The battle within the battle

Sporting News, The, Dec 6, 1993 by Terry Frei

Dent is at least competent against the run coming his way. But that's not his forte. This is: Pass rushing. To deal with men like Dent, offensive coaches tend to put their best pass blockers, their most agile and efficient tackles, on the left side. For the Packers, that's Ruettgers. Sometimes, those left tackles aren't the best run blockers on their unit. Because the majority of the running plays go the other way, they don't need to be.

Ruettgers is no disgrace at run blocking. But that's not his forte. This is: Pass blocking. All of that is why, in these conversations, the subject matter usually was pass protection. Ruettgers vs. Dent.

Their first meeting this season was on Halloween it Lambeau Field on a frigid afternoon that could have frozen your pumpkins - or anything else left exposed.

Going into that game, Dent understood that the 49ers-style offense brought to Green Bay by second-year Packers Coach Mike Holmgren limited his opportunities to add to his sack total. Brett Favre would be relying on short three- and five-step drops.

"The key to beating that kind of offense, that kind of blocking scheme, is to get penetration inside, too," Dent says. "If that happens, it forces one-on-one with (Ruettgers) and me, or one-on-two with me, him and the back helping out. The key is not to let it be me and him and another offensive lineman on a double team."

The Bears were coming off a Monday night game against Minnesota, and Dent had spent part of that rare Sunday off watching Ruettgers work against Tampa Bay. He looked at more than Ruettgers. "I see things I know I can do against their scheme, but I believe in myself most of all," Dent says. "There are certain things I know I can do. I don't look at it like I have to ask myself what I can and can't do. In this situation, it's like, "Yeah, you know my old moves, but I still can beat you with them.' You take away my bread, I'll go over to the butter."

In Green Bay, the Packers and Ruettgers beat the Bears and Dent, 17-3. Dent's pregame concerns were prescient. The Packers rarely used anything bill short drops. And they ran almost exclusively to the right, away from Dent. Meanwhile, the Bears' offensive ineptitude never forced the Packers to adopt any sense of urgency.

Ruettgers was left to deal with Dent one-on-one most of the afternoon. Even on the rare occasions when the Packers put a tight end outside Ruettgers, he generally ended up working against Dent alone. One sign that he would be deemed in need of aid would have been if the Packers started putting a tight end to the left more often.

Early in the second quarter, Dent's frustration showed. Favre dumped a pass to running back Darrell Thompson. Dent took something in the gray area between a swipe and a swing at Ruettgers but didn't connect. Then Dent talked. "I told him to get his hands off me and play the game," Dent says.

It is a ritual lobbying, head-game exchange in the NFL. When it was brought up after the game, Ruettgers gave a hand gesture. Every week, his rotating hand said. He hears this you're-holding-me lament all the time, as does virtually every NFL tackle. "I don't want to get rattled," Ruettgers says. "But I'm going to stand up for myself and not take that kind of stuff, either. There's a fine line between getting out of your game and standing up for yourself."