wpr
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13 years ago
Ground trio looks rock solid 


When it comes to the proverbial "looks good coming off the bus" routine, the Green Bay Packers running backs will pass the eyeball test like no other.

It's doubtful any team in the National Football League has a trio of running backs with the height, weight and shredded physiques to compare with Ryan Grant, James Starks and rookie Alex Green.

Green Bay won the Super Bowl with smallish Brandon Jackson leading the position in snaps with 622 and squatty John Kuhn finishing second with 278. Starks, who didn't claim featured-back status from Jackson until the start of the playoffs, was third at 206.

The Packers lost Jackson to Cleveland on Thursday in unrestricted free agency, and Kuhn could be gone as well.

Both players maximized their ability. Their contributions were significant.

But it's a new day at the position, and the depth chart of general manager Ted Thompson appears fairly well-stocked.

Grant, 6 feet 1 inch and 224 pounds, returns from a season cut short in the first half of the first game by ankle damage.

Starks (6-2, 222) looks even more ripped than he did as a rookie.

And now they'll be joined by Green (6-0, 224), a third-round draft choice who will be given the chance to assume the third-down duties that had been shared by Jackson and Kuhn.

They give Green Bay not one, not two but three backs possessing the God-given dimensions to slam through the wind and wet of the punishing second half of an NFC North season.

Before the lockout even started, and Green was just a draft-eligible player from Hawaii, coach Mike McCarthy forecast a competition between Grant and Starks.

"Oh, yeah," McCarthy said. "But I'm not looking to run one guy into the ground."

Until Grant's injury, McCarthy had been a one-back guy. The percentage of running-back carries allocated to the featured back was 67.2% for Ahman Green in 2006, 55% for Grant in '07, 83.4% for Grant in '08 and 75.5% for Grant in '09.

McCarthy isn't averse to running the ball. Counting playoffs, his teams in five seasons have run 41.3%, which isn't far removed from the 42.8% for Mike Holmgren in seven seasons and the 42.5% for Mike Sherman in six.

Now Joe Philbin, McCarthy's offensive coordinator since '07, is aiming to make the running plays more efficient. In 20 games, the per-carry averages of Jackson (3.7), Starks (3.8), Kuhn (3.2) and Dimitri Nance (2.6) weren't pretty.

"This is an offense that is always going to utilize its strengths and its best players, but the running game is important," Philbin said. "We've got to do a better job of less 0, 1 and negative (carries). We had a 0 gain or minus 16% of the time. That's too much."

Without Grant, McCarthy lost the downhill dimension and began "to create his running game from the threat of the pass," according to one NFC personnel man. The Packers, Philbin said, were effective rushing using multiple wide receivers with Aaron Rodgers under center and in shotgun.

Take the Super Bowl. On the 11 times that Rodgers settled on a run at the line, Starks gained 52 yards (4.7).

"They weren't going to beat us in the run game; we knew that," Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler said last month. "But you can't just throw it all the time. Schematically, they were very good at what they were doing. They did some things with motion to try to take advantage of some things. Their run game was very sound."

Assuming Grant returns to full health, which he stated he was in mid-December, the Packers might be able to pound defenses from the I formation on first down.

"He's the starter," said former Packers safety LeRoy Butler, an analyst for JSOnline. "If he's healthy, he can run the stretch-ride, where he picks his hole. He's very good at that. He's a very capable guy."

Five months shy of his 29th birthday, Grant is entering the final year of his contract. Given the short careers of most running backs, it's entirely possible this will be his final season in Green Bay.

"Hungry, competitive," Philbin replied when asked about Grant's anticipated mindset. "We'll probably have to slow him down instead of giving him the green light. That's the kind of guy he is."

In the past, at least, Grant has hit holes harder than Starks. That could change because a hamstring injury limited Starks to merely seven games as a rookie, and a shoulder injury KO'd him for his final collegiate season.

"I'm excited as hell for James Starks," McCarthy said at the combine. "I think he's got a chance to be a great player."

Starks didn't have a fumble or penalty. There were just eight passes thrown to him (no drops), and his hands certainly seem more dependable than Grant's. And his blitz pickup wasn't bad, either.

"I think he's the true future," LeRoy Butler said. "He's an upright runner but he has a very strong lower body. He never goes down."

It's best to wait another season for an evaluation of Starks. His legs were fresh down the stretch when everyone else's were tired.

"He is really strong," an NFC personnel man said. "He just can't make anybody miss. A guy like that is not going to last very long."

Green was billed by scouts as an even more accomplished collegiate receiver than Starks. His one-cut style of running seems a match for the sixth year of the Packers' zone scheme.

In the Warriors' "pistol" offense, Green benefited from huge holes and didn't have a lot of tight-quarters, NFL-type runs. His 4.52-second speed in the 40 is identical to Starks', and he has shown power and surprisingly good feet.

The Western Athletic Conference isn't the NFL, but Green's 2010 averages in rushing (8.2) and receiving (13.4) jumped off the page.

"If he can pick up blitzes, I think he'll be the prototypical third-down back," LeRoy Butler said. "He'll be a home-run hitter, and for the most part they don't have any home-run threat."

In a perfect world, the Packers wanted Jackson back. He was, by far, their best blocker.

Grant's return, a three-back power set and his own philosophy means McCarthy isn't ready to foreclose on the fullback position. Still, it's unlikely he'll keep three, as he has the past two seasons.

If Kuhn returns, his ability on third down and as a ball carrier would give him the edge. Then it would come down to Quinn Johnson, a hammer with indecision in his play, and Korey Hall, a top special-teams player who also could leave in free agency.

"They're all different," Philbin said, referring to the fullbacks. "Overall, they were OK."


UserPostedImage
nerdmann
13 years ago
Two responses to this.
1: Yes, MM's raw percentage of runs to pass is similar to Holmgren's. HOWEVER, what you have to take into consideration is that for Holmy, running screens and shuffle passes were considered part of the running game. MM hasn't had a guy who can run screens very well. Although he has two of them now. Yes I know, Bjack was ok at screens, but I just thought he didn't look natural on them. He was also a little bit slower than these younger guys.
2: Grant is not a "more accomplished" receiver than Starks.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
nyrpack
13 years ago
i think there gonna go with a 2 headed monster approach, grant and then some starks, this will keep both healthy for a long season, it worked here in ny for the giants, i think we should go with the same approach !!
jimmy b.
Dexter_Sinister
13 years ago

Two responses to this.
1: Yes, MM's raw percentage of runs to pass is similar to Holmgren's. HOWEVER, what you have to take into consideration is that for Holmy, running screens and shuffle passes were considered part of the running game. Mike McCarthy hasn't had a guy who can run screens very well. Although he has two of them now. Yes I know, Bjack was ok at screens, but I just thought he didn't look natural on them. He was also a little bit slower than these younger guys.
2: Grant is not a "more accomplished" receiver than Starks.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 



Grant has caught more passes in his NFL career than Starks has.

Grant had 78 receptions in 2.5 years.
Starks had 5 receptions in 7 games including playoffs.

More accomplished, sure. More talented, probably not.
I want to go out like my Grandpa did. Peacefully in his sleep.
Not screaming in terror like his passengers.
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