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I wouldn't say that the Packers "stacked" their defense this year, but that did seem to be the primary focus this off season. The Defense comes down to two factors: 1 - Can they maintain the passion they had last year under Bates without Bates? and 2 - Can the new additions gel before the start of the season? We all saw what happened to the Vikings last year. They acquired some big names and were a big flop on defense because they didn't gel until towards the end of the season. Even this year the Vikings are busy replacing guys from last years squad. We have our defense largely intact from last year and have added some good players and depth.
With that said (as you can tell I am not too concerned about the defense), it's time to focus on what will be the key to the Packers success or lack-there-of this season, the Offensive Line. Unlike last year when we lost two Pro-Bowl Guards, this year we lost a Center that has been injured most of the past two seasons. I think the biggest loss on the line this season wasn't Flannigan but Grey Rugemer. He stepped in for Flannigan while he was injured and outside of the first game he started, he was pretty solid for us. If you remember correctly when Flannigan went down a few years ago, Wells stepped in and was a colossal flop. That isn't to say he hasn't stepped it up since his rookie year, I just remember what he did we called upon him that season. Rugemer stepped in and played every where for us and did consistently well. Why he wasn't named a starting guard last year is beyond me. Our offensive line never gelled and played musical chairs more then our running backs did with injuries.
The lessons learned from last year are still around, Adrian Klemm, a career backup who has never been healthy enough to learn the NFL game. My understanding is that with the zone blocking scheme you want smaller, quicker offensive linemen and we definitely have the "small" taken care of. We have two of the best tackles in the NFL, Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton. The only issue I see there is that Tauscher isn't as quick as he used to be with his bad knees and Clifton had the major hip surgery from Sapp a few years back and that may also affect his athleticism although it didn't seem to last year. He has been doing a great job protecting Favre's blind side for years. I don't know how much movement the tackles are required to do but I am hopeful that because they both pull very well that these guys will continue to be solid for us. McCarthy has to name his starting offensive line early enough for the players to gel. This is no small task because not only are there three spots up for grabs, outside of Tauscher and Clifton, no one on our roster has a full season starting under their belt and if you throw out Klemm, there are 5 rookies and 5 players with 3 or less years of experience. To say we will have a young offensive line is like saying David Carr gets sacked a lot. Hopefully this youth won't add up to "Favre gets sacked a lot".
I am going to forget for a minute that we are running the zone blocking scheme with smaller and quicker linemen. Historically, the center is supposed to be a monster, the anchor of the line. Flanigan was a slender 301 but was 6'5" tall. Frank Winters was 305 and 6'3", about the smallest you would want for a center. Our long snapper Rob Davis is 284 and 6'3", hardly center material. This brings us down to the one veteran with any NFL experience, Scott Wells at 304 & 6'2". He is cut from the Frank Winters mold, he has the skills to take it to the next level, but will he? He seems to play good one game then flop the next. I believe Wells is a Center and that's it. Forget the guard experiment, that was a disaster. Jason Spitz at 313 & 6'4" looks promising and also looks like a good sized center, can he take it to the next level? Look for Wayne Lucier to surprise you at 315 & 6'4". He has good size and good technique and hasn't really been given a chance to shine yet in the NFL, I look for this to be a good competition. It's time for Wells to step up and play like Frank Winters or he is just another career backup waiting to happen. Unless we pick up a center in free agency, look for all of these guys on the roster come opening day. My money is on Lucier the dark horse to be the starting center with Spitz a close #2 and Wells a backup guard.
Last and definitely not least, the guards. I see some good things here. Will Whitticker should and will be one of the starting guards although he is the biggest lineman we have at 338. He had his struggles last year but he played reasonably well for a rookie. The zone blocking scheme should fit him well as he seemed to be able to move well when called upon although his technique needs some work. The other guard I see is Daryn Colledge 299 & 6'4", although he is small, he makes up for it in technique and athleticism. The zone blocking scheme is easy to learn, the hard part us unlearning everything else you thought you knew about blocking. Being that he is a rookie, I think his will be the easiest transition into the scheme. Look for Tony Moll 308 & 6'5", Junius Coston 317 & 6'3" to make the roster as well.
I think Kevin Barry is pretty much been relegated to a backup tackle unless his injury is extreme, then the Packers would be best to place him on IR and pick up another backup tackle elsewhere. Adrian Klemm is done as a Packer, I just don't see him making the roster with all of the young studs we have. My dark horse to make the roster is Josh Bourke 314 & 6'7", the guy is HUGE, outside of that I don't know a thing about him. But having someone who is 6'7" on your team can't hurt right?
I don't think the health of our running backs is a concern as long as Green & Davenport come back healthy, I believe we have two good replacements in Gado and Heron in case one or both of them go down. This will all boil down to one thing, "intelligence". With the mistakes of last years F.U.B.A.R. of an offensive coaching staff, hopefully a painful lesson was learned - you have to name your offensive line starters before pre-season and allow them to gel before the season starts. The offensive line is different then any another other part of the game. You can lose one piece and still function, you can't lose 2-3 pieces and function without PRACTICE together as unit. The offensive line has to know each other inside and out. They have to know what to do when the another lineman does this, etc. Without that crucial time to gel and become a single, whole unit, our offense is doomed. I trust that McCarthy isn't as stubborn as Sherman and will make the right call here. I said the same thing about the offensive line last year before the preseason and the starters really weren't in place until after the last preseason game. I said it then and I will say it again, if they do not have a solid starting offensive line going into preseason, it will be another long year as a Packer Fan.
With that said (as you can tell I am not too concerned about the defense), it's time to focus on what will be the key to the Packers success or lack-there-of this season, the Offensive Line. Unlike last year when we lost two Pro-Bowl Guards, this year we lost a Center that has been injured most of the past two seasons. I think the biggest loss on the line this season wasn't Flannigan but Grey Rugemer. He stepped in for Flannigan while he was injured and outside of the first game he started, he was pretty solid for us. If you remember correctly when Flannigan went down a few years ago, Wells stepped in and was a colossal flop. That isn't to say he hasn't stepped it up since his rookie year, I just remember what he did we called upon him that season. Rugemer stepped in and played every where for us and did consistently well. Why he wasn't named a starting guard last year is beyond me. Our offensive line never gelled and played musical chairs more then our running backs did with injuries.
The lessons learned from last year are still around, Adrian Klemm, a career backup who has never been healthy enough to learn the NFL game. My understanding is that with the zone blocking scheme you want smaller, quicker offensive linemen and we definitely have the "small" taken care of. We have two of the best tackles in the NFL, Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton. The only issue I see there is that Tauscher isn't as quick as he used to be with his bad knees and Clifton had the major hip surgery from Sapp a few years back and that may also affect his athleticism although it didn't seem to last year. He has been doing a great job protecting Favre's blind side for years. I don't know how much movement the tackles are required to do but I am hopeful that because they both pull very well that these guys will continue to be solid for us. McCarthy has to name his starting offensive line early enough for the players to gel. This is no small task because not only are there three spots up for grabs, outside of Tauscher and Clifton, no one on our roster has a full season starting under their belt and if you throw out Klemm, there are 5 rookies and 5 players with 3 or less years of experience. To say we will have a young offensive line is like saying David Carr gets sacked a lot. Hopefully this youth won't add up to "Favre gets sacked a lot".
I am going to forget for a minute that we are running the zone blocking scheme with smaller and quicker linemen. Historically, the center is supposed to be a monster, the anchor of the line. Flanigan was a slender 301 but was 6'5" tall. Frank Winters was 305 and 6'3", about the smallest you would want for a center. Our long snapper Rob Davis is 284 and 6'3", hardly center material. This brings us down to the one veteran with any NFL experience, Scott Wells at 304 & 6'2". He is cut from the Frank Winters mold, he has the skills to take it to the next level, but will he? He seems to play good one game then flop the next. I believe Wells is a Center and that's it. Forget the guard experiment, that was a disaster. Jason Spitz at 313 & 6'4" looks promising and also looks like a good sized center, can he take it to the next level? Look for Wayne Lucier to surprise you at 315 & 6'4". He has good size and good technique and hasn't really been given a chance to shine yet in the NFL, I look for this to be a good competition. It's time for Wells to step up and play like Frank Winters or he is just another career backup waiting to happen. Unless we pick up a center in free agency, look for all of these guys on the roster come opening day. My money is on Lucier the dark horse to be the starting center with Spitz a close #2 and Wells a backup guard.
Last and definitely not least, the guards. I see some good things here. Will Whitticker should and will be one of the starting guards although he is the biggest lineman we have at 338. He had his struggles last year but he played reasonably well for a rookie. The zone blocking scheme should fit him well as he seemed to be able to move well when called upon although his technique needs some work. The other guard I see is Daryn Colledge 299 & 6'4", although he is small, he makes up for it in technique and athleticism. The zone blocking scheme is easy to learn, the hard part us unlearning everything else you thought you knew about blocking. Being that he is a rookie, I think his will be the easiest transition into the scheme. Look for Tony Moll 308 & 6'5", Junius Coston 317 & 6'3" to make the roster as well.
I think Kevin Barry is pretty much been relegated to a backup tackle unless his injury is extreme, then the Packers would be best to place him on IR and pick up another backup tackle elsewhere. Adrian Klemm is done as a Packer, I just don't see him making the roster with all of the young studs we have. My dark horse to make the roster is Josh Bourke 314 & 6'7", the guy is HUGE, outside of that I don't know a thing about him. But having someone who is 6'7" on your team can't hurt right?
I don't think the health of our running backs is a concern as long as Green & Davenport come back healthy, I believe we have two good replacements in Gado and Heron in case one or both of them go down. This will all boil down to one thing, "intelligence". With the mistakes of last years F.U.B.A.R. of an offensive coaching staff, hopefully a painful lesson was learned - you have to name your offensive line starters before pre-season and allow them to gel before the season starts. The offensive line is different then any another other part of the game. You can lose one piece and still function, you can't lose 2-3 pieces and function without PRACTICE together as unit. The offensive line has to know each other inside and out. They have to know what to do when the another lineman does this, etc. Without that crucial time to gel and become a single, whole unit, our offense is doomed. I trust that McCarthy isn't as stubborn as Sherman and will make the right call here. I said the same thing about the offensive line last year before the preseason and the starters really weren't in place until after the last preseason game. I said it then and I will say it again, if they do not have a solid starting offensive line going into preseason, it will be another long year as a Packer Fan.
Yea, I didn't know what they planned for Allen.
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