Packers Blog Roundup: Bulaga or Newhouse at Left Tackle?
It's a toss up for fans voting between Marshall Newhouse and Bryan Bulaga as to who should be the Packers' starting left tackle.
The results of a poll conducted at Total Packers show the public is torn between Bryan Bulaga and Marshall Newhouse as for who should start at left tackle in place of an injured Chad Clifton. "The main question right now is who plays where," writes Monty McMahon. "When Bulaga returns, the Packers will have to decide if he returns to right tackle, where he’s in his second season as a starter, or if he replaces Clifton at left tackle. Bulaga was a left tackle in college, knows the position and is a better blocker than Newhouse." At the time of publication, Newhouse leads with over 47% of the vote compared to over 45% for Bulaga.
Analysis of Chad Clifton's injury comes from AllGreenBayPackers.com and Lombardi Ave.
In the wake of Sunday's game, a lot of attention was focused on the dislike and on-field shoving matches between the Packers and the Falcons. "The Packers players weren’t pulling any punches after last night’s game when they commented about the Falcons and their propensity to perfect the life of a cheap shot artist," notes Lombardi Ave.
More on the Packers-Falcons rivalry comes from Total Packers and Acme Packing Company.
Differences between the draft strategies between the Packers and the Falcons are commented upon at Packer Chatters.
Connections between the Packers and deceased Raiders owner Al Davis are noted at PackersNews.com.
Analysis of the Packers comes from AllGreenBayPackers.com in their Stock Report and Five Observations.
Former Packers linebacker Nick Barnett doing the "Ralph Wilson Leap" was noticed by Acme Packing Company.
Reflecting on the Packers' 5–0 record are the Lambeau Loonies.
The solid play of Aaron Rodgers is noted at Milwaukee Brian Sports.
Studs and Duds are named from the Packers-Falcons game at Packers Gab.
An alternative view of Aaron Rodgers and Ted Thompson comes from the Rock 'N' Roll Cecil Club.
The Packers look unbeatable, says the Bucky Channel.
Brian Carriveau is the editor of the Maple Street Press Packers Annual. To contact Brian, email [email protected].
Second-hand news sources are not included in the Blog Roundup unless they also include meaningful commentary.
Comments (28)
October 11, 2011 at 10:18 am
"At the time of publication, Newhouse leads with over 47% of the vote compared to over 45% for Bulaga."
Coaches have the film and know better than me. That being said, I want the weaker tackle of the three available to protect the side where I can see the rush coming at all times to adjust. That's RT.
I want the best guy in pass pro protecting my blindside where I can't protect myself. I'll leave it at that.
October 11, 2011 at 11:17 am
If Bulaga isn't ready to go this week, they have bring somebody in, right? I mean, if it's Newhouse and Sherrod, what happens if one of them goes down? Evan D-S? (not a rhetorical question)
October 11, 2011 at 11:18 am
Lang would kick out, EDS to guard. Lots of max pass pro with TE sets.
October 11, 2011 at 01:30 pm
oh. sure.
thanks!
October 11, 2011 at 11:36 am
We'll be fine.
They'll be fine.
All will be fine.
I believe MM and Rodgers wiil be able to scheme the plays to take pressure off what ever Tackle duo is in play.
I would even dare to say that Rodgers doesn't get sacked this week and at most twice against the Vikes the week after.
October 11, 2011 at 04:59 pm
"I would even dare to say that Rodgers doesn’t get sacked this week and at most twice against the Vikes the week after." I would not mind if Rodgers got sacked against the Vikes twice i just don't wont it to be that dick Jared Allen.
October 11, 2011 at 07:31 pm
LOL.
October 11, 2011 at 11:56 am
So, uh, I watched that Lions game last night. Is their pass rush really that good or is the Bears' o-line really that bad? The Lions looked like they were going up against a bunch of high schoolers.
And, as Nagler tweeted, I can't believe the Bears' RT was able to stone wall Clay Matthews like he did.
October 11, 2011 at 03:00 pm
Both. Clay is playing hurt, his Quad injury has diminished his quickness.
October 11, 2011 at 05:05 pm
Both.
Their OL is bad, but it's particularly bad against teams with rushing DL, like the Lions and Giants.
Our defense gets more pressure against smaller OLs than big ones. We got only one speed rusher (Matthews), and he's double teamed half the snaps, rolled away from on a lot of other ones. Yes, he didn't play as well against the Bears, but a lot of it had to do with their gameplan.
October 11, 2011 at 03:31 pm
Any other position I would say let Bulaga rest another week or two but you can't risk getting QB1 hurt. I'm sure the coaches know best watching them in practice every day, but I would slide Bulaga over and keep Newhouse at RT. Losing Clifton exposes Lang more.
October 11, 2011 at 05:02 pm
I've never really seen the rams play, whats their pass rush like?
October 11, 2011 at 05:25 pm
per Total Packers, as quoted in this article:
"Bulaga was a left tackle in college, knows the position and is a better blocker than Newhouse."
1) Marshall Newhouse was a left tackle in college as well.
2) Marshall Newhouse also knows the position as well, because not only did he play it in college just like Bulaga, but he has practiced almost exclusively @ LT in practice and camp since being drafted by the Packers, while Bulaga has been taking the majority if not all of his reps with the 1's at right tackle. I do believe with this ATL game in the books, Marshall Newhouse's 52 snaps puts him ahead of Bulaga in terms of live, gameday snaps at LT in the NFL as well.
3) While I can't definitively say Newhouse is a better blocker than Bulaga, what I can say is that Newhouse was (tied as) the best performer in one-on-ones in training camp this year, tallying a "win" percentage of .857 (Tied for best with Josh Sitton) while Bulaga racked up a .778 "win" percentage. (Per Bob McGinn of JSO as of Aug. 29, 2011)
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/128651613.html
So, I guess what I'm saying is I whole-heartedly disagree with TP's statement right there. lol.
October 11, 2011 at 06:19 pm
Could not find the transcript nor the video, but I remember McCarthy saying that in this offense both tackles were interchangeable, that they asked the same things from both tackles.
October 11, 2011 at 10:00 pm
That may be the case from a schematic standpoint, but your body still becomes accustomed to the angles, footwork etc. of left or right. That said, Newhouse has been primarily working at LT and Bulaga at RT. Can it be overcome? Sure, but it's not necessarily an easy or quick task.
It's like being right handed and trying to write left handed. When these guys make the jump from one edge to the other and make it look relatively seamless, it is a nod to their outstanding athleticism.
October 12, 2011 at 03:29 am
Oppy you presented you case perfectly.
October 11, 2011 at 06:25 pm
Yes please leave Bulaga alone and let him continue to play RT if he comes back. Don't mess with a good thing, the dude has the perfect body for a RT and he is going to be one of the better RT's in the league in no time. He is right where he should be. Sherrod has the perfect body to be a LT and with a season and offseason of experience I think he will be ready to assume the role, if not then we have Newhouse who also would be a good LT. But for this week until Sherrod proves himself further, start Newhouse at LT and Bulaga at RT, if Bulaga can't go then repeat what we did against the falcons.
October 11, 2011 at 06:29 pm
and btw if we blow out the Rams in the first half of this game can we please give some dudes a chance to play, like Vic So'oto, Davon House, Sherrod at LT (while Flynn is at QB), and Alex Green... please??
October 11, 2011 at 06:31 pm
and how about Ryan Taylor on offense, havent seen that dude lately, i know he is ST and we have a ton of offensive weapons already but in a scrub game lets just see what he can do against #1's
October 11, 2011 at 06:38 pm
Seems the 49er's signed Brett Swainn
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/11/niners-sign-brett-swain/
October 11, 2011 at 08:47 pm
I like Newhouse at LT, Bulaga at RT and Sherrod as the backup to both.
If it were up to me I would rest BB for the Rams game and get him back on the field against the Vikings.
That will give Newhouse a full game to get ready for the Vikings at LT and will give Sherrod a chance to get a game under his belt at RT should Bulaga suffer any type of setback along the way.
October 11, 2011 at 09:30 pm
How is this a question? Bulaga at LT, obvi.
Wasn't it just a year ago that we were waiting for Bulaga to take over at LT anyways?
October 11, 2011 at 10:36 pm
That was before the Packers drafted Sherrod, who is built long like a prototypical LT.
It's also before we found out if the Newhouse project would pan out. Jury's still out on that one, but after what basically was a red-shirt rookie year, there are positive signs that Newhouse has improved his strength and looks to be coming along nicely.
Bulaga looks like a RT compared to Sherrod or Newhouse. That's not to say Bulaga is a lesser talent by any means. I just think he's more a RT than a LT at the pro level, at least compared to our other 2 young guys.
PackerAaron
October 12, 2011 at 06:53 am
Completely disagree. You play Bulaga at RT and put Newhouse at LT.
October 12, 2011 at 07:45 am
Against the Rams, it's a no brainer. Long is their best pass rusher and he plays over the right tackle. Starting in the 2012 season, also completely agree with Sherrod added into the mix on the left side.
Moving forward against Jarred Allen, Julius Peppers, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Adrian Clayborn, Jason Pierre Paul, Matt Shaughnessy, Glenn Dorsey/Tambi Hali...
All coming from an area where Rodgers can't protect himself. I don't think it's cut and dry for 2011. I have no cheering interest, just want the most advanced pass protector going against murderers row down the stretch.
October 12, 2011 at 12:33 pm
This also implies that Newhouse is incapable of playing against those guys. I'm not so sure that's true. Also Bulaga was great before he got hurt, but he wasn't stellar last season. It's not a guarantee that Bulaga can block those guys on the left either.
I'm not saying he can't, just that there is a lot of assumption in moving Bulaga to LT.
October 12, 2011 at 12:37 pm
I'm not implying anything, you're inferring. I don't have coaches tape or practice tape so I really can't rail against whatever the staff does. I'm just saying the most talented edge rushers are coming at Rodgers where he can't see them. Get it? He can defend what he sees from the right, not the left. That's all I'm saying.
McCarthy says the tackles are interchangeable, you just watched Newhouse move to the left and perform well, not to mention Sherrod move to the right and perform well. I realize that's not the actual context of what McCarthy means, but they just did it.
All I do know is that Bulaga was playing at a pro bowl level both in the run game and pass pro prior to his injury.
October 12, 2011 at 05:29 pm
Bob McGinn said that Marshall Newhouse will start at LT on the Peter King Podcast... it must be true.