Bossman641
06-13-2007, 11:31 PM
The great unknown in the backfield
Morency out to prove he's able
By ROB REISCHEL
Special to Packer Plus
Posted: June 13, 2007
Green Bay - Before we go much further, let's get one thing clear. Crystal clear.
The Green Bay Packers have no idea just what to expect out of running back Vernand Morency in 2007.
Oh, the powers that be - guys like general manager Ted Thompson, head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin - are hopeful that Morency can become an every-down back and replace the production Ahman Green took with him to Houston. But deep down, that remains nothing more than blind faith.
Until the pads go on, September rolls along and Morency's workload becomes greater than at any other time in his three-year NFL career, the Packers won't fully know if they have a featured back or a nice role player in Morency.
"I know they're hoping he'll be their guy," an NFL scout who's team plays Green Bay this season, said on Monday. "But right now, how can they be sure? They can't, because he's never done it for a full season. So to me, they've got big questions at running back."
Few would argue.
Green got the big-money deal he was looking for from Houston and took his 8,491 career rushing yards south. The Packers then failed to land Marshawn Lynch - a player they coveted - in April's draft.
Of the glut of players in the running back mix, Morency (5-10, 220) is the front-runner and has worked with the No. 1 offense the entire off-season. But in Morency's first two NFL seasons, he's averaged just 71 carries per year and no one truly has a clue how many touches he's capable of.
"I think he's using more of that to motivate him a little bit," Packers running backs coach Edgar Bennett said. "People don't see him as an every-down guy, and I think that's just motivation for him."
Morency, who came to Green Bay in a trade for Samkon Gado last season, seems incredibly motivated. Ask anyone in Packerland about Morency, and the first thing they mention is his work ethic.
Morency has been a fixture at Packer headquarters this off-season. He's put on eight pounds of muscle and perhaps gotten even quicker as he readies for a run to be the lead dog.
"I tell you what, I've been seeing his work ethic this whole off-season and he's really worked hard to take the load," Packers fullback Brandon Miree said. "I think he'll be ready."
Through it all, the somewhat surly Morency has done it with a chip on his shoulder.
Morency, who spent three years in the Colorado Rockies farm system, is already 27 years old. And Morency knows he might never have an opportunity like this again.
"My thing is I'm going to come out here and compete every single day. If I do that, sky's the limit," he said. "My thing is I want to be one of the best backs in the National Football League. That's me. I'm going to work hard every single day and get that done."
Morency has tons to prove, though, before his name enters any discussion of the league's better backs.
It's been five years now, since Morency stopped playing baseball. And in that time, he's been the featured ball carrier for just one season.
Morency backed up Tatum Bell for two years at Oklahoma State. Then, when Morency took the reigns his junior year, he showed he could take a pounding, rushing 258 times for 1,474 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Morency had just 46 rushes as a rookie, though, when he backed up Dominick Davis in Houston. Then last year serving primarily as Green's understudy, Morency had 96 carries.
Morency has averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry during his two NFL seasons. And the Packers fully believe if Morency is asked to become a 20-carry per game back, he's more than capable of handling it.
"I think No. 1 he's in much better shape," Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said of Morency. "I shouldn't say shape because he wasn't out of shape when he came here, I think he's physically advanced more than when he arrived last year.
"He's stronger, maybe even a little quicker. He has a total understanding of the offense now as opposed to learning it on the run throughout the season last year. I'm very excited about him.
"He had a number of big plays for us when he did have the opportunity. I think we can expand with him in the passing game, the checkdown part of it and the third down. Once again, I think he's a guy who sees the opportunity and has to take full advantage of it."
Morency had some opportunities last season, but couldn't fully capitalize.
Morency started for an injured Green at Philadelphia in Week 3, and had 32 total touches (26 rushes, 6 receptions) and accounted for 118 combined yards.
"I felt great after Philly," Morency said. "It was a physical ball game. I was ready to go the next week. I felt fine. I was ready to go the next week, so that's not an issue. I'm a ballplayer."
Morency, who fumbled once against the Eagles, also fumbled early the following week against St. Louis. And McCarthy gave Morency a quick hook and went with Noah Herron instead.
Those fumbles raised some concerns among the coaching staff. And Morency later suffered a lower back injury and missed two games.
By the end of the season, though, Morency seemed to have regained some trust. And the biggest reason why was the Packers' 17-9 victory over Detroit on Dec. 17 in which Morency had a pair of impressive touchdown runs.
First, Morency had a 14-yard TD run in which he dragged two Lions defenders into the end zone. Then, late in the contest with the Packers clinging to a 10-9 lead, Morency had a gorgeous 21-yard TD.
On the play, Morency exploded through a big hole up the middle. Lions safety Kenoy Kennedy came up to make the tackle, but at the 16-yard line, Morency made a gorgeous cut to the right that left Kennedy grabbing air.
Cornerback Dré Bly was the only player left to stop Morency. But Bly was too far inside and Morency raced to the right corner of the end zone for the game-changing score.
"He's got really good feet and he's elusive," Philbin said. "He's got some shake to him, so that's one of the things if you look maybe a year ago at Ahman, he was physical, a slasher, putting the pads down, knock-you-back type of a runner.
"Whereas Mo is kind of a guy, he's going to get to that aiming point. He's got a little short area quickness, he's really very good. So I do think he made some things happen on his own and hopefully we open up some bigger holes for him this year."
Morency will be a much different type of back than Green was. While Green would try running defenders over just as often as he would attempt to make them miss, Morency has a bit more shake to him.
Morency has good instincts, sees cut-back lanes well and does a nice job finding the hole. Morency is a one-cut runner who seems to be a natural fit in Green Bay's system. And much like Green, Morency has good hands and could be a major weapon in the passing game.
"With Mo, that's one of his strongest attributes is catching the ball out of the backfield," Bennett said. "Excellent quickness, can create space. When you've got a guy that quick with speed and he can create space on his own, we can use that and take advantage of that. You can kind of get excited about things like that."
Morency is certainly excited about the chance that awaits him.
Morency knows about backs like Green, Kansas City's Priest Holmes and St. Louis' Steven Jackson who waited their turn, then made the most of their big chance. Morency believes he can be next in line.
"In due time, eventually," he said. "And how do you do that? It's not about talking. It's about going out there and busting your rear end every single day.
"I love watching (wide receiver) Donald Driver practice every single day. He can catch a 2-yard route and take it to the house every single day. He's being where I want to go. It's a great opportunity."
Whether Morency is up to the challenge will be a major factor in how the Packers fare in 2007.
Morency out to prove he's able
By ROB REISCHEL
Special to Packer Plus
Posted: June 13, 2007
Green Bay - Before we go much further, let's get one thing clear. Crystal clear.
The Green Bay Packers have no idea just what to expect out of running back Vernand Morency in 2007.
Oh, the powers that be - guys like general manager Ted Thompson, head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin - are hopeful that Morency can become an every-down back and replace the production Ahman Green took with him to Houston. But deep down, that remains nothing more than blind faith.
Until the pads go on, September rolls along and Morency's workload becomes greater than at any other time in his three-year NFL career, the Packers won't fully know if they have a featured back or a nice role player in Morency.
"I know they're hoping he'll be their guy," an NFL scout who's team plays Green Bay this season, said on Monday. "But right now, how can they be sure? They can't, because he's never done it for a full season. So to me, they've got big questions at running back."
Few would argue.
Green got the big-money deal he was looking for from Houston and took his 8,491 career rushing yards south. The Packers then failed to land Marshawn Lynch - a player they coveted - in April's draft.
Of the glut of players in the running back mix, Morency (5-10, 220) is the front-runner and has worked with the No. 1 offense the entire off-season. But in Morency's first two NFL seasons, he's averaged just 71 carries per year and no one truly has a clue how many touches he's capable of.
"I think he's using more of that to motivate him a little bit," Packers running backs coach Edgar Bennett said. "People don't see him as an every-down guy, and I think that's just motivation for him."
Morency, who came to Green Bay in a trade for Samkon Gado last season, seems incredibly motivated. Ask anyone in Packerland about Morency, and the first thing they mention is his work ethic.
Morency has been a fixture at Packer headquarters this off-season. He's put on eight pounds of muscle and perhaps gotten even quicker as he readies for a run to be the lead dog.
"I tell you what, I've been seeing his work ethic this whole off-season and he's really worked hard to take the load," Packers fullback Brandon Miree said. "I think he'll be ready."
Through it all, the somewhat surly Morency has done it with a chip on his shoulder.
Morency, who spent three years in the Colorado Rockies farm system, is already 27 years old. And Morency knows he might never have an opportunity like this again.
"My thing is I'm going to come out here and compete every single day. If I do that, sky's the limit," he said. "My thing is I want to be one of the best backs in the National Football League. That's me. I'm going to work hard every single day and get that done."
Morency has tons to prove, though, before his name enters any discussion of the league's better backs.
It's been five years now, since Morency stopped playing baseball. And in that time, he's been the featured ball carrier for just one season.
Morency backed up Tatum Bell for two years at Oklahoma State. Then, when Morency took the reigns his junior year, he showed he could take a pounding, rushing 258 times for 1,474 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Morency had just 46 rushes as a rookie, though, when he backed up Dominick Davis in Houston. Then last year serving primarily as Green's understudy, Morency had 96 carries.
Morency has averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry during his two NFL seasons. And the Packers fully believe if Morency is asked to become a 20-carry per game back, he's more than capable of handling it.
"I think No. 1 he's in much better shape," Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said of Morency. "I shouldn't say shape because he wasn't out of shape when he came here, I think he's physically advanced more than when he arrived last year.
"He's stronger, maybe even a little quicker. He has a total understanding of the offense now as opposed to learning it on the run throughout the season last year. I'm very excited about him.
"He had a number of big plays for us when he did have the opportunity. I think we can expand with him in the passing game, the checkdown part of it and the third down. Once again, I think he's a guy who sees the opportunity and has to take full advantage of it."
Morency had some opportunities last season, but couldn't fully capitalize.
Morency started for an injured Green at Philadelphia in Week 3, and had 32 total touches (26 rushes, 6 receptions) and accounted for 118 combined yards.
"I felt great after Philly," Morency said. "It was a physical ball game. I was ready to go the next week. I felt fine. I was ready to go the next week, so that's not an issue. I'm a ballplayer."
Morency, who fumbled once against the Eagles, also fumbled early the following week against St. Louis. And McCarthy gave Morency a quick hook and went with Noah Herron instead.
Those fumbles raised some concerns among the coaching staff. And Morency later suffered a lower back injury and missed two games.
By the end of the season, though, Morency seemed to have regained some trust. And the biggest reason why was the Packers' 17-9 victory over Detroit on Dec. 17 in which Morency had a pair of impressive touchdown runs.
First, Morency had a 14-yard TD run in which he dragged two Lions defenders into the end zone. Then, late in the contest with the Packers clinging to a 10-9 lead, Morency had a gorgeous 21-yard TD.
On the play, Morency exploded through a big hole up the middle. Lions safety Kenoy Kennedy came up to make the tackle, but at the 16-yard line, Morency made a gorgeous cut to the right that left Kennedy grabbing air.
Cornerback Dré Bly was the only player left to stop Morency. But Bly was too far inside and Morency raced to the right corner of the end zone for the game-changing score.
"He's got really good feet and he's elusive," Philbin said. "He's got some shake to him, so that's one of the things if you look maybe a year ago at Ahman, he was physical, a slasher, putting the pads down, knock-you-back type of a runner.
"Whereas Mo is kind of a guy, he's going to get to that aiming point. He's got a little short area quickness, he's really very good. So I do think he made some things happen on his own and hopefully we open up some bigger holes for him this year."
Morency will be a much different type of back than Green was. While Green would try running defenders over just as often as he would attempt to make them miss, Morency has a bit more shake to him.
Morency has good instincts, sees cut-back lanes well and does a nice job finding the hole. Morency is a one-cut runner who seems to be a natural fit in Green Bay's system. And much like Green, Morency has good hands and could be a major weapon in the passing game.
"With Mo, that's one of his strongest attributes is catching the ball out of the backfield," Bennett said. "Excellent quickness, can create space. When you've got a guy that quick with speed and he can create space on his own, we can use that and take advantage of that. You can kind of get excited about things like that."
Morency is certainly excited about the chance that awaits him.
Morency knows about backs like Green, Kansas City's Priest Holmes and St. Louis' Steven Jackson who waited their turn, then made the most of their big chance. Morency believes he can be next in line.
"In due time, eventually," he said. "And how do you do that? It's not about talking. It's about going out there and busting your rear end every single day.
"I love watching (wide receiver) Donald Driver practice every single day. He can catch a 2-yard route and take it to the house every single day. He's being where I want to go. It's a great opportunity."
Whether Morency is up to the challenge will be a major factor in how the Packers fare in 2007.