Offensive line? Yeah, consider that fixed.
The Packers have signed not one (Cordell Volson), not two (Laken Tomlinson), but three (Mekhi Becton) linemen that nobody else wanted to put on their 53-man roster. Checkmate, everybody else. Contender status has been restored in Green Bay.
Color me underwhelmed by the Packers’ sudden urgent desire to fix their offensive line. Though Brian Gutekunst has seemingly answered fans’ pleas to add to the offensive line, we should have healthy skepticism about any lineman available in late September. The last few seasons of NFL football have shown the world the value of a good offensive line (and the Packers have shown what can happen with a bad one, for that matter), and I don’t think anybody’s just letting good prospects sit at home on their couch when they play a position as important as we understand the line to be.
Still, at least they’re doing something, right? The Packers’ trio of offensive line acquisitions are all former starters. Not all of their previous work is good, mind you, and Tomlinson in particular is well into the “journeyman” phase of his career, though he was once a Pro Bowl caliber player. They may be limited now, but each of them has a more impressive resume than anyone the Packers have put on the field at guard to this point. Even if Tomlinson’s Pro Bowl came when Donovan Jennings still had two seasons of college ball to go, he’s a far sight more accomplished than his younger counterpart.
It boils down to this: at least they’re doing something. Is it too little too late? Quite possibly, even probably. But at least it’s something, and if it makes the Packers more watchable for the rest of the season, they’ll have accomplished something.
Packers working on offensive line from different angles | Packers.com
I like this approach much better than the “don’t work on the offensive line at all” idea they went with for the first three weeks.
Can Mekhi Becton and other veterans signings save Packers offensive line? | Packers Wire
Even if the answer here is “probably not,” trying something is better than not trying anything.
Matt LaFleur believes Packers offense needs to deliver more ‘body blows’ | Packers News ($)
If the Packers can figure out a way to grind out a few yards on the ground, it could open things up for the rest of the offense.
Packers-Buccaneers Matchups: Both Teams Have Huge Advantages | Sports Illustrated
I don’t want to hear about any advantages the Buccaneers have.
How active NFL players continue to redefine all-time sack list | ESPN
This article makes a big deal about how Myles Garrett has averaged 14 sacks a year for the last five seasons, but it doesn’t really focus much on how he’d have to keep up that pace for more than five more seasons to break the all-time sack record, and he’d be 37 by the time he does it.
California duo set Lego World Map record in under 5 hours | UPI
I like a good Lego as much as the next guy, but this is pretty intense.