GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Green Bay Packers' quarterbacks don’t watch the one-on-one pass-rushing drill; they’re usually at the other end of the practice field when the offensive linemen and the pass-rushers square off.
But if Rodgers watches the film or sees the results of the drill, he should feel good about his protection. His starting tackles, David Bakhtiari on the left side and Bryan Bulaga on the right, plus backup Jason Spriggs, almost never get beat. Together, the Packers’ top three tackles sport an impressive 39-2 record in the drill, based on subjective grading.
No one has beaten Bakhtiari in a dozen reps. Bulaga has lost just once in seven turns, and Spriggs only twice in 23 tries. Bulaga had been unbeaten until this week, when Julius Peppers got him. Spriggs’ two losses came at the hands of Nick Perry this week and Lerentee McCray back on Aug. 1.
There’s much more to pass protection than just the tackles handling the edge rushers, but it’s at least a sign the Packers may not allow Rodgers to take the beating he did last season, when he was sacked 46 times – the third-highest total of his NFL career.
“Well, 46 sacks is not what we’re looking for,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this week.
The year before, Rodgers was sacked just 28 times in what was one of the best years for a McCarthy-coached offensive line. It’s probably no coincidence that the same group started 17 of the 18 games (including playoffs) that season; only Bulaga missed a start. Last year, only Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton started every game, and he was forced to start once at left tackle during a three-game stretch Bakhtiari missed late in the year because of ankle injury.
Continuity up front remains an issue this summer. Center Corey Linsley (hamstring) has yet to practice and remains on the physically unable to perform list. Right guard T.J. Lang missed the first two weeks of practice while recovering from shoulder surgery. Bulaga has been given occasional days off to rest his previously injured knees, and Sitton to rest his back
“I think you’re seeing a little bit of the rotation going on through training camp,” McCarthy said. “But the good thing about it is you’re getting a number of different guys ready. There’s a lot of guys getting opportunities. But at some point you’d like to rep those five guys and get their symmetry in place to start the season.”
At least the Packers feel like they’re better off at tackle if something happens to Bakhtiari or Bulaga – or both. Late last season, they tried three different options at tackle while Bakhtiari was out.
They’re putting Spriggs, a rookie second-round pick, through a massive amount of reps to get him ready just in case. Don Barclay, despite a 10-7 record in the one-on-one drill splitting reps between all three line spots, looks much improved a year after his comeback year from ACL surgery, while Josh Walker sports an impressive 19-2 record.
But it’s Bakhtiari’ s record that is easily the most impressive. He has four wins over Clay Matthews, three over McCray, two over Perry and one each against Mike Daniels, Jayrone Elliott and Kyler Fackrell.
“It’s good work for different techniques you want to work on,” Bakhtiari said. “I don’t think it’s a direct reflection on how good you are. I think it’s a good tool for you to use to change things up, try something different or reinforce what you already know. I wouldn’t say we take pride in it. I don’t know what the actual numbers are for wins and losses.”
His success comes as no surprise to offensive-line coach James Campen.
“He’s improved every offseason, and I think that’s a testament to him,” Campen said. “I think the fact that you really start cataloging, catalog rushers, people you’ll see. You’ll look at other people’s sets, other tackles' sets, how did they do against this person or that person. I think that’s really part of the growth for him. And the fact, too, let’s be honest, the kid has gotten stronger every year. He’s gained weight, he’s gained strength, so he’s doing all the things necessary to continue on an upward trend.
“He’s doing a nice job with that, and he’s durable as hell. He had a little hiccup last year. But he’s a very durable player and that again goes back to toughness, displayed by Lang’s and Sitton’s and those type of people, that hey, look, you have to fight through some of those things. And he’s certainly done that as well.”
How much of that will translate to better protection of Rodgers?
“Well, for us, it’s protecting,” Bakhtiari said. “It’s the quarterback getting the ball out. It’s the wide receivers getting open. At the end of the day, when it comes to sacks, everyone’s going to talk about the line because we get paid to block, but there’s six other people on the offense who have to get their job done.
“We know the precedent for this offensive line, we know we’re in our third year together. We know good we can be and how good we will be.”