It was their problem last year. And it's their problem this year.

The Packers don't have one, single guy on their offensive line that should be an NFL starter.

That includes Colledge, who I've never liked. Some people like him for some reason though, but all you have to do is go back and watch the 2008 season and see that Colledge was very inconsistent. The majority of his games in which he played weren't good. And he's carrying that same level of play into the 2009 season. Colledge is a journeyman, OL backup.

Since we have nobody to rely on, I thought I'd highlight some notable FA's OL for 2010. Because we don't have time to build up OL through the draft. We've been trying that for quite a few years. It's time to pull out the big bucks and splurge a little on a couple center-pieces, because the rest of the team is ready right now.

2010 OL FREE AGENTS

Max Jean-Giles, PHI
Logan Mankins, NE
Chris Snee, NYG
John Tait, CHI
Eric Winston, HOU
Jeremy Trueblood, TB

All of those guys are better then what we have, by far. I'm already looking forward to FA hoping we get one of those guys.

In the meantime, hopefully we can get by with the swiss cheese line that we currently have.

Will Thompson open up the Packer's wallet for some FA talent next year? With the possibility of an uncapped year, I highly doubt we get any top-tier guys.

Come on, by know we all know the answer to this.

BTW, Sneed is Tom Coughlin's son-in-law...

With or without an uncapped year, no chance of signings.

Too bad. He would be a great addition. Considering who we have passed up on already, I doubt Thompson would seriously consider adding him.

Vots, the Packers don't have a single member of the OL that should be an NFL starter? Spitz, Colledge and Clifton would beg to differ. Growing pains are a real problem.

Now, as far as FA bandaids- there are 14 more games to go. Lets see if the situation improves, because, quite frankly, there is no other choice. The long off-season will be the real time to see who is available, their asking price, and whether they would be a good fit for the team.

Your top 2 guys (Logan Mankins and Chris Snee) will never hit the open market IMO. I think that they are both too valuable to their teams for them to be allowed to leave. I think they sign new deals or get franchised. Despite that, next year could be a banner year for adding some veteran offensive line help.

Along with Chad Clifton, Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz, there's a lot of guys who's contracts expire in 2010. . . some of them are bound to make it to the open market.

OT: Jared Gaither (Baltimore Ravens - RFA who will likely get a 1st & 3rd round tender)
OG: Jahri Evans (New Orleans Saints - Future Pro Bowler IMO)
OT: Alex Barron (St. Louis Rams - Can play both right and left tackle)
OT: Marcus McNeill (San Diego Chargers - Pro Bowler with serious injury concerns)
OT: Jammal Brown (New Orleans Saints - Another Pro Bowler with injury concerns)
OT: Donald Penn (Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Got a 1st & 3rd round tender as a RFA)
OT: Winston Justice (Philadelphia Eagles)
OT: Tyson Clabo (Atlanta Falcons)
OT: Eric Winston (Houston Texans)
C/G: Chris Chester (Baltimore Ravens)
T/G: Charlie Johnson (Indianapolis Colts)
C/G: David Baas (San Francisco 49ers - Played for McCarthy in 2005)
OG: Max Jean-Giles (Philadelphia Eagles)
OT: Jeremy Trueblood (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
OT: Tony Pashos (San Francisco 49ers)
C/G: Richie Incognito (St. Louis Rams)
OT: Andrew Whitworth (Cincinnati Bengals)
T/G: Pat McQuistan (Dallas Cowboys)
T/G: Paul McQuistan (Oakland Raiders)
OG: Evan Mathis (Cincinnati Bengals)

Also, there are a number of players who might get cut next year like Eric Steinbach and Robert Gallery (both of whom played for Joe Philbin in college) that might end up being decent acquisitions.

No, they don't. Clifton was the only viable starter last year when he wasn't banged up, but he's hitting the wall, his body can't keep up. Now, Colledge is probably the most over rated player among Packers fans. Just go back and watch his film, that's all I'm going to say. And Spitz is inconsistent as Colledge, with more bad then good games as well, and with an awful '08 season. Spitz and Colledge are both in their 4th years and they're still not showing any type of real progression to become an NFL starter.

The team is ready now. We've got the offense, Grant is good. You know he's good when he can average 4.0 ypc behind this line last year. It looks like we've got a good defense learning the transition. The only thing holding us back is the line. It's causing a domino effect.

Sure TT hasn't spent money on FA's, but sometimes you need to change your plan. Spitz and Colledge weren't that bad when Clifton and Tauscher were still playing at a high level. If we were to get 2 premier tackles, we could get by with Spitz and Colledge. I know I'm talking about a lost cause here in terms of TT signing a FA, but one can dream can't I?

I agree with most of this. Colledge can not run block. How many of Grant's run for loss last year were 4+ yards in the backfield where he couldn't make a move because Colledge's guy is already in the backfield? Can't do much when you get even get square to run forward. I think this is Clifton's last year where he can be an average starter at tackle.

This week, I'm going to be keeping a close eye on Alex Barron and Richie Incognito as they battle with the Packers. Both players will be UFA this offseason and I think that Alex Barron in particular could possibly end up being a potential replacement for Chad Clifton as a younger option at LT. He won't be cheap to acquire, but he may very well end up being worth the investment. He was highly touted coming out of college and struggled early after switching to the right side of the line. He flipped back over to LT this season with Orlando Pace being cut and might need some time to make the adjustment. He turns 27 next week and has a lot of starting experience. The Rams have been a bad team for several years, but I don't know how much (or how little) Alex Barron played into that. He seems to be an above average player who is strong in both the passing and running game.

I live in Rams country and Rams fans hate Alex Barron, they say he's a bust. Not worth our time. Incognito is also just a journeyman and we already have a handful of those.

Thanks. I knew that he hadn't played up to expectations to this point. The only thing that I wonder is if he's really as bad as their fans think he is. If I recall correctly, they called Ryan Pickett a bust and they weren't sad to see Brandon Chillar go either. . . but both have been good acquisitions for the Packers. My personal opinion is that film is the only way to determine if a guy can play for you. I don't really care what any team's fans think about their players. Too often they really don't have any idea if a guy is actually good or not.

[quote name='Ellis269' date='Sep 22 2009, 04:56 PM' post='266960']
Your top 2 guys (Logan Mankins and Chris Snee) will never hit the open market IMO. I think that they are both too valuable to their teams for them to be allowed to leave. I think they sign new deals or get franchised. Despite that, next year could be a banner year for adding some veteran offensive line help.

Along with Chad Clifton, Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz, there's a lot of guys who's contracts expire in 2010. . . some of them are bound to make it to the open market.

Colledge and Spitz will more than likely NOT hit the open market. With the current CBA standing both of these players will be restricted and I can't see another team giving the Pack a pick to sign them. I didn't look very closely at your list of players but I'm willing to bet that many of them will fall in the same situation as Colledge and Spitz. I think a lot of players will not be hitting the open market that were expecting to get paid next year.

Actually, that's an excellent point. Anyone drafted in 2005 or later will still be a RFA if the CBA isn't extended. Good call. I'm pretty sure that includes about 98% of my list. I still think that there's a better than 50/50 chance that it gets extended before that happens, but if not then my list is pretty much completely worthless.

Things haven't changed in 5 years with TT here. I wouldn't hold my breath with any oline signings.