woodbuck27
07-21-2006, 08:07 PM
THU., JUL 20, 2006 - 12:35 AM
Packers: Comfort zone needed at running back
JASON WILDE 608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - When Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson arrived at the running backs as he went through the position-by-position portion of his football report during Wednesday's annual shareholders meeting at Lambeau Field, he used the term "trial and error" to describe it.
Given the team went through six running backs - Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, Tony Fisher, ReShard Lee, Samkon Gado and Noah Herron - during last year's 4-12 season, that's about as generous a description as Thompson could have used.
And yet, even with his top two backs coming back from serious injuries (Green ruptured the quadriceps tendon in his right leg Oct. 23; Davenport broke his right ankle Oct. 9), Fisher having signed with St. Louis as a free agent and Gado struggling to learn the team's new lead-zone blocking scheme, Thompson said Wednesday he likes what he sees.
"I'm pretty comfortable with the group," he said during a session with reporters. "Like any other position that I talked about today, I don't have any idea how it's going to turn out. But I think we have some fairly talented people."
Thompson, whose team ranked 30th in the NFL in rushing yards per game last season and 31st in yards per attempt, even said there was an upside to last year's injury plague, and offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski agreed.
"There are some unknowns, but you really have four guys that could do it - Green, Davenport, Gado and Herron," Jagodzinski said.
http://www.madison.com/images/articles/wsj/2006/07/19/30333_thumb.jpg
Ahman Green, who played only five games last season, has yet to practice in the recently implemented lead-zone blocking scheme
But there are some major ifs with Green, who struggled even before his injury (77 carries for 255 yards - a 3.3-yard average - and no touchdowns in five games), and Davenport, who has never played a full 16-game season.
There's also the issue of both backs being behind learning the new blocking scheme, having missed all the offseason minicamp and organized team activity practices. Because neither player will be cleared to practice when training camp opens July 28, they'll be playing catch-up.
Thompson acknowledged "those other guys are going to probably have to take most of the reps starting out in training camp," while coach Mike McCarthy admitted Green and Davenport cannot learn the new scheme simply by watching it.
"I'll say this, the lead-zone scheme, I think, definitely plays to Ahman and Najeh's strength. You're looking for that one-cut guy," McCarthy said. "But I don't disagree with you. They definitely need reps."
Jagodzinski, who learned the scheme from Alex Gibbs in Atlanta, said it took Falcons halfback Warrick Dunn time to adjust to the change, and Dunn didn't miss as much practice time as Green and Davenport.
"They have seen it, but until you do it full-speed, you don't know," Jagodzinski said. "I know Warrick Dunn, his first year, he did (just) OK - and he's a really good running back. His next year he was in it, he turned in a Pro Bowl performance."
Until then, Gado and Herron will carry the load. During the offseason, Herron clearly was more comfortable with the zone blocking than Gado, who was the feel-good story of last season after rushing for 582 yards in eight games as an undrafted rookie. Jagodzinski and McCarthy hinted they may have to use Gado with more of the power-gap runs the team used last season.
"You can tell (the zone scheme) is very foreign to him. It's not natural to him right now, whereas Noah seems very comfortable," McCarthy said. "But it's not that Sam doesn't fit. It's nothing like that."
Packers: Comfort zone needed at running back
JASON WILDE 608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - When Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson arrived at the running backs as he went through the position-by-position portion of his football report during Wednesday's annual shareholders meeting at Lambeau Field, he used the term "trial and error" to describe it.
Given the team went through six running backs - Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, Tony Fisher, ReShard Lee, Samkon Gado and Noah Herron - during last year's 4-12 season, that's about as generous a description as Thompson could have used.
And yet, even with his top two backs coming back from serious injuries (Green ruptured the quadriceps tendon in his right leg Oct. 23; Davenport broke his right ankle Oct. 9), Fisher having signed with St. Louis as a free agent and Gado struggling to learn the team's new lead-zone blocking scheme, Thompson said Wednesday he likes what he sees.
"I'm pretty comfortable with the group," he said during a session with reporters. "Like any other position that I talked about today, I don't have any idea how it's going to turn out. But I think we have some fairly talented people."
Thompson, whose team ranked 30th in the NFL in rushing yards per game last season and 31st in yards per attempt, even said there was an upside to last year's injury plague, and offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski agreed.
"There are some unknowns, but you really have four guys that could do it - Green, Davenport, Gado and Herron," Jagodzinski said.
http://www.madison.com/images/articles/wsj/2006/07/19/30333_thumb.jpg
Ahman Green, who played only five games last season, has yet to practice in the recently implemented lead-zone blocking scheme
But there are some major ifs with Green, who struggled even before his injury (77 carries for 255 yards - a 3.3-yard average - and no touchdowns in five games), and Davenport, who has never played a full 16-game season.
There's also the issue of both backs being behind learning the new blocking scheme, having missed all the offseason minicamp and organized team activity practices. Because neither player will be cleared to practice when training camp opens July 28, they'll be playing catch-up.
Thompson acknowledged "those other guys are going to probably have to take most of the reps starting out in training camp," while coach Mike McCarthy admitted Green and Davenport cannot learn the new scheme simply by watching it.
"I'll say this, the lead-zone scheme, I think, definitely plays to Ahman and Najeh's strength. You're looking for that one-cut guy," McCarthy said. "But I don't disagree with you. They definitely need reps."
Jagodzinski, who learned the scheme from Alex Gibbs in Atlanta, said it took Falcons halfback Warrick Dunn time to adjust to the change, and Dunn didn't miss as much practice time as Green and Davenport.
"They have seen it, but until you do it full-speed, you don't know," Jagodzinski said. "I know Warrick Dunn, his first year, he did (just) OK - and he's a really good running back. His next year he was in it, he turned in a Pro Bowl performance."
Until then, Gado and Herron will carry the load. During the offseason, Herron clearly was more comfortable with the zone blocking than Gado, who was the feel-good story of last season after rushing for 582 yards in eight games as an undrafted rookie. Jagodzinski and McCarthy hinted they may have to use Gado with more of the power-gap runs the team used last season.
"You can tell (the zone scheme) is very foreign to him. It's not natural to him right now, whereas Noah seems very comfortable," McCarthy said. "But it's not that Sam doesn't fit. It's nothing like that."