February
Packers Jeff Saturday: 2012 Player Evaluation and Report Card
Packers C Jeff Saturday
1) Introduction: Before the season, I wrote that Jeff Saturday had to stay healthy. The Packers offensive line, blocking for an MVP quarterback and trying to get a no-huddle offense rolling, had no other option at center. Turns out Saturday was over the hill, and the Packers did, in fact, have another option at center.
2) Profile:
Jeff Saturday
- Age: 37
- Born:
- Height: 6’2″
- Weight: 295
- College: North Carolina
- Rookie Year: 1999
- NFL Experience: 14 years
3) Expectations coming into the season: Quarterback of the offensive line. Saturday was supposed to be the veteran who plugged a hole left by Scott Wells. Expectations were low for his run blocking, but he was mainly brought in to keep Aaron Rodgers upright.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Saturday struggled all season run blocking. We kind of expected that coming in, but I don’t think many people expected it to be as bad as it was. According to Pro Football Focus, Saturday managed just two games with a positive run-blocking grade before getting benched. The highlight of Saturday’s season might actually be how he handled the benching. He answered all the tough questions and was a team player throughout the entire situation.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Who know how Evan Dietrich-Smith would have handled starting out of the gate? Who knows if Wells would have stayed healthy if Ted Thompson re-signed him? Who knows if Matt Birk would have worked out if the Packers pursued him instead? Saturday provided a little bit of security entering the season.
