A Scout's Take on Guard Josh Sitton of the Packers

When the 3-2 Green Bay Packers take on the 2-2 Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium, left guard Josh Sitton will be returning to his native state of Florida.

Sitton was born in Jacksonville but played his high school football in Pensacola. When it was time to go to college, Sitton went to Central Florida, where he was named first-team All-Conference USA his senior year.

In 2008, the Packers drafted Sitton in the fourth round with a compensatory pick. No. 71 played in 11 games his rookie season, including two starts.

Since then, Sitton has started every one of the 83 games he has ever played in with the Packers. Sitton played right guard the first five years of his career in Green Bay, but he switched over to left guard in 2013.

Sitton is considered one of the better guards in the NFL and has been recognized for his play. In 2012, Sitton was named to the Pro Bowl. He was also a Pro Bowl alternate in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

In 2010, Sitton was named the Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFL Alumni Association.

Last season, Sitton was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.

No. 71 was also named to the Pro Football Writers of America's All-NFC team in 2013.

When I had yet another opportunity to talk with scout Chris Landry on Friday on 620 WDAE's The Steve Duemig Show, I wanted to get Landry's take on the play of Sitton.

I asked Landry if he felt that Sitton was one of the elite guards in football.

"He is. He's very good and he's graded out extremely well," Landry said. "I do put him in that upper echelon. He's consistently been graded in the red area and at times in blue. He's really good. Really solid in both the run and the pass game. He's been very positive for them (the Packers)."

Hopefully it will be a positive trip back to Florida for Sitton on Sunday, as the Packers will play in the heat and humidity in south Florida, where the temperature is supposed to be in the mid-to-upper 80s.

Those are conditions that Sitton grew up in and has played through in both high school and college.

Hopefully his teammates will be able to handle those sultry conditions on Sunday versus the Dolphins. Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote a piece about the history of the Packers playing in the heat of south Florida.

The Packers have won just once in their seven trips to Miami and that was in 2006, which is the last time Green Bay was in south Florida.

Mike McCarthy was in his first year as head coach of the Packers then and the weather that day was very similar to what the forecast is for this Sunday.

Expect the training staff of the Packers to have the players well-hydrated during the game.

Bottom line, this will be the first of two homecomings for Sitton. The Packers will return to the Sunshine State just before Christmas, when the Packers travel to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers on December 21.

Who says you can't go home again?