bernie Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Packers rebuild line for less than $3 millionBy Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com For the second time in less than a week, the Green Bay Packers have addressed their perilous offensive guard situation, this time adding 10-year veteran Matt O'Dwyer, a tough, in-line blocker whose 2004 season in Tampa Bay was all but wiped out by injury. O'Dwyer O'Dwyer, 32, has agreed to a one-year contract that includes a $25,000 signing bonus and the league minimum base salary of $765,000 for a player of his tenure. Because the so-called "veteran discount" provides teams who sign longtime veterans to minimum contracts, O'Dwyer will count just $455,000 against the Packers' 2005 salary cap. Last week, Green Bay signed former New England backup Adrian Klemm to a two-year, $2.6 million contract, and the five-year veteran is being projected as the team's starting left guard. O'Dwyer will have a chance to win the starting job at right guard. Others competing for the two guard spots include Grey Ruegamer, Kevin Barry and Steve Morley. The Packers lost both starters, left guard Mike Wahle to Carolina and right guard Marco Rivera to Dallas, in the early days of free agency. Their defections, while hardly unexpected, ravaged a starting quintet that had been together for five seasons and which was regarded around the league as one of the NFL's premier blocking units. Green Bay retains three standout linemen -- center Mike Flanagan, left tackle Chad Clifton and right tackle Mark Tauscher -- but filling the guard vacancies had become a priority. Compounding the problem was the fact that the Packers did not have much salary cap room with which to work. In re-signing Ruegamer and adding Klemm and O'Dwyer, the Packers invested just $2.97 million in total compensation for 2005. By comparison, Wahle and Rivera received signing bonuses alone totaling $19 million from their new teams. Certainly assistant coach Larry Beightol, one of the NFL's top line mentors, has his work cut out for him in reshaping the unit. The task will become significantly easier, however, if O'Dwyer and Klemm report to camp healthy. O'Dwyer, whose resumé includes 105 starts, was signed by Tampa Bay last spring as a free agent and penciled in as the starting right guard. But he tore a pectoral muscle while lifting weights in the offseason, and appeared in just four games, with no starts. Green Bay doctors administered O'Dwyer a thorough physical exam when he visited with team officials late last week, and they feel he is fully recovered. A second-round pick by the New York Jets in the 1995 draft, O'Dwyer has made 122 regular-season appearances. He has started all 16 games in five different seasons and was a full-time starter as recently as 2003. The former Northwestern star, always an aggressive blocker in the running game, has played with the Jets (1995-98), Bengals (1999-2003) and Bucs (2004). Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 O'Dwyer played in Cincy for five years. He's nuts, and gets you personal foul penalties. I think he's washed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 The keys here are probably what the plan Bs are for each acquistion if (actually when) age causes them to miss games as most OL players do (I think only1 Bills OL player, if that started all 16 last year). Add to that players simply failing to perform and dragging down the chemistry of the OL (Pucillo probably did as much to hurt MWs development as anything besides his grandma's death) and older players deciding like Cota and Battles did for us that it was just time despite their desires and OK level of play and deciding to retire. This can be down within the limitations of the salary cap because almost by definition younger players have lower salaries, particularly at the UDFA level where the Pack is going to have to troll for back-ups. The Bills experience last year actually provides them with some hope as Pucillo proved to be so bad that we had to look elsewhere and JMac found an inadequate but still better answer from the PS of the Ravens. The Smith jump from the PS of one squad to starting on another team was nothing short of extraordinary as merely making another roster is unusual and actually becoming even a back-up contributor is quite extraordinary. It does not surprise me that Smith was not the starter we needed at LG. However, I think many Bills fans make a mistake in declaring him a failed player: 1. He is a youngster who made an extraordinary leap up in one year and just because he failed to do the impossible does not mean he is done in terms of development or as a player. 2. He had specific problems with run blocking which must be solved if he is be adequate, but the run blocking is generally viewed as the easier skill to grasp rathering than usual problem of pass blocking where he showed the skills which got him noticed. He seems to need to be trained in changing his mental approach to be more aggressive attacking on the run block rather than the more difficult task of physically being a good enough player to show pass blocking skills. 3. JMac clearly has a plan in mind as Smith is actually listed on the roster as a T and filled in for JJ at the end of a game when he experienced one of JJ's numerous game ending nicks. Perhaps his skill at pass blocking will allow him to handle being out on an island against speed rushers at LT and will also elimate the need to be an effective pulling guard if this was the problem with his run game or in the red zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Playfair Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 "In re-signing Ruegamer and adding Klemm and O'Dwyer, the Packers invested just $2.97 million in total compensation for 2005. By comparison, Wahle and Rivera received signing bonuses alone totaling $19 million from their new teams." The Packs experiement will be interesting to watch. With favre back for one more year, they have a lot riding on these "inexpensive" o linemen. I think the bills add 1 more solid o lineman - either via trade, FA, or our no. 2 pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Given the quality of the guards they had before......I wouldnt say they "rebiult it" more like they went swap meet shapping and got some band aids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 "In re-signing Ruegamer and adding Klemm and O'Dwyer, the Packers invested just $2.97 million in total compensation for 2005. By comparison, Wahle and Rivera received signing bonuses alone totaling $19 million from their new teams." The Packs experiement will be interesting to watch. With favre back for one more year, they have a lot riding on these "inexpensive" o linemen. I think the bills add 1 more solid o lineman - either via trade, FA, or our no. 2 pick. 283281[/snapback] It will be interesting. However, Farve certainly "helps" his OL - he's mobile enough, and is very good at tossing the ball on the run or roll-out, and rush avodiance in the pocket. I think that their tackles are more important to them than their guards, a bit more so than several other clubs perhaps. I suspect their concerns re guards is more towards their run game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 It will be interesting. However, Farve certainly "helps" his OL - he's mobile enough, and is very good at tossing the ball on the run or roll-out, and rush avodiance in the pocket. I think that their tackles are more important to them than their guards, a bit more so than several other clubs perhaps. I suspect their concerns re guards is more towards their run game. 283297[/snapback] I agree. It's definitely going to be something to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 How much is it gonna cost to "rebuild" Favre? O'Dwyer was an average OL in his prime, which he's way past. And Klemm is a scrub. Ruegamer is slightly better than Klemm, but that's not saying much. Also it's not like the Packers' center is a spring chicken either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsGuyInMalta Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 If O'Dwyer means rebuilding, I'm glad the Bills are waiting. If we can land Anderson and then trade for Shelton, I'd say our O-Line is pretty damn good. Then draft a center with our 2nd rounder and best available O-Lineman regardless of position with our 3rd rounder and we'll have decent depth too. Shelton, Anderson, Teague, Villarial, Williams looks groovy to me...lets just hope TD can get this done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 How much is it gonna cost to "rebuild" Favre? O'Dwyer was an average OL in his prime, which he's way past. And Klemm is a scrub. Ruegamer is slightly better than Klemm, but that's not saying much. Also it's not like the Packers' center is a spring chicken either. 283574[/snapback] We are talking about Guards here. The Pack's "pyramid" (TCT) is as good as anyone's and I've wondered if that was the reason those 2 guards looked so good. We're going to find out now that they've moved on to "greener" pastures. I don't think it matters much for them in the grand scheme because they may have the worst secondary in NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 If O'Dwyer means rebuilding, I'm glad the Bills are waiting. If we can land Anderson and then trade for Shelton, I'd say our O-Line is pretty damn good. Then draft a center with our 2nd rounder and best available O-Lineman regardless of position with our 3rd rounder and we'll have decent depth too. 283580[/snapback] I can't agree enough with this draft strategy. I don't think it will happen, but you can always hope. We need some good young "talented" prospects to develop on the OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Gandy and Peters ain't rebuilding enough for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Gandy and Peters ain't rebuilding enough for you? 283667[/snapback] Reloading, baby. Reloading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasper13 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I wouldn't say the Packers "rebuilt" their O-Line, I would say they found the three cheapest options they could in Ruegamer, Klemm and O'Dwyer. Not exactly household names. That was more like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipster19 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I thought they loved Farve in GB? What a way to wind down a career! They got nothing but old, beat-up junk in front of him at the G spots (oops, no pun intended). Watching teams like GB go out and either pay for dented trash cans or pay outrageous amounts of money for just decent/good players, then I'll be more than willing to sit back and wait until the season starts to see what our O-line will consists of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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