I never really expected Jermichael Finley to become a free agent, partly because Ted Thompson really likes to sign his own guys and partly because I didn't think he was going to get nearly the kind of money on the free market that some people seemed to think he would.
I am a little surprised that after all his posturing, Scott Wells left for a pathetic team in a lousy division for not a hell of a lot more than the Packers probably would have offered him. It would seem he just needed a change of scenery. I suppose even St. Louis is a step up from Green Bay in that department. Or maybe the Rams had clued Wells' agent in on some of the acquisitions they were making and assured him they would be significantly improved this year. We shall see. They have a lot of pieces in place; it remains to see whether they can put them together for a playoff run. I personally think they are still a couple years off.
His departure does have me worried, though. He might not have been elite, but he did represent familiarity and continuity, and right now the Packers have no one to step into his spot. The more I rewatch old games, the more it is reinforced for me just how often Aaron Rodgers has bailed out this line and made it look better than it is. They incorporate a ton of called rollouts into the game plan, because otherwise he is often left running for his life. With the hole at center, Derek Sherrod being an uncertain quantity, and Marshall Newhouse our probable starter on the left side, things are looking more than a little scary. The only two men I feel at all confident about are Bryan Bulaga and Josh Sitton.
With so many changes happening all at once, I am fairly certain it will take a few games for the newly reworked line to gel. I only hope they can minimize the damage in the early going. If Aaron Rodgers starts getting hit early and often, it could turn into a long season, especially considering our backup is Graham Harrell, who, although I have always been high on them and although he has shown flashes of promise, is not exactly going to set the world on fire.
I'd like to think this draft is going to consist almost exclusively of offensive and defensive linemen, but we all know Ted Thompson never does what we hope for. I think this draft is going to be just as suspenseful as it is every year, and I am looking forward to it.
Originally Posted by: Nonstopdrivel