OTA Notes

[Waldo]

Quick feet can make up for the lack of elite arm length, DC has well above average feet, even for a LT.

I think though if Lang really shows something at G, they move him to RT. DC can be an elite RT, his ability to play in space far exceeds the average RT.

[Fritz]

Whatever switching they're gonna do this year, I hope to gosh they do it in the first two weeks. I'm so tired of this slipping guys around. Sure, they become versatile - they can suck at a multitude of positions!

I would like to see them set guys' positions and have only a couple of guys who can swing both ways(!). Then if a guy goes down (this is getting creepy suddenly), just plug in the next guy on the depth chart. You keep shuffling guys so you have your "best five" out there, pretty soon three of 'em are out of their regular position, and it all goes to hell.

[Waldo]

Whatever switching they're gonna do this year, I hope to gosh they do it in the first two weeks. I'm so tired of this slipping guys around. Sure, they become versatile - they can suck at a multitude of positions!

I would like to see them set guys' positions and have only a couple of guys who can swing both ways(!). Then if a guy goes down (this is getting creepy suddenly), just plug in the next guy on the depth chart. You keep shuffling guys so you have your "best five" out there, pretty soon three of 'em are out of their regular position, and it all goes to hell.

Though some would like to believe so, all this "no more musical chairs" is just a bunch of hooey and lip service. It isn't really going to make anything better, but the fact that the backups we put in are going to be less good than previously.

The 3 guys last year that played more than 1 position were Colledge, Spitz, and Moll. Spitz was the only other guy that could snap, it is retarded to play anybody but your 2nd best pass blocker at backup LT (also retarded if he isn't a regular starter at another position), and Moll was the right side backup, which we are still going to need because we aren't going into the season with 10 lineman, and will likely only suit up 7 for games. So, Spitz isn't moving? That's the extent of the change. MM has sold you guys a big pile of dung. Clifton, Barbre, Wells, Sitton, Tausher, Breno played only 1 position last year.

[Fritz]

So, what was the pile of dung we were sold? That guys aren't going to be moving around? Or that not moving guys around will make the o-line better?

[Waldo]

So, what was the pile of dung we were sold? That guys aren't going to be moving around? Or that not moving guys around will make the o-line better?

Both.

And the fact that we did it at an unusual rate.

It is rare to find a team whose backup LT is a bench player. Because of the potential for injury to the QB, the backup LT is typically the 2nd best lineman at pass blocking. It is dumb to put that guy on the bench as a backup, he should start (same concept as WR, your backup flanker is typically the split end or slot receiver, not the #4 WR). Almost every team in the league slides their LG or RT over when the LT goes down. Nothing is changing with Colledge unless Meredith proves to be a better LT. Colledge has played a lot of football in the last 3 years, and I believe there have been 3 games in that span where he didn't start at LG. Two at LT and one at RT, his game at RT was a side effect of two of our RT's being injured and the right side backup being benched.

We were caught in a bind with Spitz, we only had 2 active offensive lineman that were any good at snapping, Wells and Spitz (Carvalho was a PS guy). Any time Wells was hurt Spitz had to slide over. We had no general interior bench player, and it is idiotic to have a CO backup suit up. Now we did go a little above and beyond normal movement a time or two, when Colledge was playing LT a couple of times MM moved Spitz to LG and played Sitton at RG. He could just as easily have played Barbre at LG, but MM had a love affair with Sitton, Sitton was not our 6th best lineman last year, he was better than that, and MM did what he could to get him on the field without being a starter.

Almost all backup lineman have to play more than one position. It is the realities of a gameday roster, where 7 lineman typically suit up. If your backups don't play multiple positions, your starters have to. Moll played right side backup, Barbre left side backup (but 3rd on the depth chart at LT).

The only player that moved an unusual amount was Spitz. If we concentrate Moll at one position, either he starts or is gone. 4th year guys aren't healthy scratches, that is for noobs, and guys that play one position only aren't suited to be on the gameday roster unless they start. As long at Colledge is our second best pass blocker, he will be backup LT.

So this is what it is, we are going to stop moving Sptiz around. That is the musical chairs. It is not some tragic thing destroying our line. It affects one player. The difference you see from him moving less will be negligible, if the line gets better, it won't be because Spitz stopped moving around, it is because he is a better C than Wells, and because Sitton is a better G than Spitz.

MM made one comment and it has been beat to death in the papers on on MB's, it has been dubbed "the problem", and MM has seen the light and has "the answer". That train of thought is a load of crap. It might make Spitz a better player to concentrate on center alone, but to think that no lineman will move around in case of injury is false (Colledge will still slide to LT), now we have the backups to suit up to cover all positions with the gameday roster. Lang can play all 5 positions, Barbre can play 4 positions, Moll can play 3 positions, Preston can play 4 positions, Meredith can play 4 positions. Our only pigeonholed backups are Wells (CO), Carvalho (CO), and Giacomini (RTO).

[pbmax]

If you are talking about Game Day backups or actual Game Snaps, then Waldo, your list is correct.

But Barbre spent practice time at Tackle, Colledge spent time not only at LT but also RG. Spitz flopped between both Guard slots as well as Center. Giacomini had two positions but I only remember his time at RT. Moll was RT and RG. Sitton was the only one who was in one place for practice and preseason beside Clifton, Tauscher and Wells.

[HarveyWallbangers]

It is rare to find a team whose backup LT is a bench player. Because of the potential for injury to the QB, the backup LT is typically the 2nd best lineman at pass blocking. It is dumb to put that guy on the bench as a backup

Unless you have a bunch of OL who are all at a similar level. In that case, it might be best not to move guys around. I have no doubt they'd move Colledge to LT if Clifton got injured. However, I could see them not moving Spitz and some of the other guys around as much.

[Fritz]

Aha. I see.

[Waldo]

It is rare to find a team whose backup LT is a bench player. Because of the potential for injury to the QB, the backup LT is typically the 2nd best lineman at pass blocking. It is dumb to put that guy on the bench as a backup

Unless you have a bunch of OL who are all at a similar level. In that case, it might be best not to move guys around. I have no doubt they'd move Colledge to LT if Clifton got injured. However, I could see them not moving Spitz and some of the other guys around as much.

What other guys? Backup players have to be versatile. The only point in concentrating a guy one position is if he is a starter or soon to be a starter.

It is one of the realities of the gameday roster, there are not enough spots to suit up specialized backups (or even on the 53 man roster, there is not enough room for a full set of specialized backups). 5 positions have to be backed up by 2 guys on gameday. It makes sense to regularly practice them in all the spots they back up. You are better off moving your backup lineman around often to keep them fresh at all of their positions. It might hinder their progress toward starting, but for backup players, just getting snaps often is more important than getting snaps at one position.

[Fritz]

I was under the impression that the Packers kept eight linemen active on game day. Last year, I thought, it was Clifton, Colledge, Wells, Spitz, Tauscher, Moll, Barbre, and Sitton (until he was hurt).

No?

Seven just seems like one too few. Three guys go down, you're screwed. I wonder how often that's happened, by the way?

[retailguy]

I was under the impression that the Packers kept eight linemen active on game day. Last year, I thought, it was Clifton, Colledge, Wells, Spitz, Tauscher, Moll, Barbre, and Sitton (until he was hurt).

No?

Seven just seems like one too few. Three guys go down, you're screwed. I wonder how often that's happened, by the way?

Wouldn't you use one of the TE's in this situation?

[Fritz]

I was under the impression that the Packers kept eight linemen active on game day. Last year, I thought, it was Clifton, Colledge, Wells, Spitz, Tauscher, Moll, Barbre, and Sitton (until he was hurt).

No?

Seven just seems like one too few. Three guys go down, you're screwed. I wonder how often that's happened, by the way?

Wouldn't you use one of the TE's in this situation?

That would be my impression - but it wouldn't be Jermichael Finley!

[Zool]

I was under the impression that the Packers kept eight linemen active on game day. Last year, I thought, it was Clifton, Colledge, Wells, Spitz, Tauscher, Moll, Barbre, and Sitton (until he was hurt).

No?

Seven just seems like one too few. Three guys go down, you're screwed. I wonder how often that's happened, by the way?

Wouldn't you use one of the TE's in this situation?

That would be my impression - but it wouldn't be Jermichael Finley!

I assume any DE would just pick Finley up and move him out of the way.

[Fritz]

Or he might simply ask politely, and Jermichael might step aside.

[SnakeLH2006]

Coach Mac has stated that Sitton is a candidate to start at RG (the leading candidate), but they won't be trying him at RT.

I'm really hoping that our starting OL is Clifton, Colledge, Spitz, Sitton, and Barbre this year. I'd like to see Barbre reach his potential and win that spot.

God....Just resign Tauchy for one year. Too much drama at RT.