Bryan Bulaga Likely Out For the Season

For whatever reason, the Green Bay Packers cannot avoid injuries. Sure they happen to every professional team, but Green Bay seems to be a hotbed for multiple key players to get injured.  The 2013 injury bug hit quickly and swiftly as it appears offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga suffered a serious knee injury during Family Night and could miss the entire 2013 season after spending half of the season on Injured Reserve with a hip injury last year.  This is a major loss for the Packers. There is no real way around it, but there are still offensive lineman who might be able to fill the void.

With Bulaga healthy, the Packers offensive line seemed extremely strong heading into the season. Bulaga appeared to be fully recovered from his hip injury and ready to protect the blind side of Aaron Rodgers for the 2013 season. Instead, the Packers will be hoping Marshall Newhouse can be improved from the seasons before or rookie David Bakhtiari lives up to the training camp hype.  

Bulaga is a massive blow to this team due to his overall skill as an offensive lineman. He is one of the best young lineman in the National Football League, but why is everyone convinced he would excel at the left tackle position? Head Coach Mike McCarthy moved Bulaga and Josh Sitton to the left side of the line to have his 'best lineman at the most important positions'. A move that made sense at the time, but there is still somewhat of an unknown with how both would do this season. While both of these man are professionals, moving from right to left tackle is not a surefire successful transition, there is no guarantee Bulaga would have been great yet he still would have been upgrade from Newhouse. 

The former TCU product was practically a dumpster fire at the left tackle position. He allowed 11 sacks on the season and while some of that might be due to Rodgers holding on to the ball too long, Newhouse still struggled in pass protection against some of the best pass rushers in the league. The biggest example of Newhouse's struggles might have been against the New York Giants where Jason Pierre-Paul tossed him around like a ragdoll for four quarters.  Could he improve?  Yes and maybe Sitton next to him will aid him on the inside rush, but that's a limited silver lining. Newhouse will have an attempt to truly redeem himself.   

Every training camp features a couple players looking like superstars out of the gate. People get too excited about this player and then when the season rolls around, he does not live up to the training camp stardom. Bakhtiari, the rookie of Colorado and possibly a member of Kall Drogo's tribe, has shown out so far in training camp. Many people are impressed with his skill set early on and it is believed if Bakhtiari stayed in school another year he would have been a first or second round draft pick. Could he really play left tackle in the NFL?  Maybe during the middle of the season, but definitely not to start out the year. I doubt he starts in the first game at either tackle position unless Don Barclay truly has a bad camp. The future is bright with this player and the Packers line could improve with him later on in the season.

The Packers found ways to win without some of the best players on their team in 2010, 2011, 2012 and they will have to do it again in 2013.

Charlie.