Packers Rookie Center Corey Linsley Has Solid Debut in Seattle

Despite a loss, one of the bright points of the Packers' trip to Seattle was rookie center Corey Linsley. Entering the game, the replacement to J.C. Tretter, who was supposed to be the 2014 replacement to Evan Dietrich-Smith, was a crucial point of focus from outsiders looking in. Even Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin chirped in with a comment, per ESPN.com.

"I'm going to pray for him," Irvin said. "It's going to be a long night, man. We've got to just take advantage of it."

While Linsley now admits that he was a bit shaken by Irvin's pregame name drop, the Seahawk gave him the postgame daps he deserved. And did he ever deserve it.

Lined up against eighth-year veteran Brandon Mebane for a majority of the game, his task was no walk in the park. In the end, Pro Football Focus gave Linsley a positive grade of plus-2.2 for his overall score against the Seahawks (subscription required).

Here's an abridged look at what Linsley received credit for on Thursday night.

Pass Protection

NFL Rewind

Here's a pretty standard play, from the pass-rushing aspect, from the season opener. The Seahawks are sending four to disrupt, while Green Bay has a total of seven blockers. The five offensive linemen and running back Eddie Lacy have full-time blocking assignments on the play. Andrew Quarless, on the other hand, will chip an assigned player before running a route.

Linsley, the first-year player out of Ohio State, is relatively "free" to help out in pass protection. With no one near him, he goes to assist a guard. This happened on a majority of plays against Seattle.

NFL Rewind

Instantly, Linsley flies off the footage with plays such as these. He's very, very good at helping "clean up" an assignment. Running to help T.J. Lang, Linsley gets the rare pass protection pancake. He did this several times on Thursday.

How is he able to make these plays? From a pure measurables standpoint, it's not a difficult answer to find. Undersized, the former Buckeye can fly. Combined with his very strong upper body, which allowed Linsley to rank in the top six percent on the bench press at the NFL scouting combine, it's a great mesh. He's small but quick and can pack a punch.

NFL Rewind

Here's a different look for the center. Instead of having free responsibilities to assist, he has a man directly over him on this rep. Highlighted is the assignment, if it wasn't clear enough already. The defender? Ninth-year veteran Tony McDaniel. Again, no easy task.

With right guard T.J. Lang assisting, rather than the other way around like in the first example, they again flash a nice play in pass protection. Finishing off the defender, Linsley again drops a powerful punch, sending McDaniel, who's been a professional defensive tackle since Linsley was 15, on the ground.

Run Blocking

NFL Rewind

In the running game, Linsley didn't perform as well as in pass protection. Part of this is simply the fact that he's only been in an NFL weight room for a limited amount of time. I don't expect this to improve much in 2014, but the quality of opponents he'll face will certainly drop from the talent he saw Week 1.

Linsley could get much better in this aspect by 2015, but it's rare for rookies to build in-season, as they haven't been conditioned to even handle a 16-game schedule yet.

Here's a fairly standard running play for the Packers. Josh Sitton and Linsley have tight splits on the defensive tackle between them. This usually signifies that there's a double-team waiting for him at the snap. The tandem will work from the double-team to one of them taking the linebacker on the second level. To the right of them, T.J. Lang and Derek Sherrod will do the same. Eddie Lacy is designed to take this ball through the right A-gap, to the immediate right of the center.

NFL Rewind

As you can see, the play didn't go as it was drawn up. Both double-teams were kept for too long. Lang and his defender were also pushed right into the hole. With two relatively inexperienced linemen in, this isn't much of a surprise. Zone blocking involves a lot of chemistry to get the timing of slipping off blocks correctly calibrated.

NFL Rewind

By the time that Eddie Lacy hits the hole, Linsley and his man are right there to meet him. Luckily, Lacy was able to bound the ball outside after hitting Linsley's backside for some yardage. Overall, though, it was a poor showing for the rookie. His inability to drive players after the double-team assist is a bit concerning moving forward. Luckily, he was asked more to wall off defenders rather than drive them in this game.

Parting Thoughts

Corey Linsley had a great first game for a rookie that some didn't even project being called on draft day. With his specialty currently in pass protection, he'll be able to get by between the two current established guards next to him. He has issues driving defensive tackles in the running game, but we'll need to see him play against non-Super Bowl-caliber front sevens before writing him completely off there.

In 2015, you could see a big jump from the Youngstown, Ohio product. Second-year players are usually the ones that see the biggest jump in both strength, in the upper and lower body, and "good weight" departments. Those seem to be the largest issues with Linsley's game at this point. He's very light for an NFL starting center, and his lower body isn't what you'd want it to be.

With quickness and strong arms, Linsley will get through spelling Tretter without major concern. It wouldn't surprise many if he ended up seeing time once Tretter came back, either. With Green Bay on their fourth tackle in Derek Sherrod, Lang may have to move outside from right guard to right tackle. Sherrod, who hasn't played much since the 2011 season, allowed two sacks when coming in for injured starter Bryan Bulaga.

That move would open up a starting role at right guard, which either Tretter or Linsley would be able to play. The question would be surrounding the chemistry of that many moving bodies on the offensive line midseason. Would you rather have your best five out on the line or a unit with established communication?

If Linsley gets called to play guard, hopefully he'll be ready for that, too.