The Offensive Line

[Sauce Boss]

So how do we project out the offensive line with are new picks and currently no Tauscher?

Brennen Carvalho C
Scott Wells C
Duke Preston C/G
Jason Spitz C/G
Josh Sitton G
Nevin McCaskill G
Allen Babre G/T
Daryn Colledge G/T
TJ Lang G/T
Jamon Meredith T
Chad Clifton T
Breno Giacomini T
Tony Moll T/G

Make your own projected line up!

[Sauce Boss]

Starters
LT: Chad Clifton
LG: Jason Spitz
C: Scot Wells
RG: TJ Lang
RT: Daryn Colldge

Backups:
LT: Jamon Meredith
LG: Allen Barbre
C: Duke Preston
RG: Josh Sitton
RT: Tony Moll

Look for Meredith to get starting consideration at RT also before he replaces Clifton in a year or two.

[eagle13]

Pack will keep 9.

LT- Clifton
LG- College / Preston
C- Spitz / Preston
RG- Sitton / Preston
RT-

Barbre / Beno / Lang / Meredith compete for starting RT and backup T & G spots.
One may be put at LT early and left there while others work at RT.

If any injuries or busts either Tausch is resigned or Wells makes it.

[Badgerlander]

What do you think the chances are that Tausch and Cliffy aren't on the roster after camp?

[aaprigs311]

LT: Clifton (Rooks need a year to develop at RT)
LG: Colledge (Most consistant linemen last season so why move him?)
C: Spitz (Bigger and probably more consistant than Wells who can't stay on the field)
RG: Sitton (Would have started last season if it wasn't for a nagging injury)
RT: Lang/Meredith (I think Lang wins the RT job in a heated competition)

Other thoughts: I think Meredith would make the better future LT of the two rookies. That's no knock on Lang, who I really like and wanted in the 4th. Meredith could really use another 10-20 lb of muscle. He's got the frame and athleticism to add weight and still remain nimble. I also hope MM starts solidifying roles and positions. He shakes things up too often and I think that can potentially affect our lines performance.

[eagle13]

What do you think the chances are that Tausch and Cliffy aren't on the roster after camp?

Tausch is highly unlikey to be on roster - maybe if all 4 young T bust.

Clifton? I think he plays w/ us 1 more year.

[LUKE23]

I think you can pencil in Clifton/Colledge/Spitz/Sitton at LT/LG/C/RG. RT is up for grabs between Giacomini, Barbre, Lang, Meredith.

At least we have options there, it should be some great competition in camp for the RT spot. I think Wells and Moll are gone and we keep:

Clifton
Colledge
Spitz
Sitton
Giacomini
Barbre
Lang
Meredith
Preston

So 9 guys.

[Jollay]

Meredih will be groomed as Clifton's replacement, I would think. His work ethic/progression this year will determine if we need to draft a tackle next year. I would like to use him purely as a backup to Clifton this year

I think Colledge is a good bet to go RT and I think Lang is a good bet to push hard to start at G as a rook.

But I am not an expert of linemen, so I don't know.

[LUKE23]

They have pretty much locked in Colledge at LG, according to MM. He has said he does not want to keep this shuffling thing going and wants to cement guys into spots.

So long-term, I think both T spots are still in question. Would definitely be what we'd be looking at ideally in the 1st round next year.

[Jollay]

They have pretty much locked in Colledge at LG, according to MM. He has said he does not want to keep this shuffling thing going and wants to cement guys into spots.

So long-term, I think both T spots are still in question. Would definitely be what we'd be looking at ideally in the 1st round next year.

Hmm, not what I would prefer with the excess of guards we have and dearth of tackles, but I'll leave this one to the experts...

[MickeyDavis]

Tauch won't be back. It sucks but I can't blame the Pack, we simply can't wait to see when/if he'll be healthy enough to play. Have to move on. I also don't see TT giving Clifton any kind of extension so hopefully we find his replacement this year.

We have a lot of options on the OL, the question is whether any of them are better than average.

[Wade-A-Holic]

They have pretty much locked in Colledge at LG, according to MM. He has said he does not want to keep this shuffling thing going and wants to cement guys into spots.

So long-term, I think both T spots are still in question. Would definitely be what we'd be looking at ideally in the 1st round next year.

Yep. McCarthy made it sound like they might try Sitton at right tackle, but at least personally, I think Lang is a better fit there while Sitton showed a lot of promise at right guard. I think they'll let Barbre, Giacomini, Lang, and Meredith all duke it out at right tackle.

[Wade-A-Holic]

McGinn has a write up on the offensive line.

Green Bay - When Ted Thompson decided he wouldn't select wide receiver Michael Crabtree on Saturday, his decision with the No. 9 choice in the National Football League draft came down to a pair of big people.

One was nose tackle B.J. Raji. The other was tackle Michael Oher.

Thompson acknowledged that he considered the fact that the Green Bay Packers already had a solid starter at nose tackle and didn't have one at right tackle, which would have been Oher's position as a rookie.

"All that goes into the process," Thompson said.

So when Thompson drafted Raji to pair with incumbent Ryan Pickett, it left the Packers with almost no chance of solving the riddle of the right tackle in the draft. Thompson used a pair of middle-round draft choices on potential remedies but still there was no real answer late Sunday to the identity of the No. 1 right tackle.

"A very good question," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "I'm not worried about who our starting right tackle is today. We've got a lot of time to figure that out."

For an unofficial depth chart on the offensive line, try this:

LT: Chad Clifton, Tony Moll, Jamon Meredith.

LG: Daryn Colledge, Nevin McCaskill.

C: Jason Spitz, Scott Wells, Brennen Carvalho.

RG: Josh Sitton, Duke Preston.

RT: Breno Giacomini, Allen Barbre, T.J. Lang.

Lang, a fourth-round draft choice from Eastern Michigan, made his first 10 starts in college at right tackle and his last 26 at left tackle.

Meredith, a fifth-round pick from South Carolina, started 19 games at left tackle and 11 at right tackle before being benched early last fall and ending up at left guard, where he started eight times.

At the risk of oversimplification, Lang is more reliable than Meredith but isn't as talented.

"We haven't made the decision exactly where the young guys will go," coach Mike McCarthy said. "But Allen Barbre will have an opportunity there. Breno Giacomini has done an excellent job. We'll see what happens with Lang."

Giacomini, a fifth-round choice a year ago, basically played tight end at Louisville until starting at right tackle in 2007. He played one snap as a rookie before injuring an ankle in a December practice that required arthroscopic surgery in mid-January.

At 6 feet 7 inches, Giacomini has height, fairly long arms and an aggressive temperament. But his ankle injury opened the door to Barbre, whose two-year stint at left guard paid little dividends. He was a collegiate left tackle and, at 6-4, is about the same height as Mark Tauscher, the starter since 2000.

Of all the players on the roster, it's possible that Colledge might give the Packers the best chance to win a game at right tackle. But McCarthy seems adamant that Colledge shall remain at left guard.

"I want to get off this merry-go-round that we have been on," McCarthy said, "moving our offensive linemen to so many different positions."

Sitton, the fourth-round pick last year, started 35 games at right tackle in his final three seasons at Central Florida. At 6-3½ and 320, Sitton has been compared by the Packers to Tauscher.

However, Sitton will remain at right guard, at least for now, because the situation at center remains unsolved. Spitz is the returning starter there.

The incumbent, Wells, is out indefinitely after undergoing major shoulder surgery in mid-January. It's unclear whether the Packers, who are installing more power-type running plays, even want Wells in the lineup.

Spitz probably isn't as strong as Wells but he's taller and has more bulk. After watching Spitz start three games at center each of the last two seasons, there's a school of thought that center might be his best position.

The Packers privately have indicated that they have no intentions of re-signing Tauscher, who underwent reconstructive surgery for a second time on his left knee Jan. 15. They're ready to move on without their starting right tackle for the last nine years, but Thompson publicly has refused to close the door.

"You never say never in pro football," Philbin said. "There's a million things that can happen between now and September."

As the Packers consider the future without Tauscher, it should be remembered that he allowed merely 16 sacks in 127 starts, counting playoffs. He yielded just one-half sack in '08.

Clifton, who is a year older than Tauscher and will be 33 in June, had arthroscopic surgery on both knees after the season. After the last game, Clifton said injuries bothered him more in 2008 than ever before.

Both Clifton and Tauscher arrived in the 2000 draft, Clifton in the second round and Tauscher in the seventh. The Packers have selected 14 offensive linemen since then but none in the first round and only one, Colledge, in the second.

From 1982-'97, they took five offensive linemen in the first round, including tackles Ken Ruettgers, Tony Mandarich, John Michels and Ross Verba as well as guards Ron Hallstrom and Aaron Taylor.

Thompson talks a lot about his interest in drafting "big men." His 10 choices in the offensive line have included one second-round selection, one third, three fourths, four fifths and one seventh.

Now the organization really needs one of his middle-round picks to blossom, as Tauscher did a decade ago.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/43751997.html

[Wade-A-Holic]

To summarize:

Barbre hasn't shown anything at guard. He will be tried at tackle. If he doesn't show anything there, he's probably gone. If Barbre, Giacomini, Lang, and Meredith all suck, Sitton will be the next to get a shot. Wells looks like a long shot to make the team.

We're installing more power scheme stuff but I would caution against thinking that means the zone blocking scheme is dead. I'm all in favor of more power scheme stuff, though.

I'm encouraged to hear McCarthy reiterate that he wants to "get off this merry go round" and allow our offensive linemen to work on one position instead.

[Ayt]

Its a little disturbing that McGinn says Meredith got benched when that isn't what happened. The NCAA made him sit out two games this year due to redshirting his freshman season.

If you are going to badmouth a guy, at least know what you are talking about.

[crkone]

I don't like how McGinn says Meredith was benched. He wasn't benched but was ineligible due to redshirting. My guess is it will be Clifton-Colledge-Spitz-Sitton-Barbre. Whoever it is has to be light on his feet but strong enough to resist a bull rush from Jared Allen.

[crkone]

Its a little disturbing that McGinn says Meredith got benched when that isn't what happened. The NCAA made him sit out two games this year due to redshirting his freshman season.

If you are going to badmouth a guy, at least know what you are talking about.

I guess we are on the same page here.

[Wade-A-Holic]

Its a little disturbing that McGinn says Meredith got benched when that isn't what happened. The NCAA made him sit out two games this year due to redshirting his freshman season.

If you are going to badmouth a guy, at least know what you are talking about.

A bunch of other people have reported that he was suspended for those two games, too, which is also obviously false.

Packers signed Andrew Hartline, a tackle from Central Michigan, so you can add him to the mix.

[Ayt]

Its a little disturbing that McGinn says Meredith got benched when that isn't what happened. The NCAA made him sit out two games this year due to redshirting his freshman season.

If you are going to badmouth a guy, at least know what you are talking about.

I guess we are on the same page here.

Yep.

And the kid is no dummy. He graduated with a 3.7 GPA.

[Jollay]

Yeah, I thought Meredith just played a new position but still started when he came back.

I agree with McGinn's depth chart though--I would like to see Meredith groomed purely at LT to assess him there this year. I hope Giacommi or Barbre can step up at RT if Colledge is definitely slated at G.--I would only want to see Meredith there if absolutely necessary.

Wells should not be on the roster if he's not starting. Cut him or trade him, obviously, if he cant find his way in the top 5.

I will also be interesting to see if Meredith can stay focused if he's not playing.