5 Packers most impacted by Nelson’s loss

[rpiotr01]

Do you think it was the play of the O line that caused Rodgers to injure his calf last season?

Hmmm. Yes and no. He injured his hamstring against NO when he decided to scramble for yards, so that's on him. He injured the calf I think on a sack by Michael Johnson against Tampa, when Johnson whipped around Bulaga and pasted Aaron. But Aaron, if I remember, claims he first hurt it when his cleats got stuck in the turf there on a routine play. I know he was hot about the field conditions there after the game, and I don't know how well he or others hydrated for the conditions. Then he aggravated it against Detroit on a another scramble drill, which is part of his game.

I have a hard time pinning injuries on just the OL. I mean, Dallas by all accounts was the best OL in run and pass blocking last year, but Tony Romo had a back injury and suffered two broken ribs from hits. QBs get hit even when the line is good. I don't think it's fair to sum up a year's performance with "well the QB got hurt so they're not that good." IMO AR's injuries are more on him. He's at the point where he needs to get the ball out quicker. Scrambling is a big part of his game and you don't want to lose that be he has to be less greedy.

 

[57packer]

How could you not be impressed with the o-line after last season. They finished the season ranked 4th overall. They were #1 in pass pro. The 5 starters were all returning plus Tretter and Barclay. By all accounts they should be solid again this year and with those 7 guys returning the depth wasn't looking all that bad either. It's easy to question the lack of drafting an OL now that 3/5 of the starters are dinged up.

Maybe it's just semantics. For example, two years ago, I would have said that I was not impressed with the Packers QB situation. Now, that doesn't mean I didn't think AR was one of the top 3 QBs in the league, but for me, as a position group it had zero depth.

When I say I'm not impressed with the OL, I mean as an overall group. The starters had an impressive year and even though BahkT is not among the league's best, he is good enough to make that an imposing starting group. That however is where it stopped for me. There literally was nothing for depth. Barclay was injured, Tretter did not look good playing anything other than OC.

As a group, top to bottom, I wasn't that impressed but the starters certainly had a more than solid year. With no injuries they again should be fine, but things could go south in a hurry for the offense if we lose an OT for more than part of a game. Doesn't matter if you move Bulaga other than avoiding blind side hits. Teams will move guys around and try to exploit the spot(s) on the line where you are weak.

 

[Wolfman]

I agree. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I've been saying it for years. TT does not value OL enough to keep proper depth at the position. Pre-season gets particularly tough because the o-line play deteriorates so badly when the back-ups are in that it becomes harder to evaluate your skill players. QBs having to run around practically from the moment the ball is snapped and RBs with no place to go. WRs running good routes but not getting to show they can make the catch because the QBs have no time.

The o-line accounts for 1/4 to 1/5th of your starters and that means you need to draft 1-2 of them every year. They don't need to be early picks, but those guys in Rds 3-5 like Linsley and BahkT are what you need to keep bringing in to maintain depth. I would gladly give up Thornton, Bradford and/or Hundley right now for 2-3 more competent offensive linemen.

I completely agree with this. There is one guy on this team that, if he gets hurt, the Packers are done. And yet Ted doesn't seem to put much into the guys protecting the best player in the league. At least sign one if you're not going to draft one. I just have a problem with that particular way TT operates. Drives me cra)