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Packers film room: David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers return to action – Packers Wire

The Green Bay Packers deployed a healthier version of their starting offensive line against the Detroit Lions in Week 18. The Packers still lost a meaningless game, but it was good for a couple of guys to get some reps before the playoffs.

The key returners were, of course, David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers. Bakhtiari played in his first game since tearing his ACL at the end of the 2020 regular season. The two-time first-team All-Pro looked like his usual self as he failed to give up a sack or even a single pressure in 27 offensive snaps. No one is happier than quarterback Aaron Rodgers to have his blindside protected by one of the best in the business once again.

Myers made his first start since suffering a knee injury in Week 6. It was important for Rodgers and his rookie center to get reacquainted with cadences and protection adjustments. Green Bay’s 2021 second-round pick showed some rust in his return.

With Myers back in the lineup, Lucas Patrick moved over to right guard rather than getting sent to the bench. Patrick replaced rookie Royce Newman, who had started all 16 games leading up to the season finale.

The Packers’ starters only played a half against the Lions, but it was enough to put out some film to review ahead of the playoffs. Without further ado, let’s take a look.

David Bakhtiari

First play of the game. Using his elite pocket awareness, Rodgers has all day to find Allen Lazard over the middle for a 28-yard pickup. However, let’s focus on Bakhtiari in his first pass set. He gets a good initial punch that sends the defensive end off balance. The end attempts to reengage, but Bakhtiari does a good job of maintaining his leverage and implementing proper hand placement to ward off the second attempt. The result is a textbook rep.

Not many people realize how much the Packers missed Bakhtiari in the run game, also. He is an elite run blocker, and he showcased that despite minimal snaps against the Lions. In this play, we see an explosive first step from Bakhtiari as he climbs to the strong-side linebacker. Notice how his hips are positioned to create the seal and completely stop the linebacker in his tracks. Bakhtiari’s block helps running back AJ Dillon bounce this run outside for a nice 8-yard gain.

Josh Myers

Here we see what appears to be a mental mistake by Myers. It appears he should be moving laterally to help Jon Runyan with the two-tech before getting upfield. Instead, Myers rushes and immediately gets vertical to the second level. This puts Runyan in a tough spot as he also has to account for the linebacker looking to fill. Notice how Myers put his hand on the defensive tackle’s back before moving to the second level. He must have some responsibility when it comes to the Detroit defender but chooses to take an overly aggressive approach.

This was a much better rep on a similar concept. Myers does a nice job trying to cross the face of the three-tech defensive end thanks to an explosive first step. It is an extremely difficult block to execute, and it wasn’t perfect by Myers, although it was much better than the previous one.

Myers gets caught off-balance in this pass set. The 0-tech uses a good stab-chop to disengage from Myers. Ideally, I think Myers would like to have a better base under him and implement a strong punch. We see here that the defender easily separates with his hands and applies pressure to the quarterback. Luckily, it was a heads-up play by Runyan, who notices that Myers is beaten. Runyan’s effort allows Rodgers to navigate the pocket and step into a different pocket to throw from.

Another not-so-great rep from Myers that doesn’t end in catastrophe. Again, we see Myers struggle with his initial hand placement as the 0-tech disengages with a strong move. Kudos to Myers, though, for sticking with it. He shows good lateral quickness to get back in phase with the pass rusher and not get called for holding. However, when it comes time for Myers to go against a strong pass-rushing defensive tackle in the playoffs, he may need help.

Initially, I was highlighting Patrick Taylor’s blitz pickup, but this was also good protection from Myers. We see that the Lions are mugging the A-gaps, which means Myers has to choose who to block. Watch as Myers displays his power, sending the linebacker flying with his punch. Hopefully, Myers will continue to showcase this type of play strength when going against interior guys.

Lucas Patrick

Guard is a familiar spot for Patrick, so the Packers shouldn’t be too worried. However, I just wanted to point out this play because it requires an adjustment after going from center to guard. Detroit is running a stunt, which Green Bay does a good job of recognizing. However, Patrick loses sight of his responsibility as right tackle Dennis Kelly has to pick up a late blitz off the edge. It appears that Kelly is expecting Patrick to stay with the three-tech, but Patrick has turned his attention inside to the looper. As a center, you should look to help whoever is struggling in pass protection, but here, Patrick should have focused on his rushing lane. In this case, it would have prevented the sack.

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