Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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His biggest challenge in a Packers uniform may have come last Thursday at San Francisco, where he started his third straight game at left tackle for Bakhtiari but then flipped over to right tackle at halftime when Rick Wagner left with a knee injury.
Afterward, LaFleur admitted "that's not easy" to pull off in-game, yet the coaches asked him to do it because second-year left guard Elgton Jenkins said he felt better about sliding over one spot than switching sides.
How tough was it for Turner? Here's his description:
"This is something that I heard Packers legend Josh Sitton say a few years ago in Miami, and that is, 'It's like wiping your (butt) with your opposite hand.' And if you've ever tried that, I'm sure you know," Turner said. "So, being able to, in the middle of a game, go from one side to the other, it's not necessarily the physical part. You know you're capable of physically doing those actions, those techniques that you've practiced for so long.
"It's really just the mental aspect to tell yourself, 'OK, instead of pushing with this leg I have to push with the opposite. Instead of throwing this hand first, I have to use this hand.' It's the weight distribution and the mentality when you're in sync during a game, you kind of get in the zone and you just get in this mood of doing everything in the right way. And it's just kind of a flow. It's hard to explain."
Bathroom humor aside, that actually explains it pretty well. It's almost natural for him to articulate making changes because he's done it on the football field his whole life, from playing center as a youth to tight end as a high school freshman and then offensive tackle as a sophomore when a varsity player got hurt.
His approach and abilities have earned plenty of respect amongst his offensive linemates as well as within the locker room as a whole, from quarterback Aaron Rodgers on down. Jenkins and Lucas Patrick are younger linemen upholding the versatile mantle, and Turner is the veteran who sets the example.
"He comes in, doesn't complain. Never," Patrick said. "Doesn't complain about where he's playing, what he's dealing with, who he's dealing with. He just goes in and works day in and day out.
"What people don't see is what he puts in in the film room, weight room, every day the stuff to get his body right. And guys like him kind of set the tone of our room."