The debacle that took place on Saturday night in San Francisco reiterates the need for solid play within the trenches, namely, the offensive line.

What happened against the 49ers was a microcosm of last year.  An offensive line with tackle bookends that are the mainstay and an interior that remains jumbled and subpar.  Daryn Colledge still gets manhandled at times and looks inadequate.  Jason Spitz doesn’t impress.  Josh Sitton, who made a positive impression vs. Cincinnati , was brutalized just 6 days later in Frisco.  Allen Barbre, Junius Coston and Orin Thompson are interchangeable inadequacy. Scotty Wells, where everything begins, is coming back from injury so he’ll get a pass for 6 additional days and we’ll discuss him after the Denver game.  Add in the fact that Clifton is slow and Tauscher’s getting a little older, yet still looks like he’s 14 years of age in the face, it all equals a huge question mark for Mike McCarthy and, more importantly, Aaron Rodgers.

4 sacks are simply unacceptable.  One of those sacks you can attribute to Rodgers inability to get rid of the ball quickly but you can also point a finger at the receivers capability, or lack there of, to get separation from their defenders.

Last year started out very similarly.  The O line was being questioned as to whether or not they were able to “get” the zone blocking scheme.  Mike McCarthy’s system was coming under fire.  I remember last year, week 3 or 4 maybe, standing on the sidelines of the Don Hutson center with Larry McCarren and asking him, “Am I missing something?  Why can’t this group seem to get the zone blocking scheme?”  Larry’s answer, “It’s not that dam difficult.”  Even with Brett Favre last season the offense struggled early.  Against the Eagles they only racked up 46 yards rushing.  They put up impressive numbers in week 2 vs. the Giants in the Meadowlands but they did it mostly through the air (286 yards and 3 TDs) and really weren’t impressive on the ground (83 yards on 29 carries).  Week 3 was a big win over the San Diego Chargers but the O line wasn’t able to open up holes via the run game (42 total yards rushing).  The next week against Minnesota was about the same (46 yards rushing).  It wasn’t until the Bears came to town did the Packers break the century mark via the run but ultimately took a 27-20 loss.  The trilogy goes on until week 7 when the Packers finally busted out with a run game that resembled something solid.

My point to all of this is, “Don’t completely jump ship yet on the offense, it’s a timing issue and a work in progress yet again”.  The difference between last year and this year is the trigger man, Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has to get into a rhythm and release the ball a second quicker and his lineman have to realize that Brett’s not under center and they’re going to have to actually hold a block, in passing situations, a second longer.  Easier said than done but necessary.

Note to the receiving corps:  Get into the film room WITH Rodgers and work together.  Last year, one of the complaints that Brett had was that not everyone was willing to spend the extended time necessary to become better as a unit.  You know who you are.  The necessity for cohesion is more important than ever this season.