woodbuck27
07-31-2006, 11:11 AM
Plenty of backs in the running
Packers haven't settled on backup for Green
By LORI NICKEL
lnickel@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 29, 2006
Green Bay - Ahman Green is expected to be the featured running back for the Green Bay Packers this season, but the 2005 season is a vivid reminder that things don't always go according to plan.
Green watched the second straight day of training camp Saturday, so the questions about whether the 29-year-old can fully recover from the ruptured quadriceps tendon he suffered last year will have to wait. What is clear is that the Packers might want to declare and direct a No. 2 running back equally capable of a 1,000-yard season just in case anything disrupts Green's comeback.
But just whom might that be?
There's not really a crowd of running backs in the Packers locker room. But the quality is high among four backs vying for No. 2, and the competition among them should escalate as camp wears on.
Curiously, the Packers have listed Samkon Gado at No. 2 behind Green on their depth chart and Najeh Davenport in the third spot.
So far in two practices of training camp, the Packers have rotated all four backs with the No. 1 offense. It's too early to make one back carry the load, because they can't afford to overlook an up-and-coming player like Beach. So it makes the competition for No. 2 even more intriguing.
"That (backup job) is open," said Packers coach Mike McCarthy. "We're not playing the game today. We're in our installation phase of training camp. So, everybody is getting a look."
The Packers are still easing Davenport back from the broken ankle he suffered last October. They are limiting him to about three repetitions a series.
Of all the backs, Davenport has the most experience with 43 games. Gado has eight, Herron seven. Beach is a rookie. But Davenport can't disclose where he stands with a new coach.
"I'm back and I'm making plays," said Davenport. "You can't really tell what's going to happen. I don't really worry about the depth chart or counting roster spots. I have no idea if they'll run Samkon at No. 2, or what they'll do if AG isn't ready to go before the beginning of the season."
Davenport is one of those players whose weight always seems to be a favorite topic at training camp, but he is holding at 250 pounds and 10% body fat. That's typical for him, a few pounds over his ideal, he said, but nothing limiting.
He has been pleased that he has been running since February and rebuilding muscle ever since. He has looked strong in the two glimpses of what is a 31-practice camp.
But that's been his history the last couple of years. He looked good in camp and then can't finish the season because of injury, so it makes sense that the coaches want to pace him.
Davenport's style of running won't change to avoid injury. He isn't at all convinced that running with a lower pad level will help him stay injury-free. A full 3 inches taller than Gado and Beach, 2 inches taller than Herron and an inch over Green, Davenport finds it's not as easy for him to get as low as they do, and he's not going to try.
"I'm a different type back than the rest of those guys," said Davenport.
"Me getting low doesn't do as good as AG getting low or Sam getting low or Noah getting low. They get low with the intention of getting underneath hits and shoulder pads. I'm like 6-2, 250, and me getting low really doesn't do as much damage as me trying to run through somebody."
A healthy Davenport would be the logical choice on paper at No. 2, but Gado led the team in touchdowns last year and has been in the weight room in Green Bay all off-season. .
"We're not concerned about who's where on the depth chart; when you do that you start thinking more than you are playing," said Herron. "It's a mental game with yourself that you don't want to play."
Beach, a free agent who played mostly as a backup at Kentucky and still got 14 touchdowns, has caught the eye of the staff.
"What happens a lot of times, when you get to real football, guys like Beach jump out," said McCarthy.
"He plays with good balance, he's a physical guy. He's obviously young and learning, some of his mistakes are just for lack of experience, but I've been impressed with him since we've put the pads on."
McCarthy said he doesn't just want to establish a No. 2 back because he plans to use the running game extensively. Ideally, he said, he wants four. But after Green, finding a reliable No. 2 would be a good start.
Davenport's standing amidst all the competition isn't unsettling. The fifth-year veteran got his fill of that during his days at the University of Miami.
"Yeah, I think everything on this team is open, you know?" said Davenport.
"But this ain't crowded. Want me to tell you crowded? James Jackson, Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee. There, you're literally fighting for snaps."
"This ain't (expletive). And besides, competition drives you. It makes everybody better."
From the July 30, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Packers haven't settled on backup for Green
By LORI NICKEL
lnickel@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 29, 2006
Green Bay - Ahman Green is expected to be the featured running back for the Green Bay Packers this season, but the 2005 season is a vivid reminder that things don't always go according to plan.
Green watched the second straight day of training camp Saturday, so the questions about whether the 29-year-old can fully recover from the ruptured quadriceps tendon he suffered last year will have to wait. What is clear is that the Packers might want to declare and direct a No. 2 running back equally capable of a 1,000-yard season just in case anything disrupts Green's comeback.
But just whom might that be?
There's not really a crowd of running backs in the Packers locker room. But the quality is high among four backs vying for No. 2, and the competition among them should escalate as camp wears on.
Curiously, the Packers have listed Samkon Gado at No. 2 behind Green on their depth chart and Najeh Davenport in the third spot.
So far in two practices of training camp, the Packers have rotated all four backs with the No. 1 offense. It's too early to make one back carry the load, because they can't afford to overlook an up-and-coming player like Beach. So it makes the competition for No. 2 even more intriguing.
"That (backup job) is open," said Packers coach Mike McCarthy. "We're not playing the game today. We're in our installation phase of training camp. So, everybody is getting a look."
The Packers are still easing Davenport back from the broken ankle he suffered last October. They are limiting him to about three repetitions a series.
Of all the backs, Davenport has the most experience with 43 games. Gado has eight, Herron seven. Beach is a rookie. But Davenport can't disclose where he stands with a new coach.
"I'm back and I'm making plays," said Davenport. "You can't really tell what's going to happen. I don't really worry about the depth chart or counting roster spots. I have no idea if they'll run Samkon at No. 2, or what they'll do if AG isn't ready to go before the beginning of the season."
Davenport is one of those players whose weight always seems to be a favorite topic at training camp, but he is holding at 250 pounds and 10% body fat. That's typical for him, a few pounds over his ideal, he said, but nothing limiting.
He has been pleased that he has been running since February and rebuilding muscle ever since. He has looked strong in the two glimpses of what is a 31-practice camp.
But that's been his history the last couple of years. He looked good in camp and then can't finish the season because of injury, so it makes sense that the coaches want to pace him.
Davenport's style of running won't change to avoid injury. He isn't at all convinced that running with a lower pad level will help him stay injury-free. A full 3 inches taller than Gado and Beach, 2 inches taller than Herron and an inch over Green, Davenport finds it's not as easy for him to get as low as they do, and he's not going to try.
"I'm a different type back than the rest of those guys," said Davenport.
"Me getting low doesn't do as good as AG getting low or Sam getting low or Noah getting low. They get low with the intention of getting underneath hits and shoulder pads. I'm like 6-2, 250, and me getting low really doesn't do as much damage as me trying to run through somebody."
A healthy Davenport would be the logical choice on paper at No. 2, but Gado led the team in touchdowns last year and has been in the weight room in Green Bay all off-season. .
"We're not concerned about who's where on the depth chart; when you do that you start thinking more than you are playing," said Herron. "It's a mental game with yourself that you don't want to play."
Beach, a free agent who played mostly as a backup at Kentucky and still got 14 touchdowns, has caught the eye of the staff.
"What happens a lot of times, when you get to real football, guys like Beach jump out," said McCarthy.
"He plays with good balance, he's a physical guy. He's obviously young and learning, some of his mistakes are just for lack of experience, but I've been impressed with him since we've put the pads on."
McCarthy said he doesn't just want to establish a No. 2 back because he plans to use the running game extensively. Ideally, he said, he wants four. But after Green, finding a reliable No. 2 would be a good start.
Davenport's standing amidst all the competition isn't unsettling. The fifth-year veteran got his fill of that during his days at the University of Miami.
"Yeah, I think everything on this team is open, you know?" said Davenport.
"But this ain't crowded. Want me to tell you crowded? James Jackson, Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee. There, you're literally fighting for snaps."
"This ain't (expletive). And besides, competition drives you. It makes everybody better."
From the July 30, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel