Green Bay Packers: Every Super Bowl Championship Team Had O-Line Woes

The Green Bay Packers were given another devastating injury blow to their roster earlier this week when the team was forced to put starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga on injured reserve because of a dislocated hip.

Bulaga was the seventh player the Packers have had to place on IR so far in 2012.

The Packers are now utilizing T.J. Lang at right tackle in place of Bulaga and are using Evan Dietrich-Smith at left guard—Lang's former position.

The other starters on the offensive line remain the same:

Left Tackle- Marshall Newhouse

Center- Jeff Saturday

Right Guard- Josh Sitton

However, the Packers are now painfully inexperienced with the backups on the offensive line—they are two undrafted rookies, in fact. Don Barclay is the key backup at offensive tackle, while Greg Van Roten is the key backup at guard.

Also, the Packers might be able to bring back offensive tackle Derek Sherrod (first-round pick in 2011) in a couple of weeks. Sherrod (broken leg) started the season on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list.

Currently, Sherrod is practicing and the team has two weeks to determine if he is healthy enough to be brought on to the roster, or if he will be placed on IR. 

But as bad as it might seem, the Packers have experienced this before, with all of the offensive lines that ended up as Super Bowl champions.

Let's take a look at those offensive lines from the past who battled in the trenches and ended up winning the biggest game of them all in the NFL.

Super Bowl I Championship Team

The starting offensive line for the Packers in Super Bowl I:

Left Tackle- Bob Skoronski

Left Guard- Fuzzy Thurston

Center- Bill Curry

Right Guard- Jerry Kramer

Right Tackle- Forrest Gregg

The 1966 offensive line of the Packers featured some of the best players to ever play in the NFL. Forrest Gregg ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while Jerry Kramer should DEFINITELY be in Canton as well.

Fuzzy Thurston (four-time All-Pro) and Bob Skoronski also deserve consideration for the Hall too.

But in the 1966 season, a season in which the Packers were 12-2, the position on the offensive line that was in flux was at center.

The starting center from 1965, Ken Bowman, had suffered a shoulder injury, and second-year center Bill Curry had to take his place.

Curry did a fine job overall, as the 1966 team was one of the best teams from the Vince Lombardi era.

The final result?

A 35-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I.

Super Bowl II Championship Team

The starting offensive line for the Packers in Super Bowl II:

Left Tackle- Bob Skoronski

Left Guard- Gale Gillingham

Center- Ken Bowman

Right Guard- Jerry Kramer

Right Tackle- Forrest Gregg

The 1967 Green Bay Packers faced a lot of adversity. Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung were gone, plus both of their replacements, Jim Grabowski and Elijah Pitts, suffered season-ending injuries in the same game in the middle of the season.

In addition to that, quarterback Bart Starr (the NFL MVP in 1966) was suffering through a bunch of injuries early in the season.

The offensive line was affected too.

Early in training camp, left guard Fuzzy Thurston suffered a knee injury in a scrimmage. Thurston was replaced by second-year lineman Gale Gillingham, who played very well in Thurston's absence.

Gillingham is another player who deserves consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as he was a six-time All-Pro in his career.

The Packers also made a brief change at the center position in the season, as Bowman was replaced by rookie Bob Hyland for a short time before gaining his position back.

The 1967 team (9-4-1) was the last team coached by Vince Lombardi in Green Bay, and the season ended with a win in the legendary Ice Bowl and then with a resounding 33-14 triumph versus the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II.

Super Bowl XXXI Championship Team

The starting offensive line for the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI:

Left Tackle- Bruce Wilkerson

Left Guard- Aaron Taylor

Center- Frank Winters

Right Guard- Adam Timmerman

Right Tackle- Earl Dotson 

The 1996 Green Bay Packers (13-3) were once of the best teams ever in the history of the storied franchise.

The Packers had the No.1 offense in the NFL, as well as the No. 1 defense. The same was true of special teams, led by kick returner Desmond Howard, who led the NFL in punt returns that year, while also returning three of those punts for touchdowns.

Offensively, the Packers were led by NFL MVP Brett Favre. The defense was led by Reggie White, the All-Pro defensive end.

As good as the Packers were offensively, the left tackle position was a real mess.

Four different players started at left tackle for the Packers in 1996. First it was rookie John Michels, who started nine games, but his inconsistent play led to a place on the bench.

The Packers then tried 12-year veteran Ken Ruettgers at left tackle (started the season on the PUP list), but numerous injuries had taken a toll on Ruettgers (who was a Pro Bowl-level player when he was healthy), and he had to retire after playing in only four games (one start) that Super Bowl-winning season.

The Packers then tried Gary Brown at left tackle before finally settling on veteran Bruce Wilkerson, who started the final two regular season games and all of the postseason games for the Pack.

All that led to the Packers beating the New England Patriots 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI.

Super Bowl XLV Championship Team

The starting offensive line for the Packers in Super Bowl XLV:

Left Tackle- Chad Clifton

Left Guard- Daryn Colledge

Center- Scott Wells

Right Guard- Josh Sitton

Right Tackle- Bryan Bulaga

The 2010 Green Bay Packers (10-6) were a team that suffered numerous injuries. In fact, the team placed 15 players on injured reserve that season.

The Packers were led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the team to victories in their last two games of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. Once in the postseason, the Packers then had to win three road games at very difficult venues to advance to Super Bowl XLV.

The injury issues affected the offensive line too.

Right tackle Mark Tauscher suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4 of the 2010 season and was replaced by rookie Bryan Bulaga.

Luckily for the Packers, their other bookend at offensive tackle, Chad Clifton, was able to start all 16 games of the regular season and all four playoff games at left tackle.

The other three offensive linemen, Daryn Colledge, Scott Wells and Josh Sitton, were also able to start all regular season and all postseason games.

The 2010 journey ended when the Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV to win their fourth Super Bowl title.