Possibly the best offseason acquisition.....

CHIpackFAN

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I think the addition to O line Coach Solari could end of being the one of if not thee best offseason acquisition by the Pack. I'm curious to see what new concepts he adds to the run game. The Niners have had one of the best Run games over the past few seasons. Thoughts...
 

Mondio

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I was pretty excited by this too. I think it is the part of the game our Oline is just barely average at. I think our run game is a product of a beast in Lacy and the threat of our passing game, but when it's obvious run, our oline gets handled, there's too much penetration and if Eddie can't get it all on his own, it doesn't happen.

I think we have the players to change that. They're big enough, they're smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like them. I think we have a coach that can change some of that now. I guess we'll find out if our Oline becomes a more complete line, or just excel at pass protection.
 

Cwoodson21

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I think that having him on board will be very helpful if we need to replace Bulaga because of free agency.
 

Croquet

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I think that having him on board will be very helpful if we need to replace Bulaga because of free agency.
Agree with all the above. To get a coach with his experience who has Coached against the teams we have to beat and can also tell us about ourselves is priceless. Love it.
 
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I like the addition of Solari. He also had a succesful stint as the offensive line coach in Kansas City, the Seahawks running game when he coached the OL there from 2008-09 wasn't good though.
 
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While Solari is primarily known as a zone blocking guy, he's also worked man blocking schemes. As far as his success in SF, it's worth noting he's been working with 3 first rounders.

That said, there's a couple of things I'd be looking for:

- The Packers ran some nifty pulling and trapping in the preseason against rusty vets and second stringers. It didn't look that hot early in the money games and they seemed to go away from it. The 49er's have showed outstanding execution in those blocking calls in recent years. Look for improvement there.

- There's overlap with Fontenot coaching the TEs when it comes to the running game. While Solari didn't do much with Davis as a blocker, assuming he was given the chance, perhaps he can sharpen up Rodgers' and Quarless' work which has been spotty.

- I'm reminded of Zook taking a job below his credentials. In retrospect, Slocum was on notice. Scratch that...not really in retrospect. No matter the business, when a seasoned "consultant" is brought in to assist, the assistee in under scrutiny. Now we see a guy in Solari with an impressive resume taking an assistant position coach job. Perhaps he likes the organization. Perhaps at 60 years old he's happy to wind down to an assistant position. Perhaps Campen should be looking over his shoulder.
 
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I'm reminded of Zook taking a job below his credentials. In retrospect, Slocum was on notice. Scratch that...not really in retrospect. No matter the business, when a seasoned "consultant" is brought in to assist, the assistee in under scrutiny. Now we see a guy in Solari with an impressive resume taking an assistant position coach job. Perhaps he likes the organization. Perhaps at 60 years old he's happy to wind down to an assistant position. Perhaps Campen should be looking over his shoulder.

I don´t think bringing in Solari means Campen has been put on notice. The offensive line did a pretty good job in 2014.
 
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HardRightEdge

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I don´t think bringing in Solari means Campen has been put on notice. The offensive line did a pretty good job in 2014.
Perhaps. But there is obviously some perceived shortcoming, otherwise why is he here. Run blocking would be the culprit.
 

TJV

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Perhaps. But there is obviously some perceived shortcoming, otherwise why is he here. Run blocking would be the culprit.
While he seems over-qualified, he is filling a spot that was vacated by Steve Marshall going to the Jets. I would like to see more traps and pulling by the OL, only better executed of course.
 

net

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I always chuckle when I see the subtle digs at Campen. His work produced the NFL MVP for 2014 and a running back who gained 1000 yards for the second year in a row. Rodgers and Lacy would be obliterated if not for the superior work of the offensive line. One other point: he also STARTED a rookie center who looks to be an anchor there for years to come. Not so long ago he started a rookie LEFT TACKLE who looks to be an anchor there for years to come.
There is nothing wrong with the offensive line. Nothing. Solari will help an already very good line.
 
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I always chuckle when I see the subtle digs at Campen. His work produced the NFL MVP for 2014 and a running back who gained 1000 yards for the second year in a row. Rodgers and Lacy would be obliterated if not for the superior work of the offensive line. One other point: he also STARTED a rookie center who looks to be an anchor there for years to come. Not so long ago he started a rookie LEFT TACKLE who looks to be an anchor there for years to come.
There is nothing wrong with the offensive line. Nothing. Solari will help an already very good line.

I don´t think it´s fair to give too much credit to the offensive line for Rodgers being named the MVP although the pass blocking was excellent this season. There´s still room to improve the run blocking though.
 

JBlood

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The OL did do a pretty good job in 2014 but the OL over Campens tenure has been lackluster at best.
Agreed. Campen has been the o-line coach since 2007. According to Football Outsiders, the Packers' offensive line has been ranked in the top 10 NFL run blocking lines three times during his tenure: 8th this past season, 5th in 2013 with Lacy; and 9th in 2009, when Ryan Grant had a good year. They were never better than 16th the other 5 years in run blocking. As far as pass blocking, his lines have ranked from no. 1 in 2007 to 31st in the league in 2o12. His 8 lines have averaged 20th in the league in pass blocking. His run blocking lines have averaged 16th in the league. Even in 2010, the offensive line ranked 23rd in run blocking and 21st in pass blocking. So it's hard to say the offensive line coaching or playing has been outstanding under Campen's tutelage. It appears the Packers' offense is effective running the ball when they have a good running back. They have been terrific in passing the ball because there have been 2 HOF caliber QBs taking the snaps. Our offensive lines have been mostly terrible, or mediocre under Campen. But they were very good in 2014, and during the run to the Championship in 2010. I'll give them that.
 
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Agreed. Campen has been the o-line coach since 2007. According to Football Outsiders, the Packers' offensive line has been ranked in the top 10 NFL run blocking lines three times during his tenure: 8th this past season, 5th in 2013 with Lacy; and 9th in 2009, when Ryan Grant had a good year. They were never better than 16th the other 5 years in run blocking. As far as pass blocking, his lines have ranked from no. 1 in 2007 to 31st in the league in 2o12. His 8 lines have averaged 20th in the league in pass blocking. His run blocking lines have averaged 16th in the league. Even in 2010, the offensive line ranked 23rd in run blocking and 21st in pass blocking. So it's hard to say the offensive line coaching or playing has been outstanding under Campen's tutelage. It appears the Packers' offense is effective running the ball when they have a good running back. They have been terrific in passing the ball because there have been 2 HOF caliber QBs taking the snaps. Our offensive lines have been mostly terrible, or mediocre under Campen. But they were very good in 2014, and during the run to the Championship in 2010. I'll give them that.

While I like some of the stats on Football Outsiders I don´t think they offer a good measurement of an offensive line´s performance as their stats are solely based on rushing yards and total sacks allowed. Mostly I think the pass blocking has been way more efficient than the run blocking during Campen´s tenure so it does make sense to bring in Solari.
 

Mondio

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another case where stats are just numbers. Our run game is a combination of our passing game and Eddie Lacy being a ****ing beast. I see this team as barely adequate when it comes to run blocking. I don't care what the stats say. and besides about 12 games this year, our pass blocking was largely a result of Rodger's being able to move so much and avoid pressure. I know he kept the ball too long sometimes and was sacked. But that was a lot less than he couldn't even get to his drop point to make a read before he had to run and read defenses. After a few weeks into this season though, their pass blocking was very good.
 

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Campen has certainly been a target during his tenure as OL coach but to me he’s an example of the limitations of fans’ knowledge. There are at least two critical variables beyond Campen’s control: Scheme and talent. We’ve hashed and re-hashed the ZBS (zone blocking scheme) and like many of you, I’ve never liked it. IMO it’s evolved some in Green Bay, even beyond mixing in more traditional blocking schemes. (One of the reasons I hated it was the way it was executed in Denver – OL would regularly dive at the legs of players to the play side, meaning the DL would many times be looking away from the diving OL. It was so dirty (IMO) the Packers didn’t practice that technique against their own players.) Anyway, Campen didn’t play or coach the ZBS until Jagodzinski brought it to Green Bay. Has he been trying to influence McCarthy to go away from the ZBS? Has he been a force for modifying it? We just don’t know.

One of the so-called advantages of the ZBS is it doesn’t require elite talent on the OL to execute it. It calls for more finesse-type players - even in the run game - than traditional blocking schemes. No matter the scheme while Campen has some input on player acquisition, we don’t know how much and no one would argue he has the last say on acquisition or roster spots. Of course no one in the Packers organization is, or should be, immune from criticism but what bothers me about the criticism aimed at Campen comes from those who don’t qualify their criticism regarding scheme and personnel while refusing to give him credit for any of the positives on OL, like the development of Bakhtiari and Linsley.

How good or bad an OL coach is Campen? I don’t know. I like the hiring of Solari because of his vast experience. Because of his age, one concern may be how well he relate to players. I don't have enough information about that either.
 

Curly Calhoun

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I like this addition as well, but I'll wait and see how big a difference it makes. Lacy and Starks both ran the ball effectively last year, and the pass protection was among the league's best. When you factor in a rookie starting center and a second-year starting left tackle, that's pretty impressive. How much better can they get?
 

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