Bulaga Ahead of Schedule

[HardRightEdge]

http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-p...return-to-packers-could-come-sooner-not-later

None too early, with a tough run in the schedule coming up.

 

[ExpatPacker]

Good news but puleaase, don't bring him back too early. Honestly, why not sit him until after the bye?

 

[RRyder]

Good news but puleaase, don't bring him back too early. Honestly, why not sit him until after the bye?

I think bringing him back after the bye has always been the plan just if he truly is ahead of schedule they might try and get him in there for the SD game to shake off rust instead of throwing him into the fire against Denver edge rushers.

That'd actually simply be the low end of the 4-6 weeks he was projected to be out so if he's gtg I'll trust the med staff that had shown time n time again to be overly cautious

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Good news but puleaase, don't bring him back too early. Honestly, why not sit him until after the bye?

The Packers medical staff normally is a conservative one so I guess they wouldn´t clear Bulaga if there would be any risk of aggravating the injury. I was surprised Adams was allowed to play vs. the Chiefs though.

 

[Vrill]

The Packers medical staff normally is a conservative one so I guess they wouldn´t clear Bulaga if there would be any risk of aggravating the injury. I was surprised Adams was allowed to play vs. the Chiefs though.

We need to just rest Adams until hes 100%. Ankles are tricky and easy to re-hurt.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

We need to just rest Adams until hes 100%. Ankles are tricky and easy to re-hurt.

Exactly, that´s why I was surprised the medical staff cleared him to play vs. the Chiefs as it was pretty obvious he shouldn´t have been out there.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Good news but puleaase, don't bring him back too early. Honestly, why not sit him until after the bye?

Three weeks ago the best case scenario was a three week return, and here we are:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/328377331.html

I'd expect the team to look long and hard at sitting him until after the bye. This is the 4th. injury he's sustained to that knee, and the cap investment is substantial. But Bulaga's a warrior; if there's wiggle room in the medical assessment and if he insists on playing they will have a hard time stopping him from slapping a brace and getting out there. Cobb, Adams...there are guys out there playing who might have been sitting in prior years. There is an urgency in this season that tends to be contagious.

 

[El Guapo]

I believe that the medical staff will/should give more autonomy to a veteran saying that he is ahead of schedule than a younger player. I would hope that Bulaga knows his body right now. Adams is still learning plays and more excited to play than smart about injuries. At least my old high school trainer isn't on staff. He'd just take your temperature, give you a bag of ice, and tell you to tell the coach that you were ready to go!

 

[PackerDNA]

I hope he can make it back ASAP- before Barclay gets Rodgers killed.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Bulaga is practicing for the first time since injuring his knee today.

 

[ivo610]

OL ranked by pressures allowed:

1. D.Barclay 21
2. J.Hurst 16
3. D.Newton 14
t4. K.Long 13
t4. Cherilus 13
t4. Staley 13
t4. Bakhtiari 13

 

[Deleted member 6794]

OL ranked by pressures allowed:

1. D.Barclay 21
2. J.Hurst 16
3. D.Newton 14
t4. K.Long 13
t4. Cherilus 13
t4. Staley 13
t4. Bakhtiari 13

PFF's stats differ from the ones you have posted but Barclay (73rd out of 74 offensive tackles) and Bakhtiari (67th) are on the bottom of their pass blocking efficiency rankings.

 

[Mondio]

I don't know how anyone watching the games could come away with the impression that our tackles have been anything but poor overall and terrible at times?

 

[DavidRusso]

OL ranked by pressures allowed:

1. D.Barclay 21
2. J.Hurst 16
3. D.Newton 14
t4. K.Long 13
t4. Cherilus 13
t4. Staley 13
t4. Bakhtiari 13

 

[DavidRusso]

wow 2 of ours are in the top? not good...

 

[ivo610]

wow 2 of ours are in the top? not good...

I think we have played some teams that are really good at getting pressure but its definitely a weak point on the offense

 

[OldSchool101]

OL ranked by pressures allowed:

1. D.Barclay 21
2. J.Hurst 16
3. D.Newton 14
t4. K.Long 13
t4. Cherilus 13
t4. Staley 13
t4. Bakhtiari 13

Maybe we can resign Newhouse and make it a Trifecta

 

[Jerellh528]

Can't wait to get bulaga back, we need Barclay out of the lineup asap.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I believe that the medical staff will/should give more autonomy to a veteran saying that he is ahead of schedule than a younger player. I would hope that Bulaga knows his body right now. Adams is still learning plays and more excited to play than smart about injuries. At least my old high school trainer isn't on staff. He'd just take your temperature, give you a bag of ice, and tell you to tell the coach that you were ready to go!

Or, as Bulaga expressed it, having had experience with injuries is a factor:

"I've had injuries on my knee before, so I'm very familiar with the rehab process and I'm very familiar with what I need to do and how I need to feel to get back and play," he said.

http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-p...rns-to-packers-but-still-has-hurdles-to-clear

He's expected to participate in the padded practice today; if that goes well it looks like he'll be playing Sunday.

 

[HardRightEdge]

PFF's stats differ from the ones you have posted but Barclay (73rd out of 74 offensive tackles) and Bakhtiari (67th) are on the bottom of their pass blocking efficiency rankings.

I've observed several times before that beyond pressures Bakhtiari has been penalty-prone in past seasons. So far this season, he's had 5 penalties...3 holding and 2 false starts, all accepted by the opponent. While penalties might not be included in pressures, I'd assume PFF takes them into account.

5 penalties in 4 games is a lot...he's tied for 2nd. in the league among O-Linemen, with Ducasse leading with 6 with one declined; Bakhtiari is tied for 1st. in accepted penalties.

http://www.nflpenalties.com/all-players.php?year=2015

The three 10-yarders in particular were potential drive killers.

One good thing we can say about Barclay is that he has yet to be penalized:

http://www.footballdb.com/stats/penalties-player.html?yr=2015&tm=12

Here are the details of Bakhtiari's penalties:

- 3rd. and 3
false start resulting in 3rd. and 8
series result: first down

- 2nd. and 7
holding resulting in 2rd. and 17
series result: field goal

- 2nd. and 10
false start resulting in 2nd. and 15
series result: first down

- 2nd. and 8
holding resulting in 2nd. and 18
series result: first down

- 2nd. and 7
holding resulting in 2nd. and 17
series result: first down

So far, Rodgers has bailed out Bakhtiari 4 out of 5 times with first down passes, so the damage has been neutralized. Nonetheless, excluding end of half/game kneel-downs, the Packers have had 39 possessions in 4 games with Bakhtiari putting 13% of those possessions in jeopardy.

Packer opponents to this point are currently ranked 31st., 21st., 27th. and 29th. in passer rating against. Expecting Rodgers to bail out these kinds of penalties with regularity against more robust pass defenses is not something to be counted on.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

One good thing we can say about Barclay is that he has yet to be penalized:

http://www.footballdb.com/stats/penalties-player.html?yr=2015&tm=12

Barclay had a face mask penalty against the Chiefs which was declined because the play resulted in a fourth down.

 

[El Guapo]

Well you have two sides of the coin. Bakhtiari has committed three holding penalties, so for the sake of argument, I'm assuming Rodgers would have been otherwise pressured. Turn those three penalties (to match Barclay's zero holding penalties) into pressures and Bakhtiari is now tied for second place in most pressures at 16.

I guess the players have different approaches. Bakhtiari would rather hold then get his QB hit. Barclay will let the guy get pressure and potentially hit the QB. Pressures aren't necessarily hits so I'm not sure which method is better or worse. Surely it's situational.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Barclay had a face mask penalty against the Chiefs which was declined because the play resulted in a fourth down.

You're right. football.db.com includes only accepted penalties. Still, 1 penalty over 4 games is pretty good for an O-Lineman.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Well you have two sides of the coin. Bakhtiari has committed three holding penalties, so for the sake of argument, I'm assuming Rodgers would have been otherwise pressured. Turn those three penalties (to match Barclay's zero holding penalties) into pressures and Bakhtiari is now tied for second place in most pressures at 16.

I guess the players have different approaches. Bakhtiari would rather hold then get his QB hit. Barclay will let the guy get pressure and potentially hit the QB. Pressures aren't necessarily hits so I'm not sure which method is better or worse. Surely it's situational.

The purpose of my comment on Barclay was to merely indicate a point in his favor. The primary point in that post was to illustrate the potential impact of penalties that goes beyond what pressures captures. Penalties are perhaps the most overlooked and underrated aspect of individual performance; they only seem to get mentioned when the team accumulation in a particular game has an obvious impact, such as Buffalo's 17 this past week.

I have zero interest in parsing the difference between "bad" and "worse" with respect to any two players.

 

[TJV]

Bakhtiari has regressed from his play at the end of last season. I was hoping it was because of injury but we’re four games into the season. If Bulaga is back Sunday and is close to 100%, they can help Bakhtiari instead of Barclay. Lacy excels at chipping and still getting out into the flat. I noticed one play against the 9ers he chipped Barclay’s guy and turned him around. Michael Rodney of Packers Notes made the point that OT (drafted to actually play OT, not OG) can’t be ignored in the next draft. Let's hope one slips to 31 for the Packers.