It is official -- Bulaga and Sitton are on the left side

[The Shadow]

I don't see this as a desperate move at all - I think they want to upgrade left tackle & are pretty high on Barclay. Newhouse can be a backup and anything from Sherrod can be a bonus.

[hoosier]

Well, I think that's why they're making the move now. The more reps they can get at new positions the better. It shouldn't be an issue for Bulaga. He played LT at Iowa, and played there without incident in a game in early 2010. I see this as more evidence that MM is serious about running the ball. As you say, this gives Barclay a shot at the lineup, and Bulaga will be more effective in run blocking than Newhouse was. Newhouse will now be in a battle just to make the team.

Agreed, it is a relief to hear there will not be endless shuffling during TC. But even if Barclay beats him out at RT I don't see Newhouse struggling just to make the team. Right now he would be their top backup at LT. His competition for backup are Sherrod, Datko and the guy they drafted from Colorado. I would bet money on Newhouse in that competition.

[Pugger]

Didn't the Ravens move Oher from LT to RT in the playoffs last year?

[Joemailman]

Agreed, it is a relief to hear there will not be endless shuffling during TC. But even if Barclay beats him out at RT I don't see Newhouse struggling just to make the team. Right now he would be their top backup at LT. His competition for backup are Sherrod, Datko and the guy they drafted from Colorado. I would bet money on Newhouse in that competition.

Packers will probably keep 8. Bulaga, Sitton and Lang are locks. EDS and Barclay are good bets. The 2 rookies, being 4th round picks, would have to be terrible not to make the team. That could leave Newhouse and Sherrod battling for the last spot. It's always possible one of the rookies will suffer a mysterious injury late in the preseason and be put on IR.

[red]

i like then move and have wanted it for awhile now (the bulaga move, not the sitton move). you put your best lineman in the most important spot

the sitton move is a surprise to me like it is to everyone else, but M# said he wanted the left side to be better. well he made it better by putting his best 2 linemen on that side

and i agree with some others, i think this shows that the team is just about ready to give up on sherrod. he was a project to begin with and he's now missed his first 2 seasons in the NFL. if he doesn't show a big improvement in TC i can see him being cut

[gbgary]

i'll bet things will be set up differently by game one. I just don't think he's quick enough to be an LT. he'll going up against every team's best rusher. but that's just me. I don't think it means a thing about sherrod. mm wouldn't have said what he did last week.

[hoosier]

Packers will probably keep 8. Bulaga, Sitton and Lang are locks. EDS and Barclay are good bets. The 2 rookies, being 4th round picks, would have to be terrible not to make the team. That could leave Newhouse and Sherrod battling for the last spot. It's always possible one of the rookies will suffer a mysterious injury late in the preseason and be put on IR.

In your scenario (keeping two rookies, which I agree is likely) I think they keep 9. Maybe if Sherrod proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that he can do it then Newhouse could be expendable, but if there is any doubt at all I cannot see Newhouse getting traded or cut.

[3irty1]

I think Newhouse has never been more tradeable.

[KYPack]

I think Newhouse has never been more tradeable.

These moves have everybody stirred up!

I was about to make a post that Newhouse was never more valuable.

I'd argue with ya, 31, but I don't know who is right.

The two 4th rnd kids are involved in this move, I wonder how their roles are percieved?

[Bretsky]

This is about gettin the best players in the most important spots. IMO Bulaga is no star but he's solid. He'll be a better LT than the Smellow. Sitton is good wherever he goes and Lang is decent. Sherrod sucks....I'm not watching his three to five good plays in his career and saying the dude was pulling it together. He blows. Send him sailing along with Brad Jones to JAG Land if they are even that good.

MM also probabaly realizes his 4th round LT is needs to get a lot stronger to contribute at LT......or maybe anywhere this year.

EDS ....not a Fan

DAM................BRIAN SCHWEKE anybody ???????? Dude would also have looked nice with our 3rd round draft pick.

When Tennessee drafted him two picks before our 4th, that is when profanity started bouncing off the Packer Room Walls in the Basement

[Patler]

Bulaga was drafted to be the LT of the future. On an interim basis, he played LG where he seemed to have the upper hand to start until an injury. He became the emergency RT after never practicing there.

I'm not worried about him at LT. I'm not holding my breath for All-Pro awards coming his way, but I expect a significant improvement over what Newhouse has been.

I also expect Barclay to follow Bulaga's developmental path and be much improved in year two. The kid is a scraper. I don't expect significant fall-off from Bulaga at RT to Barclay.

[wist43]

I've made this argument before, but you homers quickly shout it down... the OL has been in constant turmoil since the TT/MM regime began. It's just a fact.

The only time we ever had any stability on the line was when Clifton and Wells were still here, and TT inherited those guys. When they left, TT had two more positions to screw around with and it's been a carnival of "versatility" ever since.

This move certainly admits that Sherrod is a bust, and Newhouse isn't good enough; TT has never cared about the center position, and still doesn't; then to put the capper on it, TT turns around and drafts two guys who are cut out of the same mold as all the other failed prospects.

I don't mind the move b/c it does help our left side, at least on paper - but it's a flawed philosophy that has us in this mess to begin with.

[Patler]

I've made this argument before, but you homers quickly shout it down... the OL has been in constant turmoil since the TT/MM regime began. It's just a fact.

The only time we ever had any stability on the line was when Clifton and Wells were still here, and TT inherited those guys. When they left, TT had two more positions to screw around with and it's been a carnival of "versatility" ever since.

This move certainly admits that Sherrod is a bust, and Newsome isn't good enough; TT has never cared about the center position, and still doesn't; then to put the capper on it, TT turns around and drafts two guys who are cut out of the same mold as all the other failed prospects.

I don't mind the move b/c it does help our left side, at least on paper - but it's a flawed philosophy that has us in this mess to begin with.

You keep writing this over an over, but who on here HAS been satisfied with the O-line? Who has shouted you down? I can't think of anyone who has. Haven't we all criticized the O-line just as you have? For the most part, no one has been too enthralled with the draft picks over the years, especially those this year. Who has disagreed with you about the O-line even in general?

I hoped things were changing. Bulaga and Sherrod were different than his previous picks. Both are bigger men then previous picks, with the chance to get even bigger. But, picked in the lower end of the first round they come with question marks. That's just a fact of life. Datko is a big guy, too; but may never play.

As for the announced changes, I've been pimping Bulaga for LT since last year, not because he is a budding all-pro, but he will be better than Newhouse. That makes it a step in the right direction.

[HarveyWallbangers]

This is about gettin the best players in the most important spots. IMO Bulaga is no star but he's solid. He'll be a better LT than the Smellow. Sitton is good wherever he goes and Lang is decent. Sherrod sucks....I'm not watching his three to five good plays in his career and saying the dude was pulling it together. He blows. Send him sailing along with Brad Jones to JAG Land if they are even that good.

Sherrod doesn't suck. The dude hasn't played enough to judge him. He showed some good play and some bad play, but he didn't suck. Like Justin Harrell, he hasn't stayed healthy. Like Harrell, if he had stayed healthy, he'd probably be a pretty good player. Also, don't write him off yet. McCarthy says he's in the competition at RT.

Confirming those changes to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, McCarthy said he has moved Bryan Bulaga to left tackle, Josh Sitton to left guard, T.J. Lang to right guard and has kicked off a three-way competition at right tackle among Don Barclay, Marshall Newhouse and Derek Sherrod.

[Pugger]

I think because of what happened to J. Harrell some folks automatically assume Sherrod is just another Harrell. Harrell's problem was he screwed up his back lifting and that did him in. I've seen other players come back from serious fractures like Sherrod's so I'm not ready to declare Derek a bust. We'll see if he is a full participant in the OTAs later this month.