National Football League

Packers' Lang makes bid for left guard spot

Published Aug. 8, 2011 10:32 p.m. ET

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T.J. Lang certainly isn't talking like a player who expects to take a back seat to a first-round draft pick this year.

Lang, the Green Bay Packers' fourth-round draft pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2009, is competing with rookie Derek Sherrod to be the starting left guard for the reigning Super Bowl champions. The spot was left vacant when Daryn Colledge signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent, and naming a successor is one of the top questions facing the Packers in training camp this season.

And after shuffling between tackle and guard his first two seasons - with a few appearances as a defensive lineman thrown in - Lang now intends on taking up permanent residence between center Scott Wells and left tackle Chad Clifton.

''My goal is to start, and the best shot is going to be at left guard, and that's pretty much where all of my focus has been in the first week of camp,'' Lang said Monday. ''That's where I'm really trying to hone my skills.''

Lang isn't getting much of a look so far, as Sherrod is taking the majority of snaps with the first-team offense in practice. But Lang figures that might change as the Packers progress through camp and the preseason. The Packers begin preseason play at Cleveland on Saturday after visiting the White House on Friday.

''I think the big evaluation will be once we start getting into these preseason games,'' Lang said. ''With Cleveland coming up, that's going to be a huge step for me to take to get out there on an actual game field and perform.''

And if Lang plays like he has been practicing for the first week of camp?

''I think I'll be in pretty good shape," he said.

Whether Sherrod or Lang wins the left guard competition, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said either player will be challenged to match Colledge's consistency and intelligence.

''We'll have to find somebody, either Derek or T.J., and to make sure we're sure we have a guy who is mentally sharp,'' Rodgers said last week. ''Because our offense is so diverse in what we're trying to do. And we can do a lot of things at the line of scrimmage if we want to, and a lot of different calls.''

Lang, who converted from defensive line to offensive tackle in college, hasn't found a permanent spot on the line during his time in Green Bay.

He was pressed into service at tackle early in his rookie season because of injuries, making three starts. Coming off wrist surgery, Lang played less frequently last year, with his most extensive action coming as an injury replacement at left guard in a loss at Detroit on Dec. 12. He also was used occasionally as an extra defensive lineman in short-yardage situations.

''I really haven't had much game experience (at left guard), just a half last year in Detroit was pretty much all I have to work on from game experience that way,'' Lang said. ''But I think I've had enough snaps the last two years, I'm comfortable when I go out there. I don't feel like I'm being thrown into the water like I was for a couple games my rookie year. I feel like when it does come time, I'm poised, ready to take over. I feel comfortable and confident I can get the job done.''

Sherrod hasn't stood out at left guard in the first week of camp - which is understandable, given the fact that he was a left tackle in college and didn't get a full offseason worth of team-organized workouts. Lang said he isn't worried about which offensive unit he's lining up with for now, but he would like more chances to see what he can do against B.J. Raji and the Packers' No. 1 defense.

''When you go against guys like that, there's something in the back of your mind,'' Lang said. ''You do want to prove a point.''

And with a more compressed training camp in the wake of the lockout, Lang said his knowledge of the offense could swing things in his favor.

''That's the biggest thing I've noticed so far this year to last year, outside of being healthy, was just my mental grasp of the offense,'' Lang said. ''The first day, kind of getting back into it, there was confusion and questions. But the more each day went on, I looked at it, just started realizing that I know this stuff, it's just a matter of getting out there and doing the repetitions.''

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