wpr
  • wpr
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14 years ago
It looks like the OL has slowy improved from week to week.


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Sift through Aaron Rodgers' numbers.

Break down Greg Jennings' contribution into itty bitty parts.

Ponder how important Brandon Jackson has been lately.

Do all of that until the turkey is on the table, but if you really want to know why the Green Bay Packers are playing offense like a playoff contender, take a peek at the offensive line.

More maligned around here than the California Dairy Farmers Association, the Packers' line is nearing redemption for its sins of 2009 and is well on its way to being a productive member of football society.

"Considering where we were a year ago and a couple months, it's nice to be rolling right now," right guard Josh Sitton said. "But we have to keep going."

During the Packers' four-game winning streak, a couple of things have stood out beyond averaging 351 yards and 28.2 points per game.

First, two of those four games have come on the road, the last inside arguably the nosiest venue in the NFL, and yet the line has committed just three false-start penalties in that time. It did not commit a single one in the 31-3 victory over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday at the Metrodome.

Next, the Packers have allowed 20 sacks, fewer than half of the 43 it allowed over the first 10 games last season. Not all 20 of those sacks were the fault of the offensive line. What's more, linemen have committed just four holding penalties this season, none during the four-game winning streak.

Given how often the Packers throw the ball, improvement in those two areas has meant the world to the offense. The fact the same five guys have been in the starting lineup for six straight weeks - four have started every game this year - has given coach Mike McCarthy greater flexibility in constructing game plans.

"I don't know if it's obvious to you, but we're carrying more volume up front as far as the run concepts and the protection concepts than you probably normally would," McCarthy said Wednesday. "A lot of that in the past was due to, we had so much change in our offensive line.

"It's so important to have continuity up front because the game really starts up there, and for us to play the way we want to play and create some type of balance and continue to stay out of a two-shell game where the defense is playing you one way the whole time, it's important for us to continue to grow and be productive up front. And I think we're doing that."

Consider where the Packers were a year ago.

After 10 games, they had played with five different combinations of players upfront, never going more than two weeks with the same five in the lineup. Not until veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher was re-signed and inserted in the lineup did things settle down.

In the final seven games with the line static, the Packers gave up 10 sacks.

This year, the only change has been the insertion of first-round pick Bryan Bulaga into the injured Tauscher's spot. Bulaga has been competitive and while he makes mistakes, he seems to get better each week.

In his first visit to the Metrodome for a Packers-Vikings meeting, Bulaga held his own, allowing one sack to end Ray Edwards, but otherwise playing solidly. The most important thing was that he didn't melt down amid the chaos.

"I was just trying to not let anything rattle (me)," Bulaga said. "It's just a matter of staying focused. We practice 'silent count' a lot, especially when we're in weeks when we're in domes. When you're in a good rhythm with your center, (it helps)."

If the performance in the Metrodome was a sign of how the line will play in domes this season, it's very good news for McCarthy. Two of the Packers' next three games are in domes, starting with Atlanta on Sunday.

Under McCarthy, the Packers use the "silent count" mostly on third downs when Rodgers is in the shotgun formation. There is no snap count because it's assumed no one on the line can hear it, so the linemen rely on the rhythm of the unspoken count and keep the ball in the periphery of their vision.

Center Scott Wells has to keep an eye on Rodgers, who usually taps his foot to start the count and the rest of the linemen have to help Wells make the alignment adjustments he would make if he were able to focus entirely on what is in front of him.

"It's something you have to be very good at," Rodgers said. "The most important part of the silent count is the three interior guys. Scotty has to have his eyes and his ears - his right guard and left guard. So Josh and Daryn (Colledge) have to be his eyes and his ears and talk to him about his calls and who's coming and not coming."

Against the Vikings, there was only one bad miscommunication and it came early in the game when an adjustment wasn't made at the last second to accommodate for a blitzing linebacker. Offensive line coach James Campen was not happy that it resulted in a sack because the group works so hard on making sure everything is communicated correctly.

"It was a declaration situation and we weren't on the same page," Campen said. "Those are the sacks you can't stand to get because it had zero to do with anybody from a physical standpoint."

The fact those kind of errors have been few and far between is a testament to the play of the line and the importance of continuity. The reduction in sacks and holding penalties mostly has to do with performance.

There's no question that left tackle Chad Clifton's fountain-of-youth discovery has meant wonders for the line, but it doesn't completely account for the turnaround. Last year, the Packers had 10 holding calls after 10 games and Clifton had just one of them.

Clearly, the entire line has contributed to the improvement.

"It's a matter of fundamentals," Colledge said. "It's something we focused on a lot this off-season. We focused on it in camp. We said as an offensive line that we were going to knock the penalties down. We're going to get rid of sacks, but along with that we had to get less penalties."


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Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago
wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
14 years ago

Already posted. 

"Nonstopdrivel" wrote:



sorry. I missed it when I looked at the posted theads.
Zero should lock this one.
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    packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : why did you remove the Playoff topic?
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Tua’s old DC won a Super Bowl Year 1 with Tua’s former backup
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : *winning MVP
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    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : NFL thought it would get more attention week preceding Super Bowl.
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Yes, the Pro Bowl. It was played Sunday before Super Bowl from 2010-2022
    packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : pro bowl
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : From 2010 to 2022, it was played on the Sunday before the Super Bowl
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : They moved it to the BYE week before Super Bowl several years ago.
    packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : it was always after the SB.....
    beast (10-Feb) : Though I stop following pro bowl years ago
    beast (10-Feb) : I thought the pro game was before the Super Bowl?
    packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : ok now for the Pro Bowl Game in Hawaii
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : If I was Philly I would try to end it instead of punting it
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : VICTORY! We have (moral) victory!
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Hey they mentioned that we 3-peted
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : seems to me the 49ers should have traded Aiyuk when they had the chance
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : if the Eagles get it down to the 1, do they Tush Push or give it to Barkley?
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : 49ers have a money problem if they want to sign their QB
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Wait for real? Didn't he just get an extension two years ago?
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : 49ers gonna trade Deebo. Interesting
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Replays always never seem to show the holdings
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Great throw by Hurts
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Where Carter falls prey to bad off the field influences (to be clear, not saying he'd clip someone though)
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Had Carter not gone to Philly were they already had a lot of old college friends, he ends up in a similar spot to Aaron Hernandez
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : I think some of his coaches told scouts to stay away
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : the street racing incident+conditioning and motivation problems
    beast (10-Feb) : Then Carter was street racing, where the other car crashed and people died... and other teams were scared to pick Carter for some reason
    beast (10-Feb) : I think the Saints traded up, giving their next year 1st to the Eagles, and then they sucked and Eagles got the 10th overall pick
    packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : wtf Barkley?
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Getting Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 was pretty darn good
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : for some reason i'm thinking of a draft where the Eagles where in the mid 20s and a top player fell all the way to them
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think so. I would need to look it up. Think it may have been Carolina's pick.
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : i'm not sure who i'm thinking of now
    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : oh fuck me i messed that up
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Jordan Davis was 13th overall
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Carter was 9th overall
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles had 15th and 10th selections, moved to 13 and 9 to get Davis and Carter back to back
    Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles traded up for Carter, didn't they?
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    Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Jalen Carter falling into their lap certainly helps
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : And we could only wish to have this type of D
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    packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : another crap halftime show
    TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think it is over, but then I think of Atlanta and want Philly to go in with the same intensity in the second half
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