move Bulaga?

[ivo610]

should we move our RT to LT now that Clifton is done?

 

[ivo610]

I say no, I dont want to mess with a good thing, and if we planned on it we should have attempted it last year.

 

[Dan115]

No Thank you.

 

[BorderRivals.com]

No. Newhouse has plenty of room to grow and develop into a more than serviceable LT. And, hopefully Sherrod isn't the bust he appears. Bulaga has established himself as one of the best RT's in the league. Let him stay there and continue to develop into the best RT in the league.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

Bulaga is a pretty elite RT. You don't want to weaken yourself at two positions. Let Bulaga stay elite on the right side. The Packers played almost the entire 2011 season without Clifton anyways. Let Newhouse and Sherrod compete for the starting LT job.

 

[BorderRivals.com]

Remember, we were 15-2 last season with Newhouse shuffling back and forth b/w LT and RT during the season. That was his second season - first season playing any significant time. And he came a long way b/w his first and second season as far as developing into a real contributor.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

[quote="BorderRivals.com, post: 443229, member: 6416] And, hopefully Sherrod isn't the bust he appears.[/quote]

Getting injured as a rookie doesn't make you a bust. Sherrod wasn't going to beat out Clifton at LT after a shortened offseason and almost no training camp.

 

[bozz_2006]

. And, hopefully Sherrod isn't the bust he appears.

You're calling Sherrod an apparent bust after a rookie season where he had no offseason, they tried to switch his position, then tried to switch him back, and then got his leg blowed up. Wow.

 

[BorderRivals.com]

You both are right. I may be jumping the gun. But, it's something about the way he played when he did (outside of the ATL game) and the reports I read throughout the season that gives me limited confidence he will amount to much. Especially when I consider the devastating nature of his injury, I don't have high hopes for him. Hopefully I'm wrong or that we won't need him with Newhouse at LT.

 

[MiamiBeachPacker]

No. Bulaga is doing great as the RT, and there is just no need to mess with that. Newhouse should improve with the experience he gained playing last season and a full offseason.

 

[slaughter25]

I tend to fall on the keep him at RT side of the fence. But just to play devils advocate, regardless of what side he plays on he is definitively the best outside lineman we have, and an arguement could be made that he is the best lineman we have alltogether. With that being said wouldn't you want your stoutest bookend protecting the blindside of your franchise QB?

 

[13 Times Champs]

Another vote for no.

 

[PackersDraft]

I want to try it. Bulaga is the tackle on the team. We need someone to protect Aaron's blindside because if someone blitzes from the other way Aaron is mobile enough to escape and extend the play. If he doesn't play as well at LT then just switch him back over. It's not like he will just be bad for trying it. He played LT in college then he switched to RT in the pros.

 

[fettpett]

You both are right. I may be jumping the gun. But, it's something about the way he played when he did (outside of the ATL game) and the reports I read throughout the season that gives me limited confidence he will amount to much. Especially when I consider the devastating nature of his injury, I don't have high hopes for him. Hopefully I'm wrong or that we won't need him with Newhouse at LT.

O lineman take time to develop, especially LT's. He will be fine once he's had time to heal, learn the position and time IN the position. Newhouse is serviceable and can get us through a year. My biggest concern on the OL is Center, Saturday is a good stopgap, but we need someone that can come in and learn behind him and take over either next season or the one after, depending on how long Saturday sticks around.

I thought Bulaga was a natural replacement for Taucher and that is his best spot for this team. Moving him now would just make things worse. MM's constant juggling with the Line is what caused a lot of issues with Rodger's sack count the first couple years and when he stopped doing it we won a SB and went 15-1.

 

[El Guapo]

MM's constant juggling with the Line is what caused a lot of issues with Rodger's sack count the first couple years and when he stopped doing it we won a SB and went 15-1.

That's a pretty big leap. I'll concede that it helped, but your statement implies that it was the main reason. Specifically looking at the O-line, it was the emergence of Josh Sitton that really helped. Wells was playing the center all the way and finally put together a good season. Clifton was never juggled around but took until mid-season to finally "warm up" and play like a pro bowler. As for Rodger's sack count, that also had a lot to do with him learning how to run an offense.

It's also worth recognizing that the lack of a running game has been very good for the Packers in recent years. In 2007, we had nothing and Favre torched the league until Ryan Grant came to town. In 2010 we lost Grant and Rodgers then came alive. Again in 2011 with not much of a running game or commitment to it, the Packers thrived on offense.

There are surely 20 other factors that could be listed. Although back to the question at hand, Bulaga has found his spot. I'm a huge fan of at least having a solid right side instead of moving our RT to LT and bringing in a new RT....then you've got two weak positions. I also think that Newhouse will come into his own this season and Sherrod will develop in Newhouse's shadow. I've said it before, but Newhouse reminds me of how Earl Dotson used to play.

 

[The Drew]

I think Newhouse will fill in real quick...

 

[TJV]

I hope this off season does a world of good for Marshall Newhouse because IMO he needs to take a significant step forward to solidify the LT spot. In his defense he split time between LT, RT and even RG and for a youngster that's not easy. But according to McGinn's season ending grades, he did spend about 80% of his snaps at LT. He allowed 41.5 pressures, including 10.5 sacks while playing about 77% of the offensive snaps. That's twice as many pressures as any Packers O lineman has had in the past 13 seasons. That aint good but he's young and smart. If he gets stronger and doesn't get switched around I think he's got a chance.

I also think Sherrod has a chance to be the long-term answer at LT but probably not until the 2013 season because he'll miss so much time this off season. He too needs to spend all of his time at LT IMO but I understand why they switch 'em around: They usually have 7 OL active on game days which means the two guys who aren't starting have to be able to fill in for all 5 spots. But I wish they would identify one or two guys as the versatile ones - even if it's a starter like Lang - and let youngsters settle in at one spot. They didn't do that with either Newhouse or Sherrod even though IMO it's obvious both are OTs and definitely not OGs. I think that hurts the progress young OL can make.

 

[fettpett]

That's a pretty big leap. I'll concede that it helped, but your statement implies that it was the main reason. Specifically looking at the O-line, it was the emergence of Josh Sitton that really helped. Wells was playing the center all the way and finally put together a good season. Clifton was never juggled around but took until mid-season to finally "warm up" and play like a pro bowler. As for Rodger's sack count, that also had a lot to do with him learning how to run an offense.

It's also worth recognizing that the lack of a running game has been very good for the Packers in recent years. In 2007, we had nothing and Favre torched the league until Ryan Grant came to town. In 2010 we lost Grant and Rodgers then came alive. Again in 2011 with not much of a running game or commitment to it, the Packers thrived on offense.

There are surely 20 other factors that could be listed. Although back to the question at hand, Bulaga has found his spot. I'm a huge fan of at least having a solid right side instead of moving our RT to LT and bringing in a new RT....then you've got two weak positions. I also think that Newhouse will come into his own this season and Sherrod will develop in Newhouse's shadow. I've said it before, but Newhouse reminds me of how Earl Dotson used to play.

It was a big factor, not the only one, I do agree with you with everything else though