Jason Spitz

[bobblehead]

exactly, chief. And what do the Packers need desperately now if not a backup LG? (I haven't given up on Sherrod, but I'm laying the groundwork for a possible betrayal.)

I'm think the Pack ought to pickup a veteran OL backup for both guard positions. Not sure if Spitz is the answer, as KY speculates he might be washed out.

KY likes Genus. I like Dominguez. Consensus is that schladeroff is crap....he likely gets the job.

[KYPack]

KY likes Genus. I like Dominguez. Consensus is that schladeroff is crap....he likely gets the job.

Dominguez is a RT, no? I like him, guy really shows a lot of hustle. Genus plays his ass off, but it would be a miracle for him to make the roster. Sled Her Off hasn't shown much of anything. I think Dominguez is a candidate for PS. Maybe it's time to bump the who makes the team thread?

[channtheman]

I could see the potential as soon as they took his draft pick which reflected him high on something with that shit eating grin. Flashback baby:

That's all I can think of when I think of Spitz.

[RashanGary]

Sherrod has a few problems. First he plays high. Maybe that's the old, knee injury excuse. His 2nd problem is that his punch doesn't line up with his steps.

If you've ever seen the drills where the linemen stay low, slide their feet and punch. . . I find it kind of amazing how they can get so much power when their feet are moving so consistently, there's no way they can be planted to get any kind of power from their punch. But they are planted, there is just zero wasted motion, zero wasted time. Their feet are planted for a split second, the same split second they're throwing their punch.

Bulaga looked like that coming out. The guy hoodie drafted looked like that. Clifton and Tauscher look like that. Newhouse looks like that on the left side and started looking like that on the right side.

I watched a full game tape of Sherrod coming out. The good thing is, he always stayed in front of his guy. He never missed his block. The bad thing is, rather than having a rhythmic step/punch technique, he had more of a defensive approach where he just stayed in front of his guy and didn't let him around. He kept moving back. Problem is, in the NFL, it's not nearly as easy to keep a guy in front of you without the technique that gives the powerful punch. I said all of this when he came out.

I wouldn't read too much in just yet though. That technique can be learned. A year of pure fundamental work and Sherrod might have that technique down. He looked natural staying between the DL and the QB in college. Even with sloppy technique, he had a way of getting his block. There's something to a feel for blocking that might be natural. Now he just needs the learned part because he's going against the best now.

[RashanGary]

He'll benefit a lot from an offseason of work. But his main problem, even now, isn't physical. If you asked each lineman to plant his feet and punch, Sherrod might throw a perfectly powerful punch. Now ask the same lineman to fit that punch into a pattern of steps and then you find out if they can play NFL tackle.

He needs work. You can't teach his big frame. You can't teach his work ethic and attitude. I watched every snap of Sherrod in the Kentucky game (for some reason someone posted every offensive snap of the line with no delay on youtube) I watched Sherrod. While he didn't do it the way I'm used to seeing it, he never missed a block. I said back then though, if he doesn't find a way to fit a punch in with his steps, Juilius Peppers is going to run right through him.

Now he works on his set. It's as simple as that. If he looks like shit next year, then I start to draw conclusions. I wasn't in love with the Sherrod pick, but we'll see. I didn't like the Matthews pick either.

[RashanGary]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRmI6EvsnWU

for anyone who cares to watch it. The 5:15 mark is a good example of a bizarre looking pass set. He never punches. He just leans into the guy. That's just weird.

[Deputy Nutz]

Spitz was actually a better center then Wells, then he got that neck injury along with a bunch of other injuries that zapped his strength. He had a high ceiling in a hurricane.

[Deputy Nutz]

Sherrod's knee bend and his feet sucked ass in the last game. Could it improve this week? I think it could

[rbaloha1]

Sherrod has good movement, but has not shown enough power yet. I think the power concerns will fade as he bulks up, his frame looks like it can take more.

Modern lt -- ability to "dance" with a pass rusher thus creating a pocket. Sherrod displays smooth and shifty footwork.

[RashanGary]

Looking back at that kentucky tape, I like him a lot better run blocking. He did a good job blocking in space, pulling, sealing the backside and in drive blocking. He looks good moving forward. He gets low and has good balance going forward. He plays to the whistle and beyond. When he has to recover, he looks fast. His movement is excellent, especially for a guy his size. It's that ugly pass set. He could use a month just working on his steps and punch. Sucks he missed the whole offseason.

[Guiness]

thanks for the link JH.

I like the way he turned his guy outside on a few of those runs - the long run for a TD at the 1:40 mark is a good example.

His backpedal looks really awkward, but seems to work

[hoosier]

There is an aspect to all this that has long driven me nuts. When the Pack drafted Spitz, Colledge, and that group, the justification was the ZBS. They supposedly ran zone in college. They had all these great ZBS talents and that's why we got 'em. Then they got here and none of 'em zone blocked worth a shit.

I never understood why we went so long with some of these weak assed guys.

I always assumed the problem was with player development--or lack of it--rather than talent analysis. But then again, what do I know?

[pbmax]

I think TT replaced them very methodically. He drafted Sitton, then Lang, then Bulaga and Newhouse, now Sherrod and Schladerauf. However, whereas Sitton, Lang and Bulaga are from a different mold than the guys you complain about, I wonder if Sherrod is a bit of a reversion to the previous style, in spite of his size?

Left tackles are usually a different mold. Rare is the case like Thomas where you might find a drive blocker among the best.

Edit: As for the idea of punch, I have never thought of Clifton as having an especially strong punch. I might simply have been ignoring it. But what he does do is wrap up the arms of the DE/OLB and when they try to go wide, he is still fast enough (and deep enough) to drive them past the pocket.

[pbmax]

Spitz was actually a better center then Wells, then he got that neck injury along with a bunch of other injuries that zapped his strength. He had a high ceiling in a hurricane.

Agree with this. That Wells gets it done at all is a small miracle. Pun was unintentional.

[Smidgeon]

Left tackles are usually a different mold. Rare is the case like Thomas where you might find a drive blocker among the best.

Edit: As for the idea of punch, I have never thought of Clifton as having an especially strong punch. I might simply have been ignoring it. But what he does do is wrap up the arms of the DE/OLB and when they try to go wide, he is still fast enough (and deep enough) to drive them past the pocket.

I'm not very surprised at Clifton's effectiveness. When I was looking at the Packers' combine numbers, he had the second best burst/weight ratio on the team after Raji. Consistently.