O-Line Shuffle

                Following two major departures and one major acquisition in the offseason, the offensive line is a position group in transition heading into the 2012 season. Veteran left tackle Chad Clifton was cut (due to recurring injuries) and Scott Wells was allowed to leave via free agency. The Packers apparently made very little effort to resign Wells, despite the fact that he has been a steady presence along the line for years now, and has earned public praise from Aaron Rodgers for his tremendous knowledge of the offensive system. Wells never had the body type that the Packers’ front office wanted at the center position (just not big enough), but I feel that his departure was more a function of the huge names set to be resigned by the Packers in the next few years (a topic I’ll be exploring in detail very soon). Whatever the case may be, Clifton and Wells are gone, and Jeff Saturday and Marshall Newhouse are now tasked with manning the two most important offensive positions outside of quarterback.

                I’ve always said (not that it’s groundbreaking or difficult for the average fan to ascertain) that your football team is all about the offensive line. Although that may seem a bit counterintuitive since I just admitted that QB is the most important position, even the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game can’t get it done without at least a decent line in front of them. The players returning to the offensive line from last year are solid young players. TJ Lang, Josh Sitton and Bryan Bulaga have experience playing together, should know the offense very well by now and have shown the ability to pass block extremely well. While it’s tough for an outsider to really place blame as far as why we haven’t had more production in the running game, it’d be tough to label these guys great run blockers based the numbers. Now, Green Bay clearly operates a pass first offense, so the lack of run production may be a function of play calling and game planning, therefore it also wouldn’t be fair of me to label the returning starters poor run blockers either. My take on these three guys is that we couldn’t really ask for much more at their positions, we’re lucky to have them back and healthy, and they’re young enough to hold down their positions for many years. The longer they play together, the better they’re going to be, and I look for the right side tandem of Sitton and Bulaga to be among the best in the league this year.

                The bad news, as stated before, is that we’ve got two new guys starting at left tackle and center. This ain’t your daddy’s offense, so making protection calls and adjustments is not as a simple as calling out a number to double team. Jeff Saturday (no doubt the starter at center considering his track record, experience, and contract) has a lot of work to do to get up to speed for week one. Now, Saturday is a 13 year starter that has surely learned a few tricks of the trade, and has had to be extremely flexible in snapping to and blocking for one Peyton Manning (who made more pre-snap adjustments than anyone I ever recall seeing). I think he should be fine after a shorter than average adjustment period. At 37 years old, he’s nothing more than a stop-gap solution at the position, and clearly an injury concern even considering his remarkable durability throughout his career. If he makes it the entire season as the starter, I’m very confident he can get the job done. If nothing else, he’ll give players behind him (Evan Dietrich-Smith, Sampsun Genus, Ray Dominguez) another year in the system before they’re thrown in the fray. The bigger concern will be who fills in at left tackle and how well they’re able to do so.

                Left tackle is hands-down the most important position on the offensive line, and the second most important position in football. The player is tasked with protecting the quarterback’s blindside, typically (though not always) against the opposing defense’s best pass rusher. Considering the ugly broken leg suffered by first round pick Derrick Sherrod last year, Marshall Newhouse seems to be the logical starter to begin the year. Newhouse had 13 starts last year in place of the injured Chad Clifton. He had by all accounts and up and down season at best, but did garner praise from both Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers. I’m of the opinion that he couldn’t have played that well, considering the Packers gave Clifton his starting job back in week 17 of the regular season despite a 13 week respite. Chad went on to start the one and only playoff game despite a shaky performance just two weeks earlier. He was pulled during that game for poor play and replaced by Newhouse. That doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement from your coaching staff to me. ‘Yeah we’ll use you at left tackle, but god damn we’re gonna try not to.’

                McCarthy has said time and again that most players make the biggest leap from year one as a starter to year two. Newhouse is making that transition as we speak, will have had an entire offseason to prepare as the starter at left tackle, and should benefit from the seasoning. McCarthy and Rodgers no doubt want to keep his confidence high, hence the very public praise for the young player. I don’t think the praise was all about show, but if he was as good as they said he was, why replace him in the most important game of the season with a guy with only mostly functioning legs? I clearly see Newhouse as the biggest question mark going into the 2012 season, and count him among the most important players on the team. Bear in mind that there is a huge difference between ‘most important’ and ‘best’ players on the team. Poor play from Newhouse could derail the whole season, and fast. Great play from Newhouse could give Rodgers the kind of time he needs to repeat his amazing performance last year. Average play from Newhouse would likely be enough to get us back to the playoffs, and anything can happen from there. It’s on the rest of the line to coach up the relatively green Newhouse and make sure he holds on to the starting job. If Newhouse turns out to be the next long-term solution at left tackle, the Packers are poised to return to the offensive line glory days of the mid-late nineties. If he ends up a turn-style, we might need to consider keeping three quarterbacks on the 53 for a change.