The Green Bay Packers wont anoint a new starting right tackle until August, but theyll go to training camp with a pretty good idea about the identity of Mark Tauschers successor.
There already are strong opinions within Lambeau Field about which of the three leading candidates will take the job held by Tauscher, an unrestricted free agent unlikely to be re-signed, since Week 3 of the 2000 season.
There is Breno Giacomini, whose work on the scout team as a rookie convinced many by the middle of last season he was a viable option.
There is Allen Barbre, a college tackle who is back at his natural position after two mostly disappointing seasons as a reserve guard.
And there is T.J. Lang, the rookie fourth-round draft pick who is getting plenty of work at right tackle with the second string while Giacomini recovers from ankle surgery.
Theres no way of telling how things will play out the next three-plus months. There's also no way to rule out the Packers re-signing Tauscher if he advances abnormally quickly in his recovery from major knee surgery.
But coach Mike McCarthy's desire to settle his starting line within the first couple weeks of training camp makes it a virtual certainty the Packers are prepared to fill the veteran's shoes with a player who has little or no NFL playing experience.
Weve just got to throw them in the fire and see who withstands the heat, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said last week. I think well be able to figure it out and I think well have the right guy there, a guy that well be confident in.
That confidence will stem in large part from what the Packers see in training camp and the preseason, since linemen are especially difficult to judge in shorts and none of the three candidates have significant regular-season playing experience in the NFL.
Barbre (6-foot-4, 305 pounds), a fourth-round pick in 2007, has played 119 offensive snaps and another 97 on special teams in 15 games over two seasons, without a start.
Giacomini (6-7, 311), a fifth-round pick out of Louisville, played only one offensive snap last season and was inactive 14 times before injuring the ankle in practice Dec. 20.
Lang (6-4, 316) was a three-year starter at Eastern Michigan but is in the process of a major transition from Mid-American Conference football to the NFL.
Complicating the matter is that Giacomini might not be cleared to practice until training camp. On the other hand, his absence is giving the Packers a long look at Lang, who is smart and physical enough that some believe hell progress quickly and give himself a chance to win a job in training camp, just as guard Josh Sitton did as a rookie last year.
Hes a good-looking 316-pound kid, said offensive line coach James Campen, who wouldnt reveal his favorite for the job. Very smart kid.
Barbre is getting the first-team reps during organized team activity (OTA) practices and is as explosive an athlete as the Packers have on the offensive line. But it remains to be seen whether the transition coaches are asking him to make from guard back to tackle, as well as from the left side to the right side, which hes never played will prove to be more than a short-lived experiment to find a niche for a player who squandered a golden opportunity to win a job on the interior last summer.
I think maybe his curve, schematically and fundamentally, was a little harder to overcome, Philbin said, referring to Barbres college career at Division II Missouri Southern State.
Weve had some decent guys who have played relatively well that have played in front of him; its not like weve rolled chopped liver out there. (But) frankly, its about time to see what you can do, to see if youve got the mettle that were looking for to be a regular in the National Football League.
Giacomini showed signs of that last season with his work in practice against then-left end Aaron Kampman; their daily battles are cited most often as evidence of Giacominis readiness for the job only two years after making the conversion from tight end. He has tremendous bending ability for a player his size, allowing him to keep his pads low, and plays with a mean streak coaches love.
Asked whether hes ready to be a starter, Giacomini said, Yes mentally, but you can always keep getting better, not just physically or technique-wise, but even in the playbook. Youve just got to keep getting better and studying every day.
While the trio lacks experience, it has plenty of athleticism. The 6-3, 316-pound Tauscher was a seventh-round pick who made up for his physical limitations with craftiness and guts, allowing him to develop into a top-flight pass blocker. But those limitations sometimes showed up in the running game, particularly after the Packers switch to the zone running scheme three years ago.
Even before Tauscher tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee for the second time in early December, it was unclear how hard the Packers would compete in free agency to retain the 31-year-old tackle. For all the inherent concerns about pass protection, there is optimism that having a younger, more athletic right tackle playing alongside Sitton, a powerful drive blocker who is the clear front-runner at right guard, will make the Packers more dangerous running to that side.
All thats left to determine is whom that right tackle will be.
Anytime you replace someone whos been a starter for nine years you find some comfort level in that as well, Campen said. Thats obvious. But one of those guys or two of those guys or three of those guys someones going to be playing there. Im not uncomfortable about it.