When Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke the morning after Thursday’s shellacking of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he said the day-after review was neither as good or bad as it seemed at points.

Sometimes, a few disastrous drives can develop and drive a narrative for the entire game.

Such was the case Thursday, when in the middle of the second quarter, the Packers backup offensive tackles simply couldn’t protect the quarterback.

The questions came pouring in: Can Kyle Murphy actually play left tackle? What will they do if Bryan Bulaga gets hurt? What will they do if both Bulaga and David Bakhtiari can’t go?

Let’s just say, yes, it will hurt if one of the league’s best pass blockers – Bakhtiari – is hurt. Second, the league as a whole is bereft of quality starting tackles much less back ups, so it’s slim pickings out there. The Packers will more than likely have to roll with some combination of Spriggs, Murphy, Byron Bell and Adam Pankey in the event injury strikes.

If the Packers are indeed “stuck” with their own, what do they have? Let’s take a closer look.

Kyle Murphy

The Packers drafted Kyle Murphy in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. The fact that he’s found himself as a reliable backup is a success in and of itself. Plenty of teams strike out drafting tackles on Day 1 much less finding guys who can spell a starter late on Day 3.

Initially, McCarthy set out to play Spriggs exclusively at left tackle and Murphy on the right, but early struggled by Spriggs looked to have derailed that plan. On Thursday, Murphy took snaps on both the right and left side.

Based on what he put on film Thursday, Murphy’s at his best against power but most-vulnerable against speed. On pass sets, he pops and and gathers his feet, collects himself and often “catches” the pass rusher. If he’s facing a bull rush, he takes that on well. But against speed, Murphy just doesn’t seem to get the requisite depth on his kick to hold the edge or at least ride the rusher around the pocket.

Let’s look at some examples:

Example 1: Murphy (No. 68) is on the bottom of the screen playing right tackle. Hundley gets the ball out quickly (per the play’s design), but look at Murphy’s feet and balance. As No. 92 of the Steelers turns upfield, Murphy begins leaning. Compare that to Bakhtiari above him, who mirrors his defender like a basketball player.

Example 2: Again at right tackle, this play demonstrates Murphy’s ability to take on a power rush. No. 92 tries to bull rush Murphy into the pocket. Murphy sets, gathers and stymies the rush. Good rep.

Example 3: Murphy gets solid depth on his drop and plays under control. He doesn’t lean. Another solid rep.

Example 4: Hundley gets the ball off here, but this is an ugly rep. Bud Dupree, the Steelers’ edge rusher here, flies off the ball. Murphy just can’t get enough depth and is forced to turn his hips almost immediately. If Hundley clutches at all, this is a sack.

Example 5: This time Dupree gets home. Same thing. Although Murphy has some space between himself and Dupree at the snap, he doesn’t appear to have the lateral speed to ride No. 48 upfield. Perhaps some of these issues stem from a lack of comfort on the left side (prior example was also on the left), but speed remains the theme.

Example 6: The rusher dekes inside and catches the the corner. Murphy’s feet look stuck on second reaction. Boyle gets the ball out, but like some of the others (and Rodgers often likes to bypass the first read), a tick longer and this is a sack.

Example 7: This rep simply looks like he got out of his stance a little late and struggled to recover. Kizer’s audible and snap took Murphy by surprise.

Jason Spriggs

It felt like, initially, Spriggs really struggled, but he played OK Thursday.

For what it’s worth, both Spriggs and Murphy are better of filling in on the right side, but of the plays analyzed Thursday night (29 pass rushing reps for Murphy; 24 for Spriggs), Spriggs actually had fewer what I would consider “bad” plays (giving up a sack or pressure).

Let’s be clear: I do not know what either of these players’ assignments were, so I’m merely looking at how each did in their one-on-one situations. Within those situations, Spriggs showed some improvement from last week.

Let’s look at some examples (both good and bad):

Example 1: Spriggs (right tackle) gets caught leaning and can’t recover from the speedy edge rush.

Example 2: Spriggs (right tackle) looks under control. He moves well laterally and maintains leverage until he can latch onto the defender.

Example 3: Spriggs (left tackle) shows good quickness at the snap. His issues in the past have been the lack of coordination between his lower body and upper body, which led to poor reps where he got blown off the ball or couldn’t recover on an inside rush. Here, Spriggs looks balanced.

Example 4: Just like Murphy struggled against the speed and dip underneath, Spriggs couldn’t corral No. 41 of the Steelers. He rides him around the pocket, but if Kizer releases that ball a tick later, it’s a strip-sack.

Example 5: Aggressive on play-action from Spriggs (left tackle). He initiates contact with No. 41, who can’t do anything with Spriggs’ latched onto him. Good rep.

Main takeaways

The best case scenario for the Packers means both Bulaga and Bakhtiari play all 16 games. Together, they represent one of the best tackle tandems in the entire league.

Playing offensive tackle with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback often means holding blocks longer than three to four seconds. Both Kyle Murphy and Jason Spriggs are not without their flaws; they both struggle with the speed rush and may only work as short-term solutions.

In the event either have to play, and depending on the opponent, expect to see a fair amount of chipping off the edge. Especially when the team has Marcedes Lewis, who’s already proven to be an absolute mauler in the run game (see below).

The Packers don’t have the best depth at tackle, but understanding the specific weaknesses and planning around them should be enough to mitigate the damage from a short-term absence from either Bulaga or Bakhtiari.

Don’t panic yet. There’s plenty of football left to play before it counts. To reiterate what McCarthy said, it’s never as good as you think and never as bad as it seems.