Arliss Beach finally earning respect

[woodbuck27]

Posted August 24, 2006

Beach finally earning respect

By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

With every bit of success that Arliss Beach has during Green Bay Packers training camp, he thinks about his four years at the University of Kentucky and just shakes his head.

After Beach's sophomore season at Kentucky, he seemed well on his way to becoming a star. During his first start, he rushed for three touchdowns as the Wildcats nearly upset the University of Florida. Beach finished the season as Kentucky's leading rusher and also led the team with eight touchdowns.

As well as Beach played, however, he seldom found himself in the starting lineup.

"I guess I just wasn't their guy. I never really understood how they did things there," Beach said. "I came in under one coaching staff, and I just didn't fit in with the new coaching staff. They wanted a scat back, and I'm more of a power back."

Beach seldom was used during his senior season, with only 64 rushes for 288 yards. After failing to regularly crack the starting lineup, Beach said he knew he had a tough battle ahead if he was even going to get a chance to make the NFL.

"I'm not here because of anything I did at Kentucky," Beach said. "I had a good pro day, and that's the only reason I'm here right now."

NFL teams had very little interest in Beach until he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds and had 21 repetitions in the bench press of 225 pounds at Kentucky's pro day. While the performance wasn't enough to get Beach drafted, he was one of the players the Packers targeted as an undrafted free agent.

"It was another case of our scouts doing a great job," Packers running backs coach Edgar Bennett said. "Here's a guy who didn't do much at Kentucky, but when he did play, we saw talent. Now, he's in a NFL camp holding his own with everybody. He's a tough kid, and we really like him."

It would have been easy for Beach to get forgotten about during camp. With Ahman Green, Samkon Gado, Najeh Davenport, Noah Herron and Beach, the Packers have five players vying for what could be three or four roster spots. Beach may have not seemed like a serious contender for a roster spot when he was sidelined with a concussion early in training camp, but after he rushed nine times for 50 yards in Saturday's preseason win over the Atlanta Falcons, the coaching staff is looking at Beach a bit differently.

"He's a tough, physical football player," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think he's a young man with a bright future."

Right now, the bigger question may be just how the Packers are going to find room for Beach on what promises to be an already crowded roster. With the way Beach played Saturday night, it could be hard for the Packers to slip him through waivers to try and sign him to the practice squad if he doesn't make the final 53-man roster.

"We have two weeks to let everything play itself out," Bennett said. "I'm anxious to see what he does in these next two games and then we'll go from there."

Right now, Beach is just happy to be given the chance that he didn't feel he got at Kentucky.

"It felt good to finally be able to go out there and show them that I'm capable of doing the things they need me to do," Beach said. "All I wanted was an opportunity, and now that I have it, I'm going to make the most of it."

Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton. E-mail him at dtomlins@postcrescent.com

GO PACK GO !!!

[Brainerd]

Posted August 24, 2006

Right now, the bigger question may be just how the Packers are going to find room for Beach on what promises to be an already crowded roster. With the way Beach played Saturday night, it could be hard for the Packers to slip him through waivers to try and sign him to the practice squad if he doesn't make the final 53-man roster.


Unless Davenport is saving it for the regular season he is done. Herron is all work and no show. Green is an unknown. Gado is a pleasant mystery.

Crowded with what?

Beach reminds me of a young Dorsey Levens although I haven't seen him play enough. If Davenport stays and Beach is let go I'm going to be disappointed.

[BallHawk]

Green, Gado, Beach.

[4and12to12and4]

This may get criticism here, but at this point, I'd rather keep Beach than Nejeh or Gado. Beach has all the tools, he is a bruiser for short yardage, and he has explosiveness. And from the reports I've heard, he's a good blocker also. I sure hope we don't let him go. I want to see this kid get his chance here.

[swede]

This may get criticism here, but at this point, I'd rather keep Beach than Nejeh or Gado. Beach has all the tools, he is a bruiser for short yardage, and he has explosiveness. And from the reports I've heard, he's a good blocker also. I sure hope we don't let him go. I want to see this kid get his chance here.

It's a reasonable statement. Najeh for sure seems the wrong back for this blocking scheme. He's better if you make a hole with a couple of roadgrader linemen and point him into it.

The zone blocking scheme seems to require backs with good vision and a quick first cut. Even the beloved Gado seems to be having a little trouble with it, though I don't think he's done learning how to run in the scheme.

Green, and Gado, and Herron or Beach. In the final analysis the one who is more reliable in picking up blitzes. should make the team.

(Fullback has me more worried than running back however. I wish we had at least one that was both good and healthy.)

[oregonpackfan]

I agree that I would rather keep Beach than Davenport but I disagree about Godo. I recommend the Packers keep Gado.

OPF

[MacCool606]

I don't know his measurements, but is he big enough to play FB? They tried Gado, so they are looking for someone

[No Mo Moss]

Monday Night will be Davenports make or break game IMO. He may suprise us.

[Mazzin]

Man why don't they put Najeh at fullback???? That is his natural position, he played that at miami and than we let him become a Halfback, we should just try to convert him back to his roots. Then we could also run with him, it would be a change of pace! What ya think?

[Harlan Huckleby]

Man why don't they put Najeh at fullback????

Judging from his comments in the papers, I think Najeh would not be unhappy about being on another team. He thinks he is a starting halfback. I think he blocks crappy as a fullback because he doesn't want to play the position.

[retailguy]

Man why don't they put Najeh at fullback???? That is his natural position, he played that at miami and than we let him become a Halfback, we should just try to convert him back to his roots. Then we could also run with him, it would be a change of pace! What ya think?


Woman, because he don't wanna play der. He wanna play da halfbak. If we not careful he poop in da closet....


And what Harlan says.... He just hasn't shown the willingness or the ability. He's definitely big enough.


edit: Oh yeah, I forgot. Bitches! (whatever that means)

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

As long as Green and Gato are number 1 and 2 am happy. Green is a 5 time probowler and Gato has shown if he had to that he could start.

[digitaldean]

Man why don't they put Najeh at fullback????

Judging from his comments in the papers, I think Najeh would not be unhappy about being on another team. He thinks he is a starting halfback. I think he blocks crappy as a fullback because he doesn't want to play the position.

He has the talent to be a starting halfback. Problem is he isn't healthy enough to be a #1.

[woodbuck27]

This out today on RB Arliss Beach:


Beach Making Strong Push For Running Back Spot

by Mike Spofford, Packers.com
posted 08/25/2006


http://images.packers.com/images/action/060824beach_a.jpg

Arliss Beach


Undrafted rookies face an uphill battle for a roster spot each day of training camp, making every single practice a fight for their football lives.

So when an undrafted rookie goes down with an injury and misses significant practice time, it's easy for him to fall off the coaching staff's radar, and easier yet to get cut come decision time.

Running back Arliss Beach was afraid he might be one of those easy decisions.

Signed by the Packers in May as a rookie free agent out of Kentucky, Beach sustained a concussion on the third day of training camp in a violent collision with rookie linebacker Abdul Hodge in a blitz pickup drill.

He missed seven days of practice, including the Family Night scrimmage, and wasn't much of a thought while veteran backs like Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport were returning from injuries. At one of the most competitive positions on the roster, Beach knew he had to get out of the training room and back onto the field, pronto.

"From all the players I talked to, they say, 'You can't make the club in the tub,'" Beach said.

"I was really nervous about that because you don't get to show what you've got. It puts you in a tough position."

But remarkably, Beach has beaten the odds just to get himself back in the running for a roster spot. He capped off a strong week of practice last week by rushing nine times for 50 yards against Atlanta last Saturday. He just missed a fourth-quarter touchdown, getting stopped for no gain when he tried to leap over the pile at the goal line.

"We like his attitude and his mental tougnenss and he's just naturally a tough guy," running backs coach Edgar Bennett said.

"Without a doubt he has come on strong the last few weeks of practice, and we hope he can continue to play at that level."

Beach was particularly effective in getting the Packers out of a field-position hole late in the Falcons game. With Green Bay backed up to its 2-yard line, Beach carried five straight times for 41 yards, including his game-best 19-yard run in which he showed a higher gear that complements the power in his 5-foot-10, 219-pound frame.

But it wasn't the physical tools that allowed Beach to make up for the time lost to the concussion. It was his approach to the mental side, studying the playbook and displaying mistake-free execution once he was back on the practice field.

"They're big on not making mistakes, and that's where I try my best," Beach said.

"Knowing what I'm doing, knowing what the people around me are doing, showing that I'm going to run hard, I'm going to stick my face in there to block somebody, doing anything I can, ... work hard on special teams, anything I can to get on the field."

Beach is expected to get a look as a kickoff returner on Monday night in Cincinnati, and he's been working on special teams coverage units regularly as well.

It's virtually a requirement in the NFL to show contributions on special teams in order to make the roster as a backup, and that's especially true for a player third or fourth on the depth chart at a position that generally features one guy on gameday.

"If you're going to play running back here, and you're not the guy, you have to be a core member of special teams, and a core member as far as productive, being there day in and day out, making plays on special teams and helping us win football games," Bennett said.

"He's definitely a guy who can step up and be a big part of that."

Beach planned on being a big part of Kentucky's offense in college, but after a promising start to his career there, some injuries and a new coaching staff that brought in a new system limited Beach's opportunities.

He had a backup plan to finish school and look for a coaching job if nothing worked out in football, but he trained hard for Kentucky's pro day and had a strong workout that helped him get the attention of some scouts, including the Packers'.

Beach doesn't have much to show statistically for his college career (226 rushes, 951 yards, 14 TD; 25 receptions, 194 yards), but one noticeable number is his zero fumbles in 251 total touches at Kentucky.

"My coach in college said, 'Ball security is job security,'" he said.

"If you can hold onto the ball, that's one step up. Who can you rely on if you're fumbling? I really take pride in that."

He'll have plenty to be proud of should he earn a roster spot after the final two preseason games. Beach admits he looked at himself as an NFL longshot when he left Kentucky, and he became an even longer-shot when he got hurt.

This week in practice he has worn a red no-contact jersey because of shoulder tendinitis, but he says he'll be fine. His backup plan is still in place, but at least now he's clearly not the easy decision many in his circumstances become.

"He was fortunate when he was able to get back in there he made the most of his opportunity, and it's starting to show up on the field," Bennett said.

"The kid is coming on pretty strong. He's a hard-nosed downhill runner with quick feet. He can do some things for us."


GO PACK GO ! FAITH !!

[the_idle_threat]

As things looked last Saturday night, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Beach at #2.