Jersey Al Nails It Re: Bulaga
Jersey Al has done some film breakdown of the first preseason game. His take on Bulaga is particularly good.
By PackerAaron
Our good friend Jeresy Al is a man after my own heart with his film breakdown of the first preseason game.
I could not agree more with his take on Bryan Bulaga:
Bryan Bulaga is an NFL starting lineman. Right now. Bulaga won his one-on-one battles while at guard and at tackle. He also looked noticeably better than Daryn Colledge. Bulaga was a little unsure of himself at guard on a few plays, which is to be expected. But once he found his mark an locked on to someone, they did not get away. I also saw Bulaga do something I haven’t seen from a Packers guard in some time. This was one of my pet peeves last season. In pass coverage, with Wells on the tackle and Clifton taking a blitzing linebacker, as Cleveland sent a defensive back on the edge outside of Clifton, Bulaga quickly slid over behind Clifton to meet the blitzing DB and stop his rush. Simple, effective, and something I just never saw as I would watch the game films last season. I don’t know if we credit Bulaga or the coaches for that, but either way, it’s a very good thing.
Completely agree on that last part - I remember thinking live that Bulaga stepping outside on that play was very impressive. (This Tweet was my live reaction to the play)
Read the whole post. Excellent work from Al overall.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Comments (32)
August 16, 2010 at 10:01 am
I've said it before, will say it over and over again: The kid isn't even half-way through his 21st birthday.....
August 16, 2010 at 10:11 am
Aaron, if you remember, we had a good discussion last year about pass blocking responsibilities. I don't remember the full conversation but didn't it have something to do with a situation like we see on this play?
PackerAaron
August 16, 2010 at 10:26 am
Yep - it's right here: http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/cheesehead-tv-matchup-week-7-offense
I see similarities in what the defense is bringing, but the concepts are pretty different. I actually think we're both right on this one - Bulaga drops down to pick up the outside blitz only after a beat of recognition tells him he has no responsibility in the middle - also, Rodgers gets the ball out of his hands, which was one of my main points in the original post.
August 16, 2010 at 10:33 am
That's veteran level recognition. He processes his 'checkoff' responsibilities very quickly. That is an encouraging sign from a rookie.
That being said, you can really see the urgency he has with that quick kick-slide and hustle as he panicks: 'oh shit, my arms are 1.5" short of the prototype for my position, gotta Pick. Up. The. Pace....'
PackerAaron
August 16, 2010 at 10:56 am
Lol
August 17, 2010 at 07:44 am
Yeah, that was it - but it's not the same situation. In that case the guard had someone to block...
August 16, 2010 at 10:25 am
That's an incredible play from Bulaga, something I didn't notice through my crappy stream, but a play i'll definately be watching closely tonight on NFL Network. Such a savvy play from Bulaga, and at just 21 years old during his first live action at LG, that's incredible. There's no shot that he isn't starting at LG Week 1, he's just too good to keep off the field. Looks like Ted struck gold again : ), like clockwork.
August 16, 2010 at 10:45 am
That slide took a sack situation and turned it into a "Rodgers has all day in the pocket" situation. Great work Bulaga! On a side note, Did you see the quick decision, release and zip on that throw??
August 16, 2010 at 11:02 am
That's the exact type of play that was a Sack 9/10 times last season. MM should get happy pants after watching that play on the film. If Clifton can stay healthy this season, our O-Line should be exceptional.
August 16, 2010 at 11:20 am
It was fantastic the BB fell to us in the draft. When you listen to him talk, he's so well-spoken you believe he's far beyond 21 years old. I've sais for years that TT has needed to invest more talent into the line than mid-round hybrid players, so it is no surprise when we get a true blue-chipper, he is already outstripping our veteran "projects".
August 16, 2010 at 07:58 pm
I was super nervous when Bulaga started to drop and was getting with in range.
It was a great feeling when they picked him, cause 3 months before or even more he was on every single mock draft going very high. And i know mock drafts are not a really good way to "predict" how things will fall, but it lets people like me who doesn't watch alot of College FB to get to know players and what are the trend lines for said players.
And like you said, we needed to invest in actual talent at our line. (rofl at the short arms concern people got after the draft)
cheese5
August 16, 2010 at 11:45 am
that was sweet- nice pickup
August 16, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Can he play OLB? That'd be swell.
August 16, 2010 at 01:03 pm
I'm still concerned who is the backup LT? I get BB may win the LG position but worried how a Clifton injury will effect the OL. How is Newhouse progressing?
What apparentl
PackerAaron
August 16, 2010 at 01:20 pm
Newhouse looked better in the game than he has during practice.
August 16, 2010 at 01:22 pm
I agree. I think Newhouse got some reps at LT afterthe 3rd quarter in that preseason game. His run blocking was great I don't remember much of him from the pass. Can we get some film of him Aaron?
August 16, 2010 at 07:16 pm
Newhouse, can we get some game film on him, and what the coaches say about him?
August 16, 2010 at 01:04 pm
Awareness. What a great quality in a football player. It's nice to see a rookie lineman who doesn't have tunnel vision.
August 16, 2010 at 08:01 pm
Those short arms are clearly limiting him out on the field.
/sarcasm off
Completely agree, guy on 1 preseason game looks like the real deal. Good thing we have 3 more games to finalize our line. But it's the little details like this, that win you the job over the rest imho.
August 16, 2010 at 01:04 pm
PiOn a different to
August 16, 2010 at 01:26 pm
Great work by JerseyAl and thanks for the link Aaron!
This is a true testament to Bulaga's experience in the zone blocking scheme. I just hope this shuts up all the Robert Gallery comparisons.
August 16, 2010 at 02:12 pm
There are only two common denominators between Gallery and Bulaga: Both converted from TE to LT's in college; and both attended the University of Iowa. The comparison ends there. People making the comparison are lazy and likely didn't see either one play a single down of collegiate football.
BTW - Gallery may have been a bust at LT, but he's playing guard at an All-Pro level.
August 16, 2010 at 03:58 pm
Sharp. Very sharp.
It's why cognitive ability is just as important as physical ability.
August 16, 2010 at 04:06 pm
I would put more importance on his ability to get there than his thinking about getting there. That was a quick shuffle once he decided to go.
August 16, 2010 at 05:28 pm
I'd say they were both equally important.
August 17, 2010 at 07:03 am
The feet. So critical for a left tackle. I wonder if Colledge has made taht play. I wonder if he has the feet to do it.
August 16, 2010 at 05:41 pm
Amazingly quick recognition and feet. Wow.
So, here's my question: Was that a result of great awareness at LG from a kid who's just learning the position- or was that the LT in Bulaga taking over the controls when he didn't know what else to do (as a guard)?
Not like it really matters, but I wonder. Great play. Thanks for sharing, Jersey Al.
August 16, 2010 at 06:55 pm
Looked like the move was either called by center or scripted. He was stepping out from the snap. If he thinks that quickly on his feet, I say clone him. Great play either way. Great job Al.
August 16, 2010 at 07:44 pm
I finally got to watch the game and I have to say mike neal is a beast. as far as the Rb situation i would like to see quinn porter or lumpkin make the team and I think that lumpkin would provide a change of pace back with the ability to make quick bursts from the back field. Seems we might have struck gold on the punting problems with the aussi. to early to tell but it looks promising
August 16, 2010 at 10:48 pm
I was at the game in the end zone. What I noticed about BB was he kept looking up and down the line. He was the only lineman moving his head. I kept waiting for him to get a penalty, but just before the snap he'd stop.
I kept waiting for him to make a mistake, too, and he didn't. Cleveland blitzed almost constantly and he did a great job (the whole line did).
If Rodgers gets that kind of time during the year, they'll set the record for points. It was just effortless for him with no pressure.
August 17, 2010 at 12:58 am
I say start our best 5 lineman, deal with injuries and the uncertainty as it happens.
August 17, 2010 at 07:01 am
I'm not sure what the deal is, the video has a lot of rendering errors right now. No one seems to have this but me! :<