Never been so happy to be wrong!

[TW]

For an extended period of time, I watched David Bakhtiari playing left tackle, and was livid, every time he got beat by a bull rush, or because his footwork was so bad, and guys got past him. I figured he wasn't going to make it as an LT.

I've been proven wrong, and I'm glad I have. I have watched him, over the last few games, and during this winning streak, I'm seeing one of the best LTs the Packers have had in a long time. His footwork has become exemplary, and he's using his hands to punch into defenders chests, to knock them off balance.

We have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line coach who has worked with him. We also have to recognize that it was a good draft pick, and maybe they are onto something with others across the front line. Credit where credit is due.

 

[ChampionshipBelt]

Agreed.
I am not an oline guy nor have I played one on tv but the stretch of games they have played have been exemplary. AR has 5-8 seconds in the pocket which in the NFL is ridiculous.
They also may be starting to hit a stride in running game blocking.
After seeing Lang play this year, he has to be locked up. We have not signed him yet, correct?

 

[Pugger]

Agreed.
I am not an oline guy nor have I played one on tv but the stretch of games they have played have been exemplary. AR has 5-8 seconds in the pocket which in the NFL is ridiculous.
They also may be starting to hit a stride in running game blocking.
After seeing Lang play this year, he has to be locked up. We have not signed him yet, correct?

I wonder if Ted will let Lang walk too after this season? He has been beat up the past couple of years and Spriggs is an intriguing prospect at guard. Don't they say it is better to let a player go too soon rather than too late? The big thing that bothered me about Sitton leaving is we got zilch for him.

 

[realitybytes]

The big thing that bothered me about Sitton leaving is we got zilch for him.

you and me both. sitton still had value. i still can't believe ted couldn't get anything at all for him. he must not have tried very hard.

 

[Pugger]

I wonder...did Sitton's agent leak that we were going to let him go if we got no takers and thus other GMs decided to wait it out so we couldn't make a deal?

 

[Half Empty]

I wonder if Ted will let Lang walk too after this season? He has been beat up the past couple of years and Spriggs is an intriguing prospect at guard. Don't they say it is better to let a player go too soon rather than too late? The big thing that bothered me about Sitton leaving is we got zilch for him.

Nothing new here, but does this make sense. Would TT trade up to get a guy built like a tackle in order to turn him into a guard? I realize Bak has continued to improve and Bulaga has been healthy, but I still have to think they re-sign Lang, if reasonable, and have a reliable backup (and probable replacement) in Spriggs.

 

[GBP4EVER]

I wonder if Ted will let Lang walk too after this season? He has been beat up the past couple of years and Spriggs is an intriguing prospect at guard. Don't they say it is better to let a player go too soon rather than too late? The big thing that bothered me about Sitton leaving is we got zilch for him.

Spriggs future is at RT. Bulaga maybe has 1 or 2 years left and he's done. IMO let Lang walk resign Tretter put him at guard.

 

[TW]

Often the question isn't if a guy is better than his understudy as much as it is about "how much better" he actually is.

Let's say Lang grades out at a 92, and Spriggs grades out as an 81. Lang has already reached his potential, but by next year, they figure Spriggs would be up to an 87, and still have a high side they can build on. Eventually, he could be a 92 as well. Maybe as quickly as Bakhtiari moved up, to reach a similar level.

In the meantime - cap wise - let's say Spriggs would cost $1.5 mill a year, and Lang would cost $8 mill a year. Big difference in cap hit there for what really isn't that big of a talent gain. You make a choice, based on where you see it going for the future. Is it wise to spend $24 million on a guy who has reached an age where injuries could be worse, or go with the younger guy, for less money over an extended period of time?

Even signing Bakhtiari was done with "this year's money," as compared to "future money," because Thompson is smart enough to manipulate the cap in a way that he doesn't mortgage the future for a win today. That's good business sense from a valid point of view, and what took out of what was serious cap restrictions when Sherman was sent packing.

My guess is that Lane Taylor's ratings have been moving steadily upward, and is one more training camp away from being as good as Sitton was, in our system.

If there's one thing I believe this front office, and coaching staff knows, it's how to get the right guys on the offensive line to make it possible for Rodgers to stay on his feet long enough to be one of the most effective QBs in the league. We saw it early in the year, where that wasn't happening, because the line was just working on becoming a cohesive unit. Now we're seeing it.

Credit to the coaches and Thompson. If the Packers do contend for a trip to Houston this year, it will be because that offensive line created the time Rodgers needs to work some magic.

 

[TW]

Incidentally. I didn't mention this. By making the deal with Bakhtiari, which was a bargain for the long run, there's room to negotiate a good deal with J.C. Tretter. He's still a better center than Linsley, and if he can push Spriggs and Taylor for starting time as well, we could see a real heated battle to see which of the three actually are starters in 2017.

 

[Dubz41]

Nothing new here, but does this make sense. Would TT trade up to get a guy built like a tackle in order to turn him into a guard? I realize Bak has continued to improve and Bulaga has been healthy, but I still have to think they re-sign Lang, if reasonable, and have a reliable backup (and probable replacement) in Spriggs.

Spot on Half. Was excited when they traded up for Spriggs, perplexed when they extended Bak. Lang is in the over 30 column, been getting banged up quite frequently over the last couple of years. After the Sitton fiasco I really can't see which way they're going to go. My best guess is that they let Lang go and hope he gets a contract that would fetch us a 3-4th round comp pick. Move Bulaga inside to guard and start Spriggs at RT. Resign Tretter (a move made easier by his recent injury) as the main back up to all positions. You still have Murphy (if he shows progress) and probably draft some kid who is versatile. Just so we move on from Barclay.
But TW is right- Hats off to Bak!