Hargrove is locked up

[pbmax]

You and I saw Sherrod completely differently. Unlike Bulaga in 2010, who stepped in at guard in preseason and looked physically like he belonged even when he did make mistakes, who then was surprisingly asked to play RT and looked the same; I saw Sherrod as a guy who didn't look like he belonged at guard when he played there, at LT when they moved him there in preseason games, or during the season at RT. Quite simply, I thought he was out of his league, even against less than stellar competition during pre-season.

Most recent Packer O-lineman rookies have been asked to play different positions. Even when he was moved back to his familiar LT in pre-season, I thought Sherrod struggled a lot against mediocre 3rd and 4th stringers. Bulaga, Lang, Sitton, Spitz all looked a lot better right off the bat than Sherrod did.

I certainly hope you are right and I am wrong.

I thought his short stint at RT tackle late in the season (or was it two stints?) looked quite encouraging. I did not like him as much at guard, Bulaga had him there though to be fair several scouts thought that would be Bulaga's best position. Also Bulaga was in the process of unseating Colledge, Sherrod was battling Lang. I think Sherrod is a left tackle only and will only shine when he is out there permanently. It'll be curious if he is in camp to see who gets what snaps.

I have missed on college talent way too often to describe myself as convinced, but I think he will succeed at that spot/

[Patler]

IF Sherrod heals, I think he'll be fine. The FA signings will help at the bottom end of the roster, but as seems to be the case with Ted's teams, and maybe with the NFL these days, the Packers are going to have to count on probably two or three rookies to step up big this year. And that's on defense.

So I hope that this whole BPA thing miraculously coincides with areas of need in the first three rounds...say, a DE, a ROLB, and a corner or a safety.

When you get to the bottom of the first round, its more likely that there will be a larger pool of similarly talented players, unless a true upper echelon player drops unexpectedly. If there is a lerger pool of similarly talented players, the opportunity for the Packers to match one of the BPAs to an area of team need increases significantly.

But what if the clear BPA is a center, a half-step above BPA(2) who is a DE/OLB? The BPA is at an area of team need, but hopefully not of immediate team need. Is it so wrong to draft the center?

[Patler]

I thought his short stint at RT tackle late in the season (or was it two stints?) looked quite encouraging. I did not like him as much at guard, Bulaga had him there though to be fair several scouts thought that would be Bulaga's best position. Also Bulaga was in the process of unseating Colledge, Sherrod was battling Lang. I think Sherrod is a left tackle only and will only shine when he is out there permanently. It'll be curious if he is in camp to see who gets what snaps.

I have missed on college talent way too often to describe myself as convinced, but I think he will succeed at that spot/

I sure hope so. It seems that maybe both Sherrod and Newhouse are best suited to LT. That's OK for Sherrod who fits the part. It's unfortunate for Newhouse who looks like he should play somewhere else.

[Fritz]

When you get to the bottom of the first round, its more likely that there will be a larger pool of similarly talented players, unless a true upper echelon player drops unexpectedly. If there is a lerger pool of similarly talented players, the opportunity for the Packers to match one of the BPAs to an area of team need increases significantly.

But what if the clear BPA is a center, a half-step above BPA(2) who is a DE/OLB? The BPA is at an area of team need, but hopefully not of immediate team need. Is it so wrong to draft the center?

No, it's not wrong at all. I'm just acting like a fan. I was unhappy when Ron Wolf chose Chad Clifton in the second round, because that at the time was not an area of immediate need. I was also unhappy that Ted gave up a second and what, two thirds? - to move up for Clay Matthews. So I don't know very much. But like many fans, I see glaring needs and am thinking short term. I'd love to see a big, quick, mature rookie ROLB step in like Matthews did, and I'd like to see a hulking, smart, quick rookie DE step right in and "fix" things. But if TT drafts a center, or drafts a running back, I'll bite my lip and remember my avatar.

[LP]

Maybe I'm wrong but, didn't Bulaga and Newhouse have an entire offseason to study and get acclimated to the pro game before they had to take the field? Didn't Sherrod kinda get screwed a little by that lockout thingee? How much time did he actually have in before that first preseason game? I think he deserves another season before he gets labeled a bust.

[pbmax]

Maybe I'm wrong but, didn't Bulaga and Newhouse have an entire offseason to study and get acclimated to the pro game before they had to take the field? Didn't Sherrod kinda get screwed a little by that lockout thingee? How much time did he actually have in before that first preseason game? I think he deserves another season before he gets labeled a bust.

That is true.

[Rutnstrut]

Finley HAD to be resigned; you don't let talent like that slip away and the other TE's have shown little to nothing so far.

As I hadnoted many times, I'd have traded James Jones if possible and shuffled that money to the D after also restructuring Driver. You have a boatload of James Jones types and you can get them anytime in the draft

Yeah Finley has great talent, at dropping the damn ball. He is an over rated big mouth, now that he got his contract I'm sure he will get some major "injury".

[Cheesehead Craig]

Maybe I'm wrong but, didn't Bulaga and Newhouse have an entire offseason to study and get acclimated to the pro game before they had to take the field? Didn't Sherrod kinda get screwed a little by that lockout thingee? How much time did he actually have in before that first preseason game? I think he deserves another season before he gets labeled a bust.

My thoughts exactly on Sherrod. I think a full offseason is going to do wonders for him. He'll get more comfortable and the results will show.

[Brandon494]

Yeah Finley has great talent, at dropping the damn ball. He is an over rated big mouth, now that he got his contract I'm sure he will get some major "injury".

This guy brings great insight to the forum. Finley only had the best season ever by a Green Bay TE and has yet to reach his full potential.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I remember Bulaga struggling for his first handful of starts. He didn't come in and light the world on fire. I remember having some concern that the scouts who said his arms were too short might be right.

[Joemailman]

Maybe I'm wrong but, didn't Bulaga and Newhouse have an entire offseason to study and get acclimated to the pro game before they had to take the field? Didn't Sherrod kinda get screwed a little by that lockout thingee? How much time did he actually have in before that first preseason game? I think he deserves another season before he gets labeled a bust.

Not only the lockout, but he was put at LG during training camp and struggled and seemed to lose his confidence. He showed some toughness by playing well when inserted into the lineup when Bulaga got hurt.

McCarthy seems pretty optimistic about Sherrod's injury recovery:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packe...145037435.html

Rookie offensive tackle Derek Sherrod had surgery in December to repair a broken tibia, but McCarthy said he could be back in time for training camp.

"He's there (at the facility) every day," he said. "He looks better every time I see him. They're projecting probably training camp, so we'll know more when we get to OTAs. Hopefully, he can get out there in June and do something."

[smuggler]

I'm pretty sure that Newhouse looked much better at RT when he played there than at LT last season.

[Bretsky]

Sherrod was a multi-year starter in the SEC at tackle and was very good. Physically, he fits the position better than Newhouse.

I did not see confusion in the kid. I saw a player who had played 4 years at left tackle get moved to left guard while learning a new offense. Then in virtually his first game action, he was moved to right tackle. After a rough two series, I thought he played pretty well on the right side. Sherrod, if his leg is healthy, is going to be fine.

His college offense required a lot of pass blocking. At left tackle in the Packers offense, the amount of adjustment on most plays is limited. And he has already shown he can run block better than Clifton while he was at guard.

Were we watching the same player ? Hmmm

[Pugger]

Maybe I'm wrong but, didn't Bulaga and Newhouse have an entire offseason to study and get acclimated to the pro game before they had to take the field? Didn't Sherrod kinda get screwed a little by that lockout thingee? How much time did he actually have in before that first preseason game? I think he deserves another season before he gets labeled a bust.

I think you have hit upon the truth here. Some of us are forgetting these young kids didn't get the benefit of OTAs and mini-camps before TC started last summer.

[smuggler]

Yeah Finley has great talent, at dropping the damn ball. He is an over rated big mouth, now that he got his contract I'm sure he will get some major "injury".

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&year_min=1920&year_max=2011&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&draft_round_min=0&draft_round_max=99&league_id=&team_id=gnb&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_te=Y&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=av

Best all-around season by a Packer TE and a top 50 season all-time all-around by a TE. Also, this was with him underachieving as you say, and his hands have never been as bad as they were this season. The drops should be cured next year to a large extent. We already know him to have great ball-skills.