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They’re pretty sure about four of their offensive linemen: Left tackle Chad Clifton, right tackle Mark Tauscher, center Scott Wells and Jason Spitz — wherever he might end up.
But the fifth? Like D-Wade trying to make Sir Charles’ faves, it’s not easy.
For the Packers’ second preseason game against San Francisco on Saturday night, Spitz will start at left guard while rookie fourth-round pick Josh Sitton will make his second straight start at right guard.
In the exhibition opener against Cincinnati, Spitz started at center for Wells, who was out with a back injury, while Sitton started in Spitz’s customary right guard spot and Daryn Colledge got the nod over Allen Barbre at left guard.
Don’t feel bad if all that seems a little confusing.
“Ideally, you’d like to have (the lineup) set yesterday, but that’s not the case,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “(But) those questions will be answered based on how they play.”
And so far, no one has truly seized the final spot. Colledge and Barbre entered camp going head-to-head for the left guard job, and they rotated on Monday night before Colledge relieved Clifton at left tackle. Spitz, meanwhile, now has played all three interior spots on the line — and still isn’t 100 percent assured of a starting gig, even though McCarthy called him “our most consistent player last year” and he’s shown he can adjust to being moved around.
“I just go where I’m told,” Spitz said. “I’m an easy guy — just tell me where to play and I’ll play there.
“I can’t really control who the starting five are. The only thing I can control is how I play. If I come out and play my game, do what I’m asked to do, then hopefully I’m in the lineup.”
Said McCarthy: “It’s competition. That’s really all it is.”
And the coaches are inclined to let it play out for at least another week. While offensive coordinator Joe Philbin acknowledged that the 6-foot-3, 317-pound Sitton struggled at times against the Bengals — he started the game with a false start and had
several other errors — the coaches didn’t bench him, unlike in 2006, when Colledge was replaced after a poor showing in the preseason opener because the staff wanted to commit to starters early.
“I don’t know (for sure) that Josh Sitton’s the No. 1 right guard. I’m not going to say that. He’s competing like everybody else for a job,” Philbin said. “But if you look back two years ago, I don’t want to say we were in a desperate situation, but it was a little different than we’re in today. There was a sense of urgency that we had to get guys lined up, (whereas) now, we’ve got guys who’ve played some games at guard.
“We just have to see how the whole thing shakes out. To be honest with you, we’ve got a little more time to see how this thing unfolds. I’m in no rush.”
While Sitton, a four-year starter at Central Florida, said his approach remains the same — “My main goal right now is just make the team,” he said, “because you’re always saying in the back of your head, ’There could be someone better than me, there could be someone better than me“’ — Colledge is trying not to become frustrated with his uncertain situation, despite his 30 regular-season starts (including playoffs) in his first two NFL seasons.
“It is what it is. I go to work every day, they tell me what position to play and I bust my (expletive) at that position and try to get better,” said Colledge, who worked some with the No. 1 line at right and left guard during Thursday morning’s practice. “The versatility, in the long term, it’ll help me in my career. Hey, I know what kind of player I am. I know the potential I have and I know how I feel right now. I feel good. I feel like this is a better year than my first two have been.
“(The coaches) want to try different combinations. I’m sure they’d love to have five guys that step up and are going to be the five dudes. And I’d love to be one of those dudes. For some reason right now, I’m not being that guy. I have to figure out what that reason is and what it takes to be the starting left guard here, and I’m going to bust my (expletive) here until I figure that out.”
