Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga was 'just bad' against Seahawks

You won't find many NFL offensive linemen who pride themselves on their fundamentals more than Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga. After arguably the worst game of his life Monday night against the Seahawks, you won't find anyone more critical of the complete absence of those fundamentals than Bulaga.

After a stumbling, bumbling and underwhelming performance at Seattle, when he gave up three sacks, including two to rookie DE Bruce Irvin, Bulaga was frank in his assessment of how he played.

"It was just bad football," he said. "That's as good as I can explain it."

The entire line was outplayed against the Seahawks, who sacked QB Aaron Rodgers eight times in the first half. But Bulaga's struggles stood out because he's considered one of the Packers' best and most dependable linemen.

On one first-quarter play, Irvin ran right through the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Bulaga like he was on the high school freshmen team. Irvin pushed Bulaga back several steps with just one arm, eventually knocking him down and sacking Rodgers in just about two seconds.

Bulaga said it was difficult to watch his game tape and he barely recognized himself on film.

"When I turned [the tape] on, it was just frustrating to see," he said. "I don't even know what I was thinking. I just didn't play my game. Kind of let [Irvin] dictate a few rushes and that's what happens. When you don't do your thing out there, you let them get comfortable.”

So what happened during that first-half pass-rushing clinic put on by the Seahawks, and what happened to the blocking form and footwork that so consistently defined the former first-round pick out of Iowa?

"I didn't use any of it in the first half," Bulaga said of good fundamentals. "I didn't have the best first half, but on certain plays my technique was out the window. I don't know what I was doing. I just kind of fell apart. I think it was just a matter of I didn't play my best. That's the best way I can answer it. I don't think there's a bigger critic of me than myself. It's the way it is."

Bulaga said he's certain such a poor display won't happen again. And in the second half, when the Packers began to run the ball more and Rodgers wasn't sacked at all, Bulaga and his linemates looked much better.

"I settled down fine in the second half, doing more of my thing and not letting [Irvin] dictate the rush,” Bulaga said. “That's what happens."

According to ProFootballFocus, Bulaga has allowed three sacks and two hits in three games this season. In all of 2011, he gave up one sack and two hits, an eyebrow-raising uptick.

Bulaga was listed on the Packers' injury report after the Monday night game with a knee injury. Coach Mike McCarthy said Bulaga hurt it in the Seahawks game, a possible cause of his atypical ineffectiveness.

But McCarthy also said he expected Bulaga to play through the injury and be ready for Sunday's game against the Saints.

Follow Packers reporter James Carlton on Twitter: @CBSPackers and @jimmycarlton88.