Right tackle position getting worrisome

If the Packers have an Achilles Heel developing in training camp it might be right tackle. The loss of Mark Tauscher might be a little harder to fill than they thought. Allen Barbre was the offseason favorite but once the pads came on he started getting pushed around. Now Breno Giacomini is running with the ones more and more and the position is still way to unsettled for comfort. This was supposed to be figured out at least by the third preseason game and that is not likely to happen now.

The battle at center may not be decided by who does better but by the fact that Jason Spitz can play right guard at a high level and may be needed to provide help on the right side of the line. The five best will play and right now it looks like the weakest link is right tackle. I’m kind of hoping Giacomini will take control of the position as he has long term potential whereas Barbre has already blown numerous chances. My guess is Scott Wells at center and Spitz at guard and Breno at tackle. I was hoping T.J. Lang would make a move but I guess it is not to be.

At least it is not Aaron Rodgers blind side, but it is a big concern nonetheless.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 10:43 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Punk

    That reference Al gave to Mlive.com states that DET has only two draft choices left from the period of ’02-’06. Got my interest up insofar as to how the Pack did. We currently have fourteen. In scanning the roster, prior to the first cut, I see we have thirty-four out of eighty that are FAs. Don’t know really what that means other than we obviously do scan the wire a lot.

  • roy jamison

    After readin’ this blog it gives new meaning to why Santa says, Ho, ho,ho…right after he passed three ladies of the night….

  • Devil’s Advocate…

    What I found interesting this year……………… was how early Favre requested his release from the Jets. He usually doesn’t make up his mind about playing each year til late May, early June. And w/a bad arm to boot………….. Hmmmmmm?????

  • roy jamison

    LOL, give #4 credit, he was very convincing. Also, his leaving the Jets returned that oh so valuable number 7 draft pick in 2010! But as you say, who knows if that arm is going to hold up over 16 games? After his game with the Packers, I wouldn’t wanna bet on it.

  • Reid

    And, now back to your regularly scheduled programming…..

    The big question is: Will Brohm complete a pass tomorrow night?

    Another: How will be do against the no-huddle Buffalo is using?

    Anyone else got any insight or things to watch for tomorrow?

  • Reid

    Also, my fantasy draft is in a week and I have the #5 pick (yes, I sucked last year). Anyone want to give me good suggestions for who is a good solid pick there (not Justin Harrell)? Normal fantasy scoring: 1 pt for 10 yds, 6 pts for TD, 1 pt for first downs, extra points for long yardage TDs, etc.

  • Rocky70

    I have sympathy for the Jets. … …. They basically sacrifice the entire 2008 season to court BF, obtain him in a trade, finish 3rd in their division after BF flames out, listen to BF’s retirement announcement & then finally relent to his request to be released….. Talk about being manipulated & used…. The real hilarious thing about the whole chain of events is even the causual fan could see what was going on.

    On a more important note:
    I’m concerned about the Pack’s OLB position…. Matthews & Thompson will not be playing again in preseason game 2. ….. Right now Obiozor is getting most of the reps & is slated to play the most at OLB against Buffalo…. He was initially a long shot to even make the roster. …. Now he’s front & center. …. It seems we’re running out of time to even establish the starting defensive unit…. It’s almost September.

  • Mel e Mel

    Thompson or Matthews will be healthy I think they are being extra careful because they are vying for the same spot so to rush one back out there would kind of look bad.

  • Devil’s Advocate…

    OK, let’s dispatch w/the soooooo tired Favre crap……..

    The games between the Vikes and Packers should be awesome and if both teams are fairly healthy, I believe won’t disappoint. Pack will need to play a little better than the Vikes as I believe all the ticky-tacky/close calls will go to Favre/Vikes. And lastly, I expect the NFL to hype these games to almost Super Bowl levels. Sit back and enjoy fellas!!!!

  • Michael Legat

    Agreed on retiring the unretirement talk. Rocky, I’m very, very much on your side of the fence on this whole thing, but you’re steering very close to becoming Bizarro Jon. And you don’t want that.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    DA, we’re going to win at home and we have a good chance at Minny because their coach is an idiot. Remember him limiting Peterson his rookie year when he was killing us. And even with our crappy defense and special teams we could have beaten them twice last year, don’t forget the phantom safety on #12. This could be fun.

  • Rocky70

    @ ML

    Sorry, I don’t post to please regardless of agreement or disagreement.

    It’s pretty much a moot point, however. Once the season begins, I’ll have little to say about anything…. I just watch the game….. I hate pre-game & post-game analysis….. I don’t even listen to the TV play by play. …. I mute the TV & listen to Larrivee & Larry M. …… The 2-3 second delay is a pain but easier to take than TV analysts who fail to put in the time required to accurrately do play by play or an analysis….. They ruin the game for me.

    However, I will return to offer up ‘crow recipes’ for a few select posters.

  • Michael Legat

    Just friendly advice that you can take or leave, Rock. No worries at all, man.

  • Devil’s Advocate…

    Hey Mark,

    Maybe he was saving some wear and tear on Peterson, so if he actually got a team put together, Peterson might still be healthy enough to help out. (RB’s only have a few good years in them usually) Now they’ve found a bitter enough QB to join even their shitty team and fan base, maybe they’ll have their chance……. Just maybe he’s really a genious????

    Rocky,

    One better…………………. watch a Dallas or N.E. Cheater game. They pan the cameras up to Jones and Kraft every chance they get. I can’t even watch those games anymore!!! (what’s left of it after commercials and endless shots of the owners)

  • Punk

    I suppose a reference to a pin ball would be crass at this point would it not? Ouch! Best OL in the DIV?

  • Punk

    Watched BF post-game interview this AM. The guy sounds like a kid with a new toy. He sure made one sweet deal up there. An interview I saw yesterday even alluded that he was going to mentor Jackson a little – no mention of Rosenfels. My how times change.

  • Rocky70

    “Fran the Man’ Tarkenton discussing the Vike’s starting QB:

    “I really have no interest in what Brett Favre does,” Tarkenton said on Sirius NFL Radio Wednesday morning. “He kind of lost me a few years ago by retiring and un-retiring and here and there.”
    Tarkenton said he spoke to 10 to 12 friends and none of them cared.
    “It’s a circus,” he said. “It’s an absolute circus, and it takes away from all the other things that are going on with the Vikings, with the NFL. We’re getting ready for a football season and this is a circus, and I just have no interest in it.”

    “Isn’t it all about team … and here comes Brett Favre riding in on his white horse, doesn’t go to training camp, doesn’t come to offseason workouts and he’s gonna come on his white horse and bond with all these players?” Tarkenton said.  

  • Dan

    Giacomini was on one of the Packers programs this morning (Inside 1265 I think). The highlights they showed scared the heck out of me. If he doesn’t learn to stop holding (or at least make it less obvious), we’re in deep trouble. It’s easy to get away with holding in preseason, during the regular season every smart coach works the officials for guys with bad technique.

  • packer_bob

    “you’re steering very close to becoming Bizarro Jon”

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Warning sign, my man! When you keep quoting Fran Tarkenton like he’s gospel, I worry for you! An intervention may be necessary.

    Starving for updates on tonight’s game. Thought I was going to watch it at my good friend’s house tonight but had to work too late. Sounds like we looked good again tonight, PAI-YOW!!!

    Did see snippets of the Bears first half against the Giants, and they looked pretty good, though I hate to admit it.

  • Mel e Mel

    Unreal performance by the D. !

  • Mel e Mel

    The Giants rest FIVE starter on Defense and 2 of their all Pro O- Line a pure fraud.

  • packer_bob

    @Iccy

    “She left and later desired to return, but only after a committment was made to the younger model.”

    Nonetheless, desired to return. People move on, but’s not pretend that makes the girl in question (in your equally flawed analogy) somehow the enemy.

  • packer_bob

    MEM,

    We played the Bills tonight, right, or am I missing something?

  • AATP

    Good to see everyone is still up to their old shenanigans :) Well I’ve been watching the games over the past few weeks on NFL Network – haven’t seen the Packer game from tonight yet, but have it TIVO’d to watch tomorrow. The Bears are, well, the Bears… They still look terribly inconsistent considering the game they played against the Bills last week. Then they come out looking pretty good against a team playing many replacements out of the gate. The Pack starters looked good last week. They were consistently executing everything that was given to them. I hear this week was more of the same and the only reason the game was as close as it was was due to the starters being pulled and Brohm sucking for the most part.

    On the Favre front, I saw a commercial today on TV for Sears and there was BF, almost changed the channel, but it was actually kinda damn funny. The Sears clerk was talking about how Sears makes it easy for people that change their mind all the time, you know, waffle on decisions and can’t make a decision to save their lives. BF remarks back to the clerk, yeah, I hate those kinda people. At least he realizes it… The first step to recovery is knowing recognizing you have a problem right? LMAO… Anyway – good luck to him, he’ll be rapidly inconsistent at best and when he plays the Pack you better believe the Pack will have a little extra gas in the tank for that game. I am excited to see the Bi-Queens and their Drama Queen get squashed by the Pack twice…

  • packer_bob

    Just for truth in adverting, I’ve waffled over a purchase at Sears myself.

    And I’m not that big of a fan of Wrangler jeans other. They don’t highlight my exquisite derrire in the flattering way to whicn I’ve become accustomed.

  • Rocky70

    Fran’s just one of many who have been making unflattering comments.

    PB – Why are you defending the starting QB of the Vikes ??

    Just wondering. … I mean he is a Viking…. North Division rival ?? … Maybe you just haven’t picked your fav team yet for 2009. …. You have the rest of pre-season to decide. …. Need some Viking links ?? …. Soon to be ViQween_boob ?? …LOL.

  • Punk

    Bill Huber ought to be making beer! Last week the lament was Rodgers getting hurt, now we’re doomed if Flynn gets hurt. Rosenfels? I’ve seen him play; I’ll take Brohm sight unseen with at least some upside potential. I have to admit Cutler sure reminds me of young Favre; he’s one exciting dude.

  • Punk

    I’d say its a pretty good team when your main concerns are the RT and the back-up QB. MM is doing just what he should be doing in a Pre; sorting out the starting OL interior and experimenting w/ different D packages. He is not risking a potential RLB starter (although one of ‘em better start the next game) and he is throwing to all (6) of the Fab5 – pun intended. Whats w/ all the two TE sets? Doesn’t seem to be any concern about the CBs new role at all. Are they really that good, at that age?

  • Rocky70

    GB is running into a problem that any team would love to have.
    The play of Bishop, Jolly, Finley & Raji are going to make for a very interesting depth chart……. I don’t see how Sutton doesn’t make the final 53…. He’s quick, powerful & literally disappears when he crashes into the line. …. AR was just being AR again…. It’s pretty obvious the change to AR in 2008 was the wise move by GB brass.

    An interesting note: …. The game was attended by an inordinate number of scouts from a number of NFL teams. …. They already know GB will be cutting some pretty good players to get down to the final 53. …. Look for a few trades before final cutdown.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Larry, I haven’t seen the game yet but from what I read there are real problems that need to be addressed. If the RT can get Flynn buried it can happen to #12. There are going to be a lot of good veteran QB’s let go in the next two weeks.
    I think I see the problem between p-b and Rocky. One is late night and the other is early AM, irreconcilable(I think p-b should have let the sleeping dog lie, and stop bringing you know who up).

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Rocky, I’d love to trade Hawk and a pick Andre Smith the OT that Cincy can’t sign. Or Cincy could take any LB except Kampmann. We have too many and could use a stud at tackle.

  • Rocky70

    ” There are going to be a lot of good veteran QB’s let go in the next two weeks. ”

    Who ?? …. Teams don’t cut good veteran QBs…… Interestingly enough, if Flynn is incapacitated for awhile, TJ from the Vikes may be GB’s best option…. The Vikes don’t seem to want him & he knows the system very well…. I wouldn’t want him over Flynn but at this point he’s a better option than Brohm.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Hawk for Andre Smith was a bad idea. Smith would take too long to get up to speed and Cincy has good LB’s. But we could still trade one of our LB’s to fill a need. Minny has too many QB’s so does Tampa and there are others.

  • packer_bob

    ” the first four series the defense forced the Bills into two fumbles, an interception and a punt, which staked the Packers to a 21-0 lead.”

    Gotta like the sound of that! Just wish I could have seen it!

  • Punk

    TJ is interesting, but they won’t let us have him. That Favre for Pennington swap doesn’t look very good now, does it? Haven’t seen film but that pass block that got Flynn buried wasn’t from the blind side so —-? Is he really hurt that bad? Man up! The chatter is horrible about Brohm, but the stats reflect a 3rd stringer, so what do you expect All-Pro? Maybe extreme statement, but so are you guys giving up on him so quickly. Give MM a chance, look what he has done with Flynn and Rodgers.

  • packer_bob

    “PB – Why are you defending the starting QB of the Vikes ??”

    Because it’s defensible, dummy. Why are you obsessed with what an ex-Viking has to say?

    ” Soon to be ViQween_boob “——-Umm, yeah, whatever.

    “GB is running into a problem that any team would love to have.” I did like this, though. Didn’t want to copy the whole paragraph, but it was well written and had some salient points. Well played, sir!

  • Punk

    Keep every LB we have, They’re the Special Teams!

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Larry, Brohm has so little value that if we really wanted him we could keep him on the taxi squad. We really could use some insurance if we’re trying to make the playoffs this year. Maybe his contract is keeping him on the team like Harrell’s, if not he would have already been cut. Do you see any special mobility or arm. Flynn can scramble a little and plays alert but I don’t see much upside. Of course #12 didn’t look very good his first two years so who knows.

  • packer_bob

    Punk,

    As far as giving up so quickly on a Qb, that struck a chord with me as it echoed a conversation I was having last night.

    Remember when you used to draft a QB (or really a player at any position) and they were actually allowed time to grow into the position? The Bears got Cutler, which I think was a good move for them, and after ONE PRESEASON game I listened to Bears fans in my area, and calls to radio talk shows, piss and moan about it because of one pick. (He looked pretty sharp last night, so now they’ll be going to the SB.)

    We live in such a time compressed era, the expectations are so high for immediate results, that sometimes I just shake my head.

  • packer_bob

    “Of course #12 didn’t look very good his first two years so who knows.”

    See the above post.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    P-b, it’s not just fans like me(and I can only go by what I see). The Titans dumped McNair because they drafted V. Young and figured he would be the starter day one. A mistake for McNair, the Titans and Young. Do you see anything in Brohm? Can you see Flynn making big league throws(we’re in the bigs BTW)?

  • Punk

    You’re right, p_b, thats why I made the Cutler/Favre comment; now I know why others were making the comparisons a month ago. As to Brohm, his problem has to be the adjustment to the pro game. His college stats justified the pick, his conversion didn’t. Just like Starr and Flynn (so far) they certainly played and might play well beyond the pick level, but hell, the jury is still out on Flynn too. I’m not ready to say he’s the next Bratkowski. At the same time I’d stick with him as back-up until I’m desparate to bring in an experienced (and it has to be a west coast scheme guy) QB. I’ve already stated my case on the LBs, I don’t trade any! Let the cuts begin, we’re so under the national radar I don’t think anybody will come back to haunt us. Like I said earlier, to have a “problem” at RT, P, and back-up QB its a pretty damned good team. Would you agree we possibly may have corrected the first and third qtr slow start problem? Would you agree we may have corrected the lack of agressiveness with the LBs (especially Hawk)? Gosh, we’ve got Barnett, Thompson, and Mathews yet to play. I say keep (10) they set the tempo for the entire team.

  • packer_bob

    Mark,

    You’ve seen more than me, unfortunately for me. Wasn’t trying to be smart or cute (although I am both btw) just commenting on the short window most players have to perform these days.

    No clue as to whether Brohm or Flynn will ultimately be professional QB’s or end up on the crowded scrap yard of guys that didn’t make it. I’m just saying that one man’s garbage sometimes ends up being another man’s gold. (Glanville didn’t think much of Favre, but Woolf did, right?)

    No worries man, hopefully we won’t have to confront a situation where either one of them is important this particular season.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    P-b, I’m a worrier and get too wrapped up in this. Larry I’d like to carry them all too. But the numbers say we’ve got to cut three good LB’s. At least we can get something back if we make a trade. Kampman is the only must. But we’ve got Hawk, Barnett, Matthews, Chillar, Bishop and Poppinga. The others won’t bring much in a trade but are useful especially on Specials; Thompson, B. Jones, Obiozor and Havener. We need to keep 5 WR’s and 4 RB’s(because of Sutton) so 8 LB’s.

  • packer_bob

    And I thought I was a worrier! The way I like to think of it is you should be prepared for every eventuality should it come up, = life nit.

    Stay gold, pony boy, stay gold. Much love and respect to the hardcore Pack fans on the board, mostly you, MH, and Punk/Larry. But I’ll give a shout even to Rocky 70= his IQ.

    Gotta go—I’m out like Michael Jackson on Propofol! Have a good day and Go Pack Go!

  • Rocky70

    @ Punk

    Agree with you on Brohm…. He’s right where he should be as 3rd stringer. … He doesn’t have to be ready to start in the NFL (hopefully)…. If he can make the same progress that AR made in his first 3 years, he’ll be someone’s starter someday. … The game is still too fast for him… He’s indecisive & lacking confidence as a result….Physically, he’s got more than enough to be an NFL QB.

    When I suggested trades I wasn’t thinking of someone like AJ….. AJ’s likely to have a monster year in 2009… AJ’s only problem is that he was drafted 5th in the 1st round… expectations…. if he were a 3rd round or lower pick, PackFans would be gushing about him…. even though his play would be the same…. Fans need to forget the draft when viewing players.

  • roy jamison

    Mostly good news on O and D. I don’t think we’ve solved special teams holes yet.

  • Mel e Mel

    Brohm is a lost cause . He had the job handed to him at Louisville because his brother is on staff there. Flynn had to compete against JeMarcus Russell to even get a sniff of a shot. Flynn had to play an entire season with the weight of a national championship and he excelled. Brohm is being asked to do something he is not capable of. His demeanor and pressence are not NFL quality.

  • packer_bob

    “if he were a 3rd round or lower pick, PackFans would be gushing about him…. ”

    Ummm, OK.

    Only problem is, he wasn’t. He was a number 5 overall. If you want to do this: “Fans need to forget the draft when viewing players.” then Tony Mandarich actually had a decent career.

    They draft in order for a reason. A different approach might be to write the players names on slips of paper and pull them out of a bag at random, like the three strikes game on Price is Right.

    Not sure why they don’t do it that way since draft order doesn’t really matter, equally unclear why owners pay inordinate sums to players based on where they were drafted. Perhaps you could clear this confounding situation up.

    I hear the NFL has a suggestion box in almost every town. I would suggest that approach.

  • Michael Legat

    Get a room, you two.

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