By: Chris Terlop

Week one of preseason has come and gone without any scoring, very little pass rushing and a lot of questions left unanswered.  Week two is meant to separate the starters and the backups, the special teamers and those who will be cut before week three when you want most of that set and let your starters get extended time together. Here are the position battles that hope to become clearer after Saturday.

Right Tackle

Marshall Newhouse took snaps with the ones in Week One and all of training camp until Wednesday, when Don Barclay stepped up with the first team in team drills. Newhouse had his change to wow coaches while his main competition was subbing in at guard when TJ Lang was out, but did no such thing.  Right now Barclay is on the upswing and Newhouse on the downswing.  With his experience at Left Tackle last season, Newhouse would make for a good swing guy at either position as a backup.  We have seen Barclay as the swiss army knife of the O-Line, but if he has a good showing against the Rams, the spot is his.

Kicker

It astounded me that after all of the complaining and calls for Mason Crosby’s head last year, that a lot of fans didn’t target kicker as a focus position last year.  That changed in a hurry with the arrival and consistent performance of Giorgio Tavecchio.  The kid from Cal has outkicked the incumbent Crosby by going 27-of-31 through camp, besting Crosby’s 22-of-31 performance.  Crosby has the stronger leg and more experience in cold weather, but the Packers and Crosby both may need a change.

Back-up Quarterback

The whole BJ Coleman or Graham Harrell battle took a back seat when Vince Young arrived to town.  The former Texas Longhorn has been thrown right in to it and is spending extra time learning the playbook in an attempt to catch up with the rest of the group.  There is no question he is the most skilled player taking snaps outside of number twelve, but will he show enough improvement to make it an easy decision to start the season with two quarterbacks on the active roster.  Let us not forget that there was a reason that Young was out there and not on a roster.  Which Vince Young will show up Saturday will be key.

Safety

With Morgan Burnett getting an extension and the drivers wheel of the defense, who will play opposite of him is a big question.  It is down to MD Jennings and Jerron McMillian.  This battle has been the hardest to figure out, neither have had a wow performance in practice or in week one.  Jennings took most snaps with the ones this week in camp, yet it was McMillian who lined up with them on Thursday.  This battle is the closest right now, regardless who wins it, they need to be improved from last year to strengthen the back end of the defense.

Chris is on M-F on Sportsline 4-6pm, Saturdays from 8-9 am and is a part of Green Bay Game Day the pregame show.  Follow him on Twitter @ChrisTerlop