Heatherthepackgirl
Cheesehead
By LORI NICKEL
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 9, 2008
Green Bay - Green Bay Packers defensive ends coach Carl Hairston , who has played in one Super Bowl and coached in another, believes the two best offensive tackles he's seen in his 32 years in the NFL are St. Louis' Orlando Pace and Seattle's Walter Jones
"And out of the two, Jones is probably the best," Hairston said.
Hairston would find little argument from most defensive linemen.
So that means that in this Seattle at Green Bay divisional playoff game already rich with great storylines and subplots, there's another highly intriguing matchup brewing:
Green Bay's pass-rush specialist, right defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, against Jones, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound dominant left tackle.
The thing about Jones isn't just that he fits the ideal profile with great athleticism. It's that he is so graceful even as he is bigger and faster than everyone else he faces.
How do you beat a guy like that to get to Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in a rhythm offense that throws a lot?
"That's the thing," Hairston said. "You just have to find a way to frustrate him, because if you don't, you'll be working against air. He's so big and athletic, you've got to search for things to bother him. You've got to watch him on film to find a weakness. It might take you a whole year to find that one weakness."
Gbaja-Biamila is trying to find it in one week.
Of his 74 career sacks, one of his most gratifying was Nov. 27, 2006 in Seattle, when he beat Jones around the edge with plain, relentless pursuit and got to Hasselbeck to sack him and force a fumble. The fumble was returned by Packers linebacker Abdul Hodge for a touchdown.
But for the rest of the game, Gbaja-Biamila might have felt like he was swimming upstream, which is exactly why Gbaja-Biamila is studying Jones.
"I am putting in a little more time because of the player I'm playing against, and the magnitude of the game," Gbaja-Biamila said. "I'm watching film so much I am falling asleep dreaming about this guy, thinking, 'Will this work? Will that work?' "
It helps that Gbaja-Biamila's knee contusion has vanished and a sprained ankle he suffered on Thanksgiving at Detroit also finally has healed. With two solid weeks of good health, Gbaja-Biamila has his speed back.
But speed alone won't win him his share of battles against Jones.
"That's what Jones does the best - block up speed," Hairston said. "You can't run at him all the time because you'll find what he does best, protecting against athletic, speedy guys. So you've got to find a way to challenge him, maybe run stunts, maybe move him around a little bit. "
Jones, who has started 168 games, added an eighth Pro Bowl to his résumé this season, but in his 11th year in the league he may be wearing down to the level of mere mortals for a few plays a game.
"He still competes, even though he's been banged up a lot this year," Hairston said. "So Kabeer's got to challenge him and see how he handles it."
Gbaja-Biamila plays the third-down rushing role this season, which means starting right end Cullen Jenkins also could get snaps against Jones.
"With Cullen, the lack of height can be an advantage because of leverage," Hairston said. "Cullen will probably do pretty good against him."
It is hard for the casual fan to be able to tell who wins a great individual matchup. So Hairston and Gbaja-Biamila offered some telltale signs that will point to the victor.
"The key is to get Jones pushed backward and make Hasselbeck move his feet," Hairston said. "If we can make a quarterback move his feet, we've done a pretty good job, because there's times the quarterback will throw it too fast, his feet will get all jittery, and that's what you want to create."
Gbaja-Biamila said to look for pressures and hits.
"If he's holding me, then I've lost that battle," he said. "But if I touch the quarterback or I'm pushing (Jones) and Jones' body is near the quarterback (blocking his line of vision), he can throw an awkward pass, that's a pressure."
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 9, 2008
Green Bay - Green Bay Packers defensive ends coach Carl Hairston , who has played in one Super Bowl and coached in another, believes the two best offensive tackles he's seen in his 32 years in the NFL are St. Louis' Orlando Pace and Seattle's Walter Jones
"And out of the two, Jones is probably the best," Hairston said.
Hairston would find little argument from most defensive linemen.
So that means that in this Seattle at Green Bay divisional playoff game already rich with great storylines and subplots, there's another highly intriguing matchup brewing:
Green Bay's pass-rush specialist, right defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, against Jones, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound dominant left tackle.
The thing about Jones isn't just that he fits the ideal profile with great athleticism. It's that he is so graceful even as he is bigger and faster than everyone else he faces.
How do you beat a guy like that to get to Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in a rhythm offense that throws a lot?
"That's the thing," Hairston said. "You just have to find a way to frustrate him, because if you don't, you'll be working against air. He's so big and athletic, you've got to search for things to bother him. You've got to watch him on film to find a weakness. It might take you a whole year to find that one weakness."
Gbaja-Biamila is trying to find it in one week.
Of his 74 career sacks, one of his most gratifying was Nov. 27, 2006 in Seattle, when he beat Jones around the edge with plain, relentless pursuit and got to Hasselbeck to sack him and force a fumble. The fumble was returned by Packers linebacker Abdul Hodge for a touchdown.
But for the rest of the game, Gbaja-Biamila might have felt like he was swimming upstream, which is exactly why Gbaja-Biamila is studying Jones.
"I am putting in a little more time because of the player I'm playing against, and the magnitude of the game," Gbaja-Biamila said. "I'm watching film so much I am falling asleep dreaming about this guy, thinking, 'Will this work? Will that work?' "
It helps that Gbaja-Biamila's knee contusion has vanished and a sprained ankle he suffered on Thanksgiving at Detroit also finally has healed. With two solid weeks of good health, Gbaja-Biamila has his speed back.
But speed alone won't win him his share of battles against Jones.
"That's what Jones does the best - block up speed," Hairston said. "You can't run at him all the time because you'll find what he does best, protecting against athletic, speedy guys. So you've got to find a way to challenge him, maybe run stunts, maybe move him around a little bit. "
Jones, who has started 168 games, added an eighth Pro Bowl to his résumé this season, but in his 11th year in the league he may be wearing down to the level of mere mortals for a few plays a game.
"He still competes, even though he's been banged up a lot this year," Hairston said. "So Kabeer's got to challenge him and see how he handles it."
Gbaja-Biamila plays the third-down rushing role this season, which means starting right end Cullen Jenkins also could get snaps against Jones.
"With Cullen, the lack of height can be an advantage because of leverage," Hairston said. "Cullen will probably do pretty good against him."
It is hard for the casual fan to be able to tell who wins a great individual matchup. So Hairston and Gbaja-Biamila offered some telltale signs that will point to the victor.
"The key is to get Jones pushed backward and make Hasselbeck move his feet," Hairston said. "If we can make a quarterback move his feet, we've done a pretty good job, because there's times the quarterback will throw it too fast, his feet will get all jittery, and that's what you want to create."
Gbaja-Biamila said to look for pressures and hits.
"If he's holding me, then I've lost that battle," he said. "But if I touch the quarterback or I'm pushing (Jones) and Jones' body is near the quarterback (blocking his line of vision), he can throw an awkward pass, that's a pressure."
