It's remarkable how easy Bakhtiari has made it look in the first 10 days.
Ken Ruettgers, a first-round pick in 1985, was all thumbs until midway through his first season. Tony Mandarich was the bust of all busts, of course, but linemen such as Earl Dotson, Marco Rivera, Breno Giacomini, Jamon Meredith, T.J. Lang and Sherrod, among many others, floundered as rookies.
Bakhtiari jumped in against Clay Matthews the first morning of pads and stymied him in the one-on-one rush drill as if it was no big deal. He has gone 2-0 against Matthews and 9-2-3 overall, including 5-0-1 at left tackle and 4-2-2 at right.
The other night Bakhtiari alternated on the right side, finishing with 31 snaps.
Defensive end Mike Daniels said it was obvious that Bakhtiari was well-coached at Colorado even though the program fell into disrepair. He kick-steps beautifully regardless of side, appears to possess an excellent feel for blocking angles, has quick, active hands and always seems to be under control, even against stunts and blitzes.
Granted, Bakhtiari was matched against rookie linebacker Nate Palmer on 10 of his 20 pass plays. Nevertheless, the quarterback was never even threatened by his man.
In the run game, he kept his feet moving and his pads down at the point of attack. On plays away, he was fast to the linebacker level and persistently kept after defenders.
Alex Green was able to cut back for 6 yards because Bakhtiari sustained his back-side block so vigorously on Palmer.
Perhaps most noteworthy was the degree of nastiness he displayed.
When Lang double-teamed Palmer on a rush, Bakhtiari applied the finishing touch and put him down hard. He pancaked C.J. Wilson at the point. He locked up with B.J. Raji, gained movement and pushed him over a pile.
Time after time, the rookie tried to get the last shove in. That might not be important in the outcome of a play, but over time a player that seeks to establish a level of physical superiority eventually will win out.
Bakhtiari, whose 40-yard dash time of 5.08 compared to Newhouse's 5.00 and Bulaga's 5.23, showed tremendous speed and hustle trying to chase down cornerback James Nixon on his long interception return.
If one chooses to ding him on a play, it would be a 3-yard run in which Palmer shed him and assisted on the tackle.
The majority of the 13 scouts to offer opinions on Bakhtiari before and shortly after the draft categorized him as a finesse blocker. Maybe some were turned off by his decision to declare a year early, but there has been nothing soft about his play in Green Bay.
With 34-inch arms, the same length as Newhouse's and an inch longer than Bulaga's, Bakhtiari appears to have the length for tackle as well. And for being just 21, he comes across as mature well beyond his years.
It's inevitable that Bakhtiari will have bad practices and shaky games. Every rookie does.
So far, he has performed as if he was drafted in the first or second rounds, not the fourth.
The Packers haven't had all five starters in the offensive line start every game since 2003. Among the injury fill-ins that started at least five games were Grey Ruegamer in 2004, Tony Moll in '06, Jason Spitz in '09, Bulaga in '10, Newhouse in '11 and Barclay a year ago.
Mike Sherman, McCarthy and their line coaches made do, just as New England did minus two starters to win the 38th Super Bowl and Pittsburgh did minus its center and both tackles in the 45th Super Bowl against Green Bay.
Last August, Pro Bowl guard Davin Joseph of Tampa Bay blew out his kneecap. The Buccaneers plugged in a backup and improved from 21st to ninth in total offense.
No, the losses of Bulaga and Tretter don't help, but the significance pales in comparison to San Francisco already losing wide receiver Michael Crabtree and nickel back Chris Culliver and Seattle having to go without receiver-returner Percy Harvin.
The Packers believe Ted Thompson's scouting acumen and the resultant strength of their 90-man roster gives them the edge when injuries strike.
There's no need for despair. The Packers will plug in and play just fine.
we ain't worried about Jared
