wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
11 years ago

The offensive line was one of the weak links of the 2012 Green Bay Packers. The stats back it up.

The Packers gave up the second-most sacks in the NFL — 51. Only the 5-11 Arizona Cardinals gave up more (58). The Packers were also 26th in yards per rush, at 3.4.

So who were the culprits?

Well, it’s hard to track offensive line production on running plays, but it’s pretty easy to track it in two other areas — sacks allowed and penalties.

And you know we’re always happy to point fingers. Hell, the Packers coaching staff doesn’t do it. Someone has to.

The Packers had seven guys start games on the offensive line in 2012. Only two guys started every game — Marshall Newhouse and Josh Sitton.

For those who didn’t start all 16, we took their stats and averaged them out over a 16-game schedule. Here’s who won and who lost.

Most sacks allowed (16 games)

Don Barclay (14)
T.J. Lang (12)
Marshall Newhouse (10)

Fewest sacks allowed (16 games)

Josh Sitton (2.5)
Jeff Saturday (4)
Evan Dietrich-Smith (5)

Most penalties (16 games)

Evan Dietrich-Smith (13)
Don Barclay (12)
Bryan Bulaga (9)

Fewest penalties (16 games)

Jeff Saturday (1)
Marshall Newhouse (3)
T.J. Lang (4)

Here’s each guy’s individual line.

Marshall Newhouse
16 starts, 10 sacks allowed, 3 penalties

Don Barclay
4 starts, 3.5 sacks allowed, 3 penalties
16 starts, 14 sacks, 12 penalties (projected)

Bryan Bulaga
9 starts, 5 sacks, 5 penalties
16 starts, 9 sacks, 9 penalties (projected)

Evan Dietrich-Smith
6 starts, 2 sacks, 5 penalties
16 starts, 5 sacks, 13 penalties (projected)

T.J. Lang
15 starts, 11 sacks, 4 penalties
16 starts, 12 sacks, 4 penalties (projected)

Jeff Saturday
14 starts, 3.5 sacks, 1 penalty
16 starts, 4 sacks, 1 penalty (projected)

Josh Sitton
16 starts, 2.5 sacks, 6 penalties

What does all of this tell us?

Well, No. 1, it’s fair to say Josh Sitton is the Packers best offensive lineman. It’s also fair to say Don Barclay is easily overwhelmed in pass protection.

That’s not a surprise, considering he was an undrafted rookie thrust into the starting lineup. What surprised all of us was that he was a road grader in the running game, which is something we’re obviously not measuring here. Does that make up for his inadequacies in pass protection? Unfortunately, no.

Also fair — T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga, Marshall Newhouse and Evan Dietrich-Smith have some areas to improve in. Or maybe a better assessment is this. The Packers need to bring in some new talent on the offensive line.

It’s not hard to see that the left side of the Packers offensive line didn’t play well in 2012. Of the team’s 51 sacks surrendered, 25 were given up by Newhouse and Lang — the team’s starting left tackle and guard.

Those positions should be priorities for the Packers to address this offseason. Will they? We’re going to say it’s doubtful.

The team is still counting on former first-round pick Derek Sherrod to compete for a spot. There’s also been talk of moving Bulaga back to left tackle (although he wasn’t much better than Newhouse in 2012). Then there’s the fact the Packers gave Lang a contract extension last offseason.

That doesn’t bode well for an influx of new talent. Besides, you know the Packers love the status quo more than anything else.

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RajiRoar
11 years ago
AT LEAST half of the sacks are Rodgers' fault.. He holds the ball way too damn long.

🇦🇷 and 🇲🇲 do not help the line much at all.

MintBaconDrivel
Dec, 11, 2012 - FOREVER!
Rockmolder
11 years ago
Would be fair if we could get a breakdown of when Lang gave up those sacks, hurries and hits. His games at RT were awful, further acknowledging the fact that he's a guard. I actually thought he did a pretty decent job at that spot.

Barclay is what he is. A pretty decent run blocker with some glaring holes in his pass protection.

Newhouse was/is an athletic project. I think that he can still get better and be an effective LT, but yes, he does still get beaten by the better pass rushers at this point in his career. I don't know if he'll ever become an elite LT, I don't think so, but he's servicable.

We should hope that Sherrod comes back strong. He's not that much different from Newhouse, but just a tad bigger, a tad more talented. I feel that, with some development, he'll surpass Newhouse.

Problem his, he'll need some playing time and he might not, from the get go, play on Newhouse's level, so we'll have to hope he'll actually see the field at all next season.
DakotaT
11 years ago
The only offensive lineman that has an automatic starting job is Sitton going into training camp. I would say we have a lot of weaknesses on our offensive line. But, when you take into account the amount of times the Packers go empty to get 5 wide out on the field - our line is put in a tough position.
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Zero2Cool
11 years ago

AT LEAST half of the sacks are Rodgers' fault.. He holds the ball way too damn long.

🇦🇷 and 🇲🇲 do not help the line much at all.

Originally Posted by: RajiRoar 



9 out of 51 is half? Where did you get your public education at, North Dakota?
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wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
11 years ago

9 out of 51 is half? Where did you get your public education at, North Dakota?

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 



I miss vr. 😢
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PackerTraxx
11 years ago
The first thing that comes to my mind is that the numbers are skewed because the sacks usually come from the edge not the center of the line. So, as an example, Barclay with 14 may have actually done much better than Lang with 12. Without knowing who they're actually assigned to block it's impossible to tell.
Why is Jerry Kramer not in the Hall of Fame?
DakotaT
wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
11 years ago

The first thing that comes to my mind is that the numbers are skewed because the sacks usually come from the edge not the center of the line. So, as an example, Barclay with 14 may have actually done much better than Lang with 12. Without knowing who they're actually assigned to block it's impossible to tell.

Originally Posted by: PackerTraxx 



Yep. Hard to tell. Were there stunts or twists that didn't get picked up? Was there 2 guys coming over OT? One to the inside and one to the outside? Was the RB/TE suppose to assist and he wasn't there?

Raw numbers don't mean a whole lot without the reviewing each play. Glad that is not my job.
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olds70supreme
11 years ago
Also, this article only compares the Packers O-linemen, than draws the conclusion that they need new guys because some did worse than others. John Madden and I would be willing to go out on a limb (a fairly stout one though) and say that that is true of most any football team ever/anywhere. In short, it doesn't mean much if it isn't comparing them to other linemen in the league. Not to say the conclusion is wrong (because it may very well be correct), just that the method of reaching it isn't.
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