Green Bay Packers: Rookie report entering final stretch of season

Jason Spriggs

In the first half of the season, we didn’t see much of Spriggs. That was a good thing; it meant the guys ahead of him were staying healthy and effective.

For about a month of games though, that has changed.

T.J. Lang only made it four snaps into the Tennessee game before he was forced out with an injury (at first thought to be an ankle sprain, it actually turned out to be a broken foot). At first, Don Barclay was the pick to replace him while he healed, but after essentially six quarters of awfulness, Spriggs was tabbed to step in the right guard spot instead.

Spriggs hasn’t exactly been superb in his starter snaps (PFF grades him as replacement level since he started receiving this jump in playtime), but he’s still a drastic step up from what Barclay provided.

The change to Spriggs from Barclay was instantly noticeable. In the first half of the game against Washington, Barclay was a monstrous sieve. Every single play seemed to end up with his guy immediately pressuring Rodgers; with that, we saw Green Bay struggle to three straight three-and-outs to open the game before finding a couple scoring drives to end the half.

After halftime, though Washington pulled away for a blowout, the offense was able to consistently move the ball with Spriggs’ insertion in Barclay’s spot. Green Bay had no more punts, driving the ball at least 51 yards on their first four drives of that half. They scored twice, and probably should have scored on all four opportunities; the only reason they didn’t was due to Mason Crosby missing a field goal on the first one and Jared Cook fumbling on the fourth.

After that, the Packers were able to come out victorious, and the fact that Rodgers had time was a key factor. The game against the Eagles had Fletcher Cox lining up on Spriggs’ side throughout the game; he had a single tackle and struggled to force pressure. Against Houston, Vince Wilfork and Antonio Smith were on the other side. They combined for three tackles and a QB hit. Though he undoubtedly had some help in each case, Spriggs was a key part of both of those positive showings for Green Bay.

The time Spriggs has gotten is great for his future development, and he’s proven capable of taking over duties at more than just tackle if necessary. That will be great for future seasons as a backup, and also could give him a surprise starting role as soon as next year (just look at Lane Taylor; he turned a couple spot starts last year into being a viable and eventual option to replace Josh Sitton once things turned sour on that front).

On the more immediate front, if Lang or someone else were to get taken down by an injury again during this stretch run (remember, Bulaga has a long history of injuries himself), Spriggs has given his coaches and teammates evidence that he could step right in and help keep the protection churning effectively for his quarterback.