Cory's Corner: Adam Stenavich Has Put OL In Right Place
Steno has pulled all the right strings when it comes to versatility.
The Packers offensive line was No. 2 in the 2020 Pro Football Focus positional rankings. That unit was ranked No. 6 in 2019, No. 7 in 2018 and No. 13 in 2017.
Green Bay’s offensive line was good, but it wasn’t mouth wide open unreal.
Then Adam Stenavich came to town. He has been the Packers offensive line coach since 2019 and each year the ranking has gone up.
“Steno’s been a part of this scheme before, going way back to Houston, back in 2008, 2009,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur earlier this season. “So he has a great understanding of why we’re doing exactly what we’re trying to get done, and how to articulate that and teach that. Whether it’s our inside zone, our outside zone, our protection scheme, he understands the whole picture. And that’s why we hired him.”
What was interesting about Stenavich is that he had Wisconsin roots after playing high school ball at Marshfield. But his biggest strength was as a juggler. Thanks to injuries, the offensive line had seven different starting combinations last year. That’s a tough transition for veteran coaches let alone coaches trying to negotiate their sophomore season.
“We’ve had a lot of people play different positions,” said Rick Wagner this past season, who started nine games at right tackle. “Every week, it seems like somebody’s playing the opposite side or a new position. It just shows how good of a coach Steno is. Getting us prepared every week against different defenses, putting a game plan together for us that we have confidence in every week, he does a great job getting us on the same page.”
Now that Stenavich is entering his third season with the Packers, the sky's the limit for this crew. Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon will make blocking as easy as possible and all Stenavich has to do is put the pieces together.
The Packers have an elite quarterback, running back and wide out. Winning the battle each down is critical to success in the NFL and Stenavich has proven it takes more than good players to assemble a great offensive line. You also need an uncanny ability to put those pieces together and work as one cohesive unit.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (14)
Bure9620
July 06, 2021 at 06:47 am
Yes he has. Aaron Rodgers had the best pass protection win rate in the league last year. Run blocking has improved significantly under Stenovich as well. Maybe this contributed to Aaron Rodgers having an MVP season..........just maybe
dekan51
July 06, 2021 at 10:18 am
YES!!!!
AR was lights out in 2016, hurt in 2017, average (by all stats that count) in 2018 and 2019. So it was not surprising that after 3 so-so seasons, the Pack drafted a QB they had rated very high late in round 1 (also, this was after the 2 WR's they had targeted were off the board). So after that, the OL gave AR more time, gave RB's more lanes, and we kicked ass. Yes, the entire team, coaching staff, and front office contributed mightily to AR's MVP season....
Leatherhead
July 06, 2021 at 01:42 pm
Rodgers did have a normal-ish 2019……and we went 13-3 and made it to the Championship game.
About 5 or 6 games into the season, you could tell that Rodgers had decided he’d throw it away rather than take hits by extending plays. And he’s continued, and that’s part of the pass blocking metric.
High School, college, or pros, QBs play better when they have time. Running backs do better when there’s good blocking.
I’ve thought we’ve had a pretty good line ever since 2000, when we drafted Franks, Clifton, and Tauscher. Those guys could get guys blocked. And we’ve never had a “bad” line since. Sitton, Lang, Bulaga….we’ve had a lot of good linemen on this team over the last 20 years
This year….there’s a lot of guys who can get their man blocked. Lewis, Lazard, Bakhtiari, Jenkins and Turner have proven they can do the job. If one of the rookies is a horse, we’re gonna move meat at the line. We could be as good as the 2003 line.
LambeauPlain
July 06, 2021 at 10:38 am
I believe it takes all 11 on the field to stack winning plays and eventually win the game....not just "12".
Guam
July 06, 2021 at 07:17 am
Stenavich has done a wonderful job putting the five best O-linemen on the field and in the right positions. Now I want to see him coach up the young guys and turn them into highly competent starters. I saw elements of that last year with Runyon, but want to see more. If he succeeds with the young guys as well as he has done with his juggling, he will be the best O-line coach in the league IMHO.
Roadrunner23
July 06, 2021 at 07:17 am
Steno was one of MLF best coaching hires along with Hackett.
Hopefully Joe Barry and Mo Drayton are the next two great hires as well!
Go Pack!
dobber
July 06, 2021 at 10:30 am
Some were very critical of the Stenavich hire when it happened because he had limited NFL experience and a short college coaching resume. This sounds like a situation where LaF's connections to Kyle Shanahan in SF bought him insight to a real gem. Stenavich is only 38, and is a Wisconsin native, which gives one hope that he'll be coaching OL in GB for a long time.
flackcatcher
July 06, 2021 at 11:41 am
It helps a great deal when the bulk of your group is veterans. Guys who have been coached up in three different blocking schemes by the time Stenavich got to Green Bay. I like Stenavich, but let's be careful here. The real test comes with all the 1st and second years, who will at some point be in the starting lineup. Campen had Bahk, Bugula, Tretter and Lindsey to name a few. While Jenkins, Turner, Patrick and Bahk are back, there are more questions than answers in the offensive line for now.
dobber
July 06, 2021 at 12:50 pm
Can't deny that it's easier to look good when you've got good stock, and the real test will be what he does now that he's lost an all pro to free agency and needs to put together a quality line until #69 is back. You're on the mark, there. Still, it appears that Turner has gotten better each year, Patrick has turned into a credible starter, Runyan wasn't a train wreck when he had to play, and certainly Jenkins is on a stellar trajectory. This group has--over the last two years--been a strength when it could regress. I feel pretty good in giving Stenavich an A for his work so far.
Coldworld
July 06, 2021 at 05:59 pm
That’s how I feel as well at this point. This season will, however, likely give us a rare opportunity to see what he can winnow from a huge crop of young linemen. That could give us a definitive answer.
LambeauPlain
July 06, 2021 at 10:46 am
Stenovich, when hired, had me saying "WHO?"
I really thought losing Campen created a big hole. Silly me. Matt makes good decisions and he got his man to teach the OL. It is a young group but a talented, versatile, well schooled room too. That has a lot to do with coaching and the culture instilled.
Also a shout out to Luke Butkus, Asst. OL Coach. I am hearing the players really like Luke too. He seems to have the demeanor, that when he tells you something...you are going to do it!
dobber
July 06, 2021 at 12:53 pm
Absolutely--Campen had turned out good OLs over the years (even though he got a some flack early in his run in GB). It's hard to run an offense without a good OL.
You make a great point: Butkus came in the same point as Stenavich, and it might make you wonder if he should be getting as much credit as Stenavich. I certainly would not be surprised to see teams try to poach Butkus off this staff before long.
HarryHodag
July 06, 2021 at 11:16 am
The old ball coach growled at me one time, 'it all starts with the offensive line'. His theory was the offensive line sets the tone for the overall game. If the line enables ball control you get field position and timely scoring.
There are other theories, of course, but the whole team often goes in the direction of the offensive line.
porupack
July 06, 2021 at 02:03 pm
3 decades of great QB play, but underappreciated is about two decades of great Olines, despite quite a lot of new faces over that span. A real testament to coaching, patient developing, and a constant balance of mentoring with 3 stalwarths at least to keep bringing up new guys. This is impressive, considering GB picks OL players in the mid rounds, and bottom of such rounds at that. Kudos for highlight on Stenovich for us, on the heels of Campen.