J.C. Tretter was supposed to be the man in the middle for the Green Bay Packers this season. Then for the second year in a row, he got injured before the season even began. That opened the door for rookie Corey Linsley to become the Packers starting center.
It now looks like it’s going to stay that way.
Prior to the season, Tretter was placed on injured reserve with the designation to return and is eligible to start practicing next week. At the start of the season, it was assumed that when Tretter was ready, he’d replace Linsley in the starting lineup.
The Packers like the second-year player because he is larger and more athletic than Linsley or any other center they’ve had in a while. And if the preseason is any indication, Tretter is also a hell of a run blocker.
But it doesn’t sound like any of that is going to matter. While Linsley has been far from perfect, he’s improved every week and he’s certainly not the liability that, say, Jeff Saturday was a couple seasons ago.
On Friday, Buffoon talked about Linsley like we just watched the start of the Jim Ringo era.
“No one ever wavered because of what you were able to see him do every day in training camp,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s one of those guys as a rookie that came in here and you knew right away he belonged. First day of pads, it was like, ‘Hey man, this guy, he’s a powerful young man. So he fit right in. That’s why I was never worried about him.
“I will say this. If things keep going the way they’re going, I think we’ll look back on this start as probably one of the most impressive situations that a young player has stepped up and performed in my time here — and we’ve had a lot of guys step up.”
So what’s so great about Linsley?
He gets after it and he’s a bit of a mauler. And if Sean Brennan were here right now, I’m sure he’d tell me Corey Linsley has a motor. In plain terms, Linsley doesn’t have the most talent, but he’ll try real hard and probably end up beating the shit out of you.
Might even throw a finger in your eye.
Frankly, we can live with that. The Green Bay Packers don’t have enough guys who will throw a finger in your eye.
Tretter’s future, if he can ever stay healthy, may just reside somewhere else on the line. He’s perfectly capable of playing guard and might just prove to be an upgrade over someone like T.J. Lang.
I’m not really sold on Corey Linsley just yet. He’s been very good overall, but he’s only had one run blocking good game against the “vaunted” Vikings defense.
I wanna see some consistency on that to see if he’s really that good, because the coaches were so high on Tretter for a long time, and he proved he was a downright beast against some very tough defensive lines in the preseason.
In any case, this is a GREAT problem to have!
Chad you write some stupid shit on here sometimes. Linsley has played about as good as you can ask for a rookie center, especially given the D-lines he’s had to go up against the first few weeks. He’s graded out as like the 3rd best center thus far.
But no you’d rather go with the guy who hasn’t played a real down of football in the NFL yet. Preseason, you’re talking about preseason?
I’m with Monty, give him the shot to beat out Lang next year or be the primary interior backup.
What did I say that was SO BAD? I may say things that are very unconvential, which is what I intentionally do every time I write, otherwise, what’s the point?
I said he’s played very good overall, and that this is a great problem to have! How is that a condemnation of Corey???
Our run game has lacked thus far minus the Vikings game, and we need good run blockers. Linsley had one good game against the Vikings, I need to see more to be sure that he can do that consistently, and against tougher teams like the Seahawks (which he failed at) or the Niners.
Starters DO play in the preseason you know! Against the Rams starters, Tretter dominated with his run-blocking, and the coaches have been praising him since last year.
I’m not SAD that Linsley may get the job, if he does all the power to him. I just think that Tretter could still be a little better. By week 9 we will find out.
This guy is becoming one of my favorites. A lifelong Packers fan gets selected by our team, to be a backup center, and gets the call to start that year. And he delivers (so far).
Sherrod is gone after this year. With everyone healthy Barclay and Tretter will be the backups for the offensive line. Barclay T/G and Tretter G/C. It’s not rocket science people..
I may not be the sharpest knife in the crayon box, but I hope Sherrod can turn it around. He hasn’t been healthy or played well, he would be cheap to keep. Bulaga is in a contract year, you never know if he will demand much more money than he’s worth, ergo he walks. And you can never have too many OL back-ups anyway. That being said, our O-line situation looks superb.
I guess the “prayers” from the Seahags worked