woodbuck27
08-08-2006, 12:57 PM
August 8, 2006
Green confident he'll start season
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
There's no guarantee Ahman Green will play in the Green Bay Packers' regular-season opener against Chicago, but the odds of that happening continued going up Monday.
Green is coming back from a torn quadriceps tendon sustained last October, and the latest step in his return was Monday, when he took part in individual drills for the first time since camp opened July 28.
It's still uncertain how many preseason games, if any, he'll play in over the next month. But even if he misses the entire four-game schedule, the ninth-year pro could be playing halfback on Lambeau Field for that Sept. 10 opener against the Bears, 10½ months after suffering the severe injury to his right thigh and knee.
"I won't say it's a given," Green said of playing against the Bears, "but it's a very real, high possibility. Real high."
The Packers' coaching staff seemed especially buoyed by Green's return to the practice field, even in such a limited capacity. Green remains the team's best hope for a viable run game in coach Mike McCarthy's new zone-blocking running scheme even if the four-time Pro Bowler is relatively old (29) for his position and coming back from a serious injury.
Green not only is the most physically talented halfback on the roster when healthy, he also played in a zone-blocking scheme in college at Nebraska. The early signs suggest he has the vision and instincts to perform in the Packers' version this year, if he still has the physical abilities.
Jagodzinski, the Packers' offensive coordinator, is implementing the new offense, which instructs the running backs to make only one or two quick reads in the backfield and make only one cut. Early in practice Monday, after Green made a hard cut and turned upfield while running a play without a defense, Jagodzinski said he turned to running backs coach Edgar Bennett.
"That's what it's supposed to look like," he told Bennett.
Though Monday was Green's first day in training camp running a play with teammates, he's been to every meeting and videotape session this offseason and in training camp. He also learned the basic principles of the scheme at Nebraska, where the inside run game involved zone blocking and the coaches, like the Packers now, insisted that halfbacks quickly make a decisive cut upfield.
"The biggest thing about running back here is vision and being able to north and south cut," Jagodzinski said. "Vision to be able to see the read, ability to get north and south by one cut. I tell you, Ahman Green's got that, he's got that big time. It's going to be interesting to see when he gets out here full go."
Green and the Packers, though, won't know until at least a few games into the regular season, and probably longer, whether he's anything like the Pro Bowl halfback of 2004. Even before getting injured last year, Green didn't look like the back who rushed for 1,163 yards or more the previous five years, though he was running behind a re-made offensive line that was a liability all season.
In five games over the first six weeks of the season (he missed Week 5 because of soreness in his right knee), he averaged only 3.3 yards a carry, a huge drop-off from his career average of 4.7 yards. Also, his long run in 77 carries last year was only 13 yards.
The Packers and Green don't know how much of that was because of the combination of his sore knee and the team's poor blocking, and how much might be from cumulative effects of age and 1,605 career carries in the NFL.
Regardless, Green said he's had no pain in his post-operative leg during camp. He won't know whether he's lost any explosiveness or speed until he gets several carries over a short span in a game setting, which might not happen until the regular season.
"All I can think about is doing it," Green said, "and then seeing what I can or can't do, or what I need to improve."
Green took part in all individual drills during Monday morning's non-padded practice and was scheduled to add the seven-on-seven passing period to that regimen in Monday night's full-pads workout. The seven-on-seven drill doesn't include contact except for defensive backs jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage.
Green said he probably won't take part in any contact drills until late next week at the earliest. At most, he'll play in two exhibition games, though he might not play in any.
"He looks great physically," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He just needs to get back in there. We just have to be smart with him."
Green's hopeful return contrasts with backup halfback Najeh Davenport's continued problem with injuries, which despite his proven running ability (4.9-yard average per carry) have become a career-long problem that eventually might threaten his chances of making the final roster if they persist through most of camp.
Davenport surprisingly passed his physical at the start of training camp after having a metal plate and screws surgically implanted in his broken right ankle last October. However, after three days of camp, he injured his calf and missed practice until returning Monday night.
In his four years in the NFL, Davenport has missed 25 of 64 games because of injuries, including 11 last year.
"Guys are going to play with nicks, they do," Jagodzinski said. "After the first individual (drill) in practice, no one's 100 percent. He needs to get out on the field. He's had some nagging things, and he's working through them now."
GO PACKERS ! HOLD THE FAITH !!
Green confident he'll start season
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
There's no guarantee Ahman Green will play in the Green Bay Packers' regular-season opener against Chicago, but the odds of that happening continued going up Monday.
Green is coming back from a torn quadriceps tendon sustained last October, and the latest step in his return was Monday, when he took part in individual drills for the first time since camp opened July 28.
It's still uncertain how many preseason games, if any, he'll play in over the next month. But even if he misses the entire four-game schedule, the ninth-year pro could be playing halfback on Lambeau Field for that Sept. 10 opener against the Bears, 10½ months after suffering the severe injury to his right thigh and knee.
"I won't say it's a given," Green said of playing against the Bears, "but it's a very real, high possibility. Real high."
The Packers' coaching staff seemed especially buoyed by Green's return to the practice field, even in such a limited capacity. Green remains the team's best hope for a viable run game in coach Mike McCarthy's new zone-blocking running scheme even if the four-time Pro Bowler is relatively old (29) for his position and coming back from a serious injury.
Green not only is the most physically talented halfback on the roster when healthy, he also played in a zone-blocking scheme in college at Nebraska. The early signs suggest he has the vision and instincts to perform in the Packers' version this year, if he still has the physical abilities.
Jagodzinski, the Packers' offensive coordinator, is implementing the new offense, which instructs the running backs to make only one or two quick reads in the backfield and make only one cut. Early in practice Monday, after Green made a hard cut and turned upfield while running a play without a defense, Jagodzinski said he turned to running backs coach Edgar Bennett.
"That's what it's supposed to look like," he told Bennett.
Though Monday was Green's first day in training camp running a play with teammates, he's been to every meeting and videotape session this offseason and in training camp. He also learned the basic principles of the scheme at Nebraska, where the inside run game involved zone blocking and the coaches, like the Packers now, insisted that halfbacks quickly make a decisive cut upfield.
"The biggest thing about running back here is vision and being able to north and south cut," Jagodzinski said. "Vision to be able to see the read, ability to get north and south by one cut. I tell you, Ahman Green's got that, he's got that big time. It's going to be interesting to see when he gets out here full go."
Green and the Packers, though, won't know until at least a few games into the regular season, and probably longer, whether he's anything like the Pro Bowl halfback of 2004. Even before getting injured last year, Green didn't look like the back who rushed for 1,163 yards or more the previous five years, though he was running behind a re-made offensive line that was a liability all season.
In five games over the first six weeks of the season (he missed Week 5 because of soreness in his right knee), he averaged only 3.3 yards a carry, a huge drop-off from his career average of 4.7 yards. Also, his long run in 77 carries last year was only 13 yards.
The Packers and Green don't know how much of that was because of the combination of his sore knee and the team's poor blocking, and how much might be from cumulative effects of age and 1,605 career carries in the NFL.
Regardless, Green said he's had no pain in his post-operative leg during camp. He won't know whether he's lost any explosiveness or speed until he gets several carries over a short span in a game setting, which might not happen until the regular season.
"All I can think about is doing it," Green said, "and then seeing what I can or can't do, or what I need to improve."
Green took part in all individual drills during Monday morning's non-padded practice and was scheduled to add the seven-on-seven passing period to that regimen in Monday night's full-pads workout. The seven-on-seven drill doesn't include contact except for defensive backs jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage.
Green said he probably won't take part in any contact drills until late next week at the earliest. At most, he'll play in two exhibition games, though he might not play in any.
"He looks great physically," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He just needs to get back in there. We just have to be smart with him."
Green's hopeful return contrasts with backup halfback Najeh Davenport's continued problem with injuries, which despite his proven running ability (4.9-yard average per carry) have become a career-long problem that eventually might threaten his chances of making the final roster if they persist through most of camp.
Davenport surprisingly passed his physical at the start of training camp after having a metal plate and screws surgically implanted in his broken right ankle last October. However, after three days of camp, he injured his calf and missed practice until returning Monday night.
In his four years in the NFL, Davenport has missed 25 of 64 games because of injuries, including 11 last year.
"Guys are going to play with nicks, they do," Jagodzinski said. "After the first individual (drill) in practice, no one's 100 percent. He needs to get out on the field. He's had some nagging things, and he's working through them now."
GO PACKERS ! HOLD THE FAITH !!