Breaking Down J.C. Tretter's 1st NFL Appearance vs. the Chicago Bears
In "garbage time" against the Chicago Bears, J.C. Tretter, the second-year lineman from Cornell, finally made his NFL debut. After battling through injuries for the better part of two seasons, he was played in a reserve role as a left guard when starting left guard Josh Sitton came out of the game late in the third quarter (due to the 48-7 lead that the Green Bay Packers had built).
In the preseason, Tretter was the starting center for the squad. In his absence, fifth-round rookie Corey Linsley took over the job. According to Bleacher Report's Dan Hope, Linsley is currently the eighth-best rookie in the NFL.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
At this point, Tretter seems like the sixth-man on the offensive line. No one knows what the future holds for him, as Green Bay's offensive line is currently set for the season, but the Packers control his destiny (and general manager Ted Thompson won't let talent go to waste).
To do the math on his career projection, you have to look at how he plays. Against the Bears, three specific notes stood out from his effort on Sunday night.
Making blocks on the second level
Green Bay came into this play with a strong-right formation that featured a fullback—John Kuhn—in the backfield. Chicago, to combat the run-heavy look, played their base 4-3 defense.
The assignments on the play were pretty clear. The right guard and center worked together on the man in the play-side A-gap, eventually sending one of them—on this play the right guard—to the second level.
On the opposite side, the left guard and left tackle worked on a double-team on the defensive tackle in the back-side B-gap. Tretter would be sent to the second level to block a linebacker after the initial push on the double-team.
Everyone else had a straight assignment, allowing the Packers to put a hat on a hat in the run game while getting early double-teams on the big uglies up front.
As the play progressed, nearly every assignment was hit to perfection. The only two blockers in question were Kuhn and Tretter.
Kuhn, slated to kick out the hole before running back Eddie Lacy hit it, had not yet initiated contact with his blockee. For some reason, the Bear linebacker took his body outside of Bryan Bulaga, the right tackle, instead of filling the hole.
Tretter, on the other hand, just didn't get his entire body on his man. Instead of blocking his man straight-up, as the other Packers were able to do, he only was able to control the backside half of his man, limiting his surface area and push on the linebacker.
When Lacy finally hit the hole, Tretter's man was there to make a play on the ball-carrier. Tretter had lost control of his man in space and failed an assignment.
This wasn't always the case against Chicago, though. While it may be an inconsistency, it's not an absolute weakness.
Green Bay ran a similar play immediately after, and Tretter was again asked to peel off a double-team to work against the same linebacker in the run game.
On that rep, while not playing totally perfect technique-wise, he was able to get a larger surface area on his man. This allowed Lacy to hit a clear cutback lane without having to shift through trash to get through the hole.
Balance in pass protection
On this play, Stephen Paea, the former second-round selection of the Chicago Bears, was Tretter's assignment in pass protection. A bull-rusher, Paea is probably best known as the player who broke the bench press record at the combine.
Initially on the play, Tretter contorted his body too far to the left. Because of this, the fourth-year defensive lineman was able to recognize how to beat the offensive lineman and react quickly.
Knowing that he couldn't adjust in time, Paea decided to use an inside swim move on the guard. Slapping Tretter's body with his left hand, Paea would fling his right arm over his body to get past his blocker in an attempt to penetrate the left A-gap.
Paea was able to successfully enter the gap and crash down as a pass-rusher, but unfortunately for him, rookie center Corey Linsley was there to stop him.
While Linsley was able to save quarterback Matt Flynn from grass stains, the play did not reflect well on Tretter, who was beat on the rep.
Anchoring in the run game
On this play, Green Bay competed out of a full-house formation. With the ball going to running back James Starks, the two H-backs would pull into the left B-gap, clearing out the hole for the runner.
Tretter's assignment on the play was to seal the hole, attacking the man in the play-side A-gap. For the H-backs and the ball-carrier to get through the lane, he would first have to establish an anchor on the line of scrimmage.
Against the strong Paea, it was a tough task.
On first look, it may have seemed as though Paea would break into the backfield—a negative play—but Tretter's one and only goal was to make sure he wasn't able to go to the left. Playing the left side of the defensive tackle's body, the guard played correctly up to that point.
When Starks finally got to the hole, Paea was out of position to make a play on the ball. After first trying to get depth into the backfield, the Bear tried to make up for his mistake by crashing the running lane.
Tretter, though, was able to exchange blows with him, not allowing the bench press record holder beat him with his upper body. An impressive win for the offensive lineman, he was able to put good film on his resume.
Final thoughts
After J.C. Tretter's long-anticipated debut, he looks like what he is: a very young offensive lineman with special tools.
While he's not in the starting lineup, there's potential for him in the future. He's already shown inconsistencies, but one would expect inconsistencies from a player whose last regular season game was played in the Ivy League back in 2012.
There's no reason to lose hope over the idea of Tretter at guard or center down the road, but, currently, he's not absolutely ready to be thrown into the fire. The second-year player, just getting his first snaps, needs time.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
