Column: RICK SOLEM
ricks@mwfbroadcasting.com
Nobody cares about the offensive line.
Nobody, except the quarterback and running back.
Nobody, except the Green Bay Packers brass, who just made Aaron Rodges the highest paid player in the NFL.
And now, the Packers starting left tackle – the most important position on the line – is out of the season, tore his ACL during … wait for it … Family Night.
It’s almost stupid.
On Family Night, a full-contact scrimmage, at Lambeau Field on Saturday, Bryan Bulaga, third-year lineman, tore his ACL and is done for the season.
Maybe it’s time to just go straight to playing the games.
Everyone makes such a big deal about preseason games – let alone an intra-squad scrimmage – and the unnecessary risk to injury for teams that have millions invested in these players.
Well, now the Packers have lost a player they invested into protecting their biggest investment.
But this isn’t that big a blow to Green Bay. Rodgers is used to being sacked. He was sacked more than anyone in the league last year (50 times) and more than anyone in the last five season (202), and Bulaga missed the last nine games of last season.
So, nothing changes.
Rodgers will run around like a chicken with his head cut off – wait, that was Brett Favre. Rodgers will run around and try not to get his head taken off, while the Packers offense continues to roll.
Green Bay has some options. I’m not going to bore you too much with what they are – refer to the first line of this article. You’re welcome.
But one of the big ones coming out is replacing Bulaga with rookie David Bakhtiari, since the staff has talked about how well he’s played so far in training camp.
Then again, how often does the team talk about how awful one of their high draft picks has done and what a mistake it was to draft him? Never.
So, here it is: Out Bulaga, who missed nine games last year and four games the year before. In Bakhtiari, a rookie who is getting public praises by the coaching staff for whatever that’s worth … we’re also just over a week into camp.
Let’s pray Rodgers is as durable as that other quarterback the Packers had once. What was his name? My dad calls him Bart Favor. My dad also calls No. 12 Brett Rodgers. My dad thinks he’s funny.