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I said it before and I'll say it again. I think this guy'll end up a starter on our O-line for years to come. Whether it be @ Tackle or Guard, I'd feel good either way.
No matter who it is that ends up winning the position, you gotta love the potential depth should any starter get nicked up as the season wears on.
Barbre ready for change of guard
By Pete Dougherty • [email protected] • June 1, 2008
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Allen Barbre's offseason work in the weight room has helped him to an even-money chance or better to beat out incumbent Daryn Colledge for the Green Bay Packers' starting job at left guard.
The Packers have been high on Barbre's talent since the end of his rookie training camp last year, so no matter what happened this offseason, he had a shot at the starting job at left guard this year. But the 2007 fourth-round draft pick from Division II Missouri Southern has enhanced his chances of winning the battle by embracing the Packers' offseason workout program and making substantial physical gains.
The program began in mid-March, and by the time it ended in early May, he'd added 16 pounds of lean muscle mass and lost 10 pounds of fat as measured by a body composition scan the Packers purchased last year.
"Very significant," said Rock Gullickson, the Packers' strength and conditioning coach, of Barbre's improvement. "When I first saw (the test results) I was, 'Gee, whiz.' Being such a young guy and seeing his body make that much of a change, he's into it now. He's like, what else can I do? He's checking on his nutrition, and we're talking about better ways to snack and get his protein into him. I'm curious to see how much further he can take it."
The competition between Colledge and Barbre should be one of the most interesting during the Packers' training camp, because Colledge has been working out in Green Bay all offseason and has the advantage of starting 28 regular-season games in the Packers' offense in his two years in the NFL.
Colledge said he started working out 2½ weeks after the Packers' NFC championship loss to the New York Giants on Jan. 20 and has added about 10 pounds of lean muscle mass and dropped his body fat about three percentage points from last year. At organized team activities practices that started last week, he weighed 310 pounds, which is 5 pounds heavier than last season.
One of Colledge's greatest shortcomings at guard is his play strength — he too often was overpowered by defensive tackles in the run game. He made strength gains last offseason, his first time through the Packers' offseason program, and is hoping the gains this year plus his ingrained knowledge of the offense will make for more stout play.
"This year, I really got to focus on being in the weight room," Colledge said, "I wasn't worried about knowing my job, because now I know it, so this year was really big for me physically. It paid off. I feel great. Rock thinks I've been doing really well, so I think I'm headed in the right direction."
The battle is crucial, because the Packers signed only one free agent, linebacker Brandon Chillar, and are looking for improvement from their existing roster to get better despite the loss of quarterback Brett Favre. One of the areas that can grow most is the offensive line, where the Packers had two second-year players — Colledge and Jason Spitz — as starters last season.
General Manager Ted Thompson drafted Colledge, Spitz and Barbre, among others, to fill the guard positions that were a disaster in 2005. Though the offensive line pass-blocked well last season, there were major inconsistencies in the run game, which didn't become productive until Ryan Grant emerged from the bottom of the depth chart to almost single-handedly lift it starting in the seventh game.
"I fully expect this line to be much better than it was last year," said James Campen, the Packers' offensive line coach.
The Packers drafted Barbre (6-foot-4, 300) last year as a raw but interesting prospect from Missouri Southern, where he played left tackle and was athletic enough that he played as an outside gunner on its punt-coverage team. Because of his raw talent, he probably was farther along at the end of training camp than Colledge was at the end of his first camp, but Barbre's lack of overall awareness and Colledge's edge in experience kept Barbre on the bench.
This year, the competition is wide open. In the OTA practices, the two have alternated days working with the No. 1 offense, and that's likely to continue into training camp until one separates from the other.
The winner will be decided on the practice field, so the Packers aren't saying much, but it's clear they think Barbre has a combination of physical talent and temperament to be a top-caliber offensive lineman.
"If you went back 365 days, he's a much different guy than he was then," said Joe Philbin, the Packers' offensive coordinator. "A lot more comfortable in the system, knows where he's going. He's got some fine athletic ability."
I said it before and I'll say it again. I think this guy'll end up a starter on our O-line for years to come. Whether it be @ Tackle or Guard, I'd feel good either way.
No matter who it is that ends up winning the position, you gotta love the potential depth should any starter get nicked up as the season wears on.
