TJV
Lifelong Packers Fanatic
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Jason Wilde has a great story about Linsley at espnwisconsin.
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I wouldn’t characterize it as “panic”.yet the offseason was filled with panic on here about the center position
Maybe Ted needs to start telling the fans to relax
Got to give the guy a lot of credit,he was thrown into the fire only starting 1 game in the preseason and has played better than any one would have expected,being from a big time College program helps ,he has not seemed overwhelmed,like you said perhaps GB has found a solid Center for years to come.Jason Wilde has a great story about Linsley at espnwisconsin. What Linsley has accomplished is truly amazing: Rodgers hadn’t taken one snap from him in practice until eight days before the opener in Seattle. And because Rodgers didn’t play in the last preseason game, the first time Linsley snapped the ball to Rodgers in any kind of a game was the first play from scrimmage in Seattle. Fast forward to this week’s radio show and Rodgers said this about the rookie, “Corey’s played as solid as anybody. At some point, there needs to be a little bit of campaigning about him for Pro Bowl, I think. He’s played that good….” If you think that’s just a biased teammate’s praise, consider this from the story: “These stories are glimpses into how Linsley has gone from an emergency starter as a rookie to the second-highest graded center in the NFC by Pro Football Focus while winning over not only Rodgers but two other guys who make for a tough crowd: Veteran guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang.”
It would be an exaggeration to say Linsley saved the OL but consider the Packers’ plight without him. He’s earned Rodgers’ trust and praise and that says a lot. I posted they’ll probably open the competition at OC during the next TC but if Linsley keeps this up, they may not. And Aaron may finally have the stability of an OC he likes and trusts for the rest of his career.
There are some good stories and good insights in the story: http://www.espnwisconsin.com/common/page.php?feed=2&id=17381&is_corp=1
Maybe it's just me, but the idea of "panic" in the context of NFL fandom seems unjustified and downright weird...unless there's some significant money on the line. "Concern" seems an appropriate reaction.I wouldn’t characterize it as “panic” but I, for one, was very concerned about starting the season at Seattle with an OC who hadn’t snapped the ball to Rodgers for more than a week and never “in battle”. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you! (Pardon the double negative and .)
Letting EDS go was no reason for panic,it's not like he was blue chip player,finally cracked the line up cause there wasn't anyone else at the time to put at center,now barring injury GB should be o.k. at that spotyet the offseason was filled with panic on here about the center position
Maybe Ted needs to start telling the fans to relax
You cannot compare Cs to OTs. The draft is indicative. Linsley was the 6th. C taken in the draft. The 6th. OT was the 35th. pick. That draft was not atypical. There's a reason...the level of skill and athleticism to achieve competency at OT is much higher than at C.To each their own, but I’ll stick with “amazing”. Playing a lot for a major college is no guarantee as Jerel Worthy and Derek Sherrod (just to name two in a very long line) will attest. They both played a lot and were drafted higher than Linsley. While draft position is no guarantee, it represents the collective expectations of the league and it wouldn’t have been surprising at all if it had taken 5th rounder Linsley a season, or two or three to get to where he is now. For contrast, imagine Sherrod had never been injured but was thrown into the starting lineup at either OT or OG.
I don’t watch OCs from around the league so I can’t rank Linsley among them. But I do re-watch Packer games to evaluate the play of certain players and have done so often with Linsley. He more than passes the eye test, he’s really been very solid. And from what I’ve heard from Rodgers, he does not throw around undeserving praise.
Well, there's one respect in which I have more confidence in Linsley than you, perhaps. I do not expect any bona fide competition for the center position in next season's camp unless Tretter gets on the field for an extended period this season and demonstrates stud-like qualities. That's not likely.Worthy and Sherrod were just two recent Packers examples. There are a lot of examples in the league of rookie OL, including OGs and OCs, not only struggling in their first seasons but not making it in the league. Tretter was being heavily depended upon - why else did Rodgers not receive a single snap from Linsley until Tretter got injured? I have a higher opinion of Linsley's play so far this season than some. His ascension has been amazing to me.
Here’s what I posted in the OP, “I posted they’ll probably open the competition at OC during the next TC but if Linsley keeps this up, they may not. And Aaron may finally have the stability of an OC he likes and trusts for the rest of his career.” I previously posted they’ll probably open up competition. Here I posted pretty much the same thing you just did – ‘if Linsley keeps this up … Aaron may finally have … stability … at OC.’Well, there's one respect in which I have more confidence in Linsley than you, perhaps. I do not expect any bona fide competition for the center position in next season's camp unless Tretter gets on the field for an extended period this season and demonstrates stud-like qualities. That's not likely.
I quoted Wilde quoting Rodgers stumping for Linsley – an important distinction. And I quoted PFF not because I agree with their findings but to show a disinterested third party (no matter what you think of them, they aren’t Packers fans) thinks very highly of Linsley so Rodgers wasn’t just being a “homer”.It's curious you would quote Wilde stumping for a Pro Bowl and quoting PFF's rating of him as the #2 center in the NFC, two sources you evidently find reliable, then proceed to…
I wasn't in panic mode though I was concerned about this position more than any other on the team even before Tretter got hurt. Linsely has been a terrific surprise imo. Just like Bahktiari last year.
I guess I just don't agree with the popular sentiment here that our o-line is average at best. Our overall offensive success is not JUST because of Rodgers. It appears to me that he is holding the ball as long as he did in years past (especially the last month), and that doesn't happen if your o-line is shaky and untrustworthy. Our ypc in the running game is probably close to what it was last year. As a unit, I think they are doing quite well. Much better than the d-line imo.
My general impression was Linsley's been better in pass pro than run blocking, so I was surprised to see PFF (after the Bears game) rate his run blocking +8.7 while they rate his pass blocking -1.3 despite the fact they dock Linsley for "only one QB hit and [he] has yet to give up a single sack".I was concerned about the center position before the season (was absolutely convinced ILB would turn out to be our worst position) but pleasantly surprised by Linsley´s performance so far. As a whole the offensive line is pretty impressive in pass protection but they have to improve in run blocking. BTW our yards per carry has dropped from 4.7 in 2013 to 4.0 this season.