Green Bay Packers: Trust Corey Linsley at Center
By Hunter Noll
The Green Bay Packers offensive line is decent, but clearly has room to improve. That’s where Corey Linsley comes into play.
At one point not that long ago, it seemed like Aaron Rodgers was in mortal danger every play. The Green Bay Packers offensive line tended to let a man through on most occasions, or at least it seemed that way.
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Over the last few seasons, they’ve improved slightly. Last season, they gave up 35 sacks, 15th best in the league. Obviously, there’s till plenty of room for improvement, but at least fans don’t have to close their eyes every play. No one wants to see their quarterback go down, so when it’s someone as good as Rodgers, he needs special protection.
Corey Linsley came into the league in 2014, and became an instant star. He was clearly the center of the future, a great run blocker and above-average pass blocker. The honeymoon period didn’t last long though. In 2015, Linsley showed signs of struggle that weren’t there in 2014. Add on some injury concerns and fans were growing weary. Nothing an offseason couldn’t fix though, right?
Wrong. Linsley injured his hamstring, shortening his 2016 season before it ever began. He returned midway through the year, playing in nine regular season and three playoff games—and played well. However, the injury concerns still linger and an inconsistent 2015 season has to still be on the minds of fans.
What should the Packers do about this? Simple—trust him. The ability to stonewall on the offensive line isn’t easy, seeing a center do it as well as Linsley is capable of is impressive.
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Now, there’s no telling what version of Linsley the Packers will get in 2017. The thing is, even that version of him that “struggled” was above average. When someone dominates though, it’s expected for them to stay that way and anything less is a disappointment. While there’s definitely plenty of room for improvement, Linsley is exactly who they should want at center in 2017.