alphonso Boone Sunday, there seems to be little reason to worry about the guy in between the rookies.
The main reason the Packers aren't as concerned about replacing Pro Bowl center Mike Flanagan, who went to Houston via free agency, as they were about replacing departed guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera last year is because the team likes the way 6-foot-2, 304-pound Wells combines natural leverage, brute strength, aggressiveness and a keen understanding of the new zone blocking scheme.
"That's a pretty good combination," offensive line coach Joe Philbin said. "We think he's a real fine fit for this system running the ball. We're counting on him to be a standout. We're not planning on him to be an average center or a guy that we can get by with or a guy that's not going to kill us. We need him to play well and be a leader up there. From what we've seen in practices up to this point, we think he can do that."
Wells thinks so, too. While this is the first time he's been an opening-day starter, he does have 12 career starts: Two at center as a rookie seventh-round pick in 2004 after Flanagan went on injured reserve with a knee injury; and 10 last year - two at center and eight at left guard - as Green Bay played musical linemen during a tumultuous season up front.
Wells said he grew more comfortable at guard as the year went on, but he quickly added playing center is his "natural position." He also feels he's developing the same relationship with quarterback Brett Favre that Flanagan and Frank Winters cultivated before him.
"Being able to play early on, Brett was able to build a little trust in me. He's comfortable with me; I'm not a new face for him," Wells said. "And being able to really focus on just center this year has helped. Every snap he's gotten has been with me."
While he isn't bothered by how much attention Moll and Spitz are getting, Wells admitted he wouldn't mind a little positive publicity once in awhile.
"Having two rookies, obviously they're going to draw a lot more attention. However they play, they're going to get either positive or negative press," Wells said. "That's the story right now. That's what's selling papers. If you're going to write about the offensive line, it's going to be about the rookies.
"Yeah, it's always good when they're not talking negatively about you. But again, I'd like to have some positive comments. I'm not going to lie to you."
GO PACK GO ! PACKER FAN FAITH !
Packers: Wells quietly effective on center stage
JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - You read about them all training camp long - rookie guards Jason Spitz, Tony Moll and Daryn Colledge. We chronicled their every move, told you about every up and down, devoted almost as much ink and airtime to their development as the tabloids do to Paris Hilton's partying, Britney Spears' parenting and Tom Cruise's weirdness.
But how much do you know about Scott Wells' training camp? Unless you're his wife, Julie, or his parents, Wayne and Cindy, probably not much.
There's a reason for that.
"At the center position, when no one talks about you, you're doing a great job. It's almost like growing up with my father - when he wasn't talking to me, I knew things were going very well," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this week. "Scott Wells has had an outstanding training camp. He's made all the adjustments, the blocking system fits him very well, we're very pleased with him. I can't say enough good things about him."
Even if very little was said about him all camp long. But just as McCarthy was fine with the no-news-is-good-news approach when he worked for his father Joe at the family bar in Pittsburgh, Wells is fine with the lack of attention he's received this year.
For while most of Packer Nation frets about how Spitz, a third-round pick who'll start at left guard in Sunday's regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears, and Moll, a fifth-round pick who'll start at right guard, will handle the Bears' interior rotation of Tommie Harris, Ian Scott, Tank Johnson and Alphonso Boone Sunday, there seems to be little reason to worry about the guy in between the rookies.
The main reason the Packers aren't as concerned about replacing Pro Bowl center Mike Flanagan, who went to Houston via free agency, as they were about replacing departed guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera last year is because the team likes the way 6-foot-2, 304-pound Wells combines natural leverage, brute strength, aggressiveness and a keen understanding of the new zone blocking scheme.
"That's a pretty good combination," offensive line coach Joe Philbin said. "We think he's a real fine fit for this system running the ball. We're counting on him to be a standout. We're not planning on him to be an average center or a guy that we can get by with or a guy that's not going to kill us. We need him to play well and be a leader up there. From what we've seen in practices up to this point, we think he can do that."
Wells thinks so, too. While this is the first time he's been an opening-day starter, he does have 12 career starts: Two at center as a rookie seventh-round pick in 2004 after Flanagan went on injured reserve with a knee injury; and 10 last year - two at center and eight at left guard - as Green Bay played musical linemen during a tumultuous season up front.
Wells said he grew more comfortable at guard as the year went on, but he quickly added playing center is his "natural position." He also feels he's developing the same relationship with quarterback Brett Favre that Flanagan and Frank Winters cultivated before him.
"Being able to play early on, Brett was able to build a little trust in me. He's comfortable with me; I'm not a new face for him," Wells said. "And being able to really focus on just center this year has helped. Every snap he's gotten has been with me."
While he isn't bothered by how much attention Moll and Spitz are getting, Wells admitted he wouldn't mind a little positive publicity once in awhile.
"Having two rookies, obviously they're going to draw a lot more attention. However they play, they're going to get either positive or negative press," Wells said. "That's the story right now. That's what's selling papers. If you're going to write about the offensive line, it's going to be about the rookies.
"Yeah, it's always good when they're not talking negatively about you. But again, I'd like to have some positive comments. I'm not going to lie to you."
GO PACK GO ! PACKER FAN FAITH !