After Friday's preseason contest against the Cardinals, most observers felt that veteran T.J. Lang had come out ahead of rookie Derek Sherrod in their battle for the starting left guard spot.

It would seem Packers head coach Mike McCarthy agrees.

Meeting with reporters after practice, McCarthy named T.J. Lang his starting left guard, indicating that it was Lang's "responsibility" to hold on to the job. McCarthy said that the time had come to solidify his offensive line and that he wanted them to get a significant amount of work in together as a unit both this week leading up to the Colts preseason game but for the remaining weeks before the opener against the Saints.

McCarthy also told reporters that Sherrod had suffered a knee sprain in Friday's game. The rookie could be seen out of pads observing practice today, but McCarthy said he hoped he could still play at Indianapolis. Asked if the injury had essentially made his decision for him at left guard, McCarthy said that Lang's play is what was driving the decision.

With Lang locking down the starting job the Packers head into the 2011 season with a line that reads Chad Clifton, T.J. Lang, Scott Wells, Josh Sitton and Bryan Bulaga. Second year tackle Marshal Newhouse has been working as Clifton's main backup while fellow second year lineman Nick McDonald has been the primary backup at center and along the interior in general. It will be interesting to see if Sherrod can bounce back in such a way as to get in the mix when it comes to the top seven offensive lineman, the number of bodies the Packers usually dress at the position on game day. As things stand, there's a very real possibility that the Packers first round pick could begin the year on the inactive list.