Partial
08-22-2007, 12:16 AM
From Pete Dougherty (http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/PKR01/708210494/1989&GID=zokpRat7fmjduPS0FgLFoWMzMoZnPARGCPOZAs0M+s4%3D )
When General Manager Ted Thompson put much of the fate of the Green Bay Packers' 2007 running game in his decision to forgo free agency and tab halfback Brandon Jackson in the second round of this year's draft, he at least did it at the position where high draft picks probably have the best chance of helping out immediately.
The Packers need a major contribution from Jackson this year, not only because Thompson let Ahman Green leave in free agency but because of a knee injury to Vernand Morency in training camp. A look at last year suggests that if Thompson's judgment on Jackson was right — and with draft picks, it's almost always a big if — he can get quality play immediately, because halfbacks usually don't take too much time to develop.
Five rookie running backs played big roles for their NFL teams in 2006, including two that were drafted after the first round: Reggie Bush, who probably was the biggest reason for New Orleans' turnaround and run to the NFC championship game; Laurence Maroney, who ran for 745 yards for the title-contending New England Patriots; Joseph Addai, who gained more than 1,000 yards and had an MVP-type game in the Super Bowl for the Indianapolis Colts; Maurice Jones-Drew, who rushed for 941 yards and averaged 5.7 yards a carry for Jacksonville; and Jerious Norwood, who ran for 633 yards and averaged a gaudy 6.4 yards a carry for Atlanta.
All five were first-day draft picks, including Jones-Drew in the second round and Norwood in the third.
"History has told you that young guys could come in and play right away (at running back)," Thompson said Monday. "It's just a matter of natural running instincts and all the ingredients that make up a good running back. If you're a good running back in high school, if you have those qualities, it should (translate) into college and on to the pros."
Jackson is the Packers' unquestioned lead halfback with Morency sidelined because of a patellar-tendon injury. Morency injured the knee on the first day of training camp, and the Packers have given no indication when he might be back, though they appear to be hoping for the regular-season opener at the earliest.
McCarthy plans on Jackson and Morency sharing the load at halfback over the long season, but even if Morency returns in early September, he'll have missed all of training camp and be out of football shape. That means the 21-year-old Jackson will be the primary halfback early in the season, and perhaps longer, for a Packers team that needs to pump up a running game that finished 23rd in the NFL in yards and 21st in average yards per carry last season.
"If our committee (of backs) is not healthy, then it goes to a committee of one," said Reggie McKenzie, the Packers' director of pro personnel. "Coach Mike will figure out a way to get (Jackson) to be productive."
After an unproductive preseason debut at Pittsburgh last week, Jackson gave the Packers hope he can produce as a rookie with his 13-carry, 54-yard performance in the first half last of last week's game against Seattle. That included nine carries for 38 yards (4.2 yards a rush) with the No. 1 offense.
At 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, Jackson is on the small side for a halfback, and his pass-blocking remains raw, though the team considers him a willing blocker who has improved in that area since the start of camp and has considerable toughness. He's also a skilled receiver out of the backfield. The question is whether he's explosive enough to be a consistent gainer in the Packers' one-cut, zone-blocking scheme.
"What we saw (against Seattle) was improvement," McKenzie said. "He's getting better day in, day out, week in, week out. That's what you're looking for. When you're talking about a position like that, the more he does it, the more he attacks the line of scrimmage and visualizes, the more he sees, the better he's going to get. You're not going to see someone from Day 1 of training camp and say, 'That guy's going be a 1,000-yard rusher,' unless he's a big-time guy you take (in the first round)."
Going into the draft, Thompson needed a possible starting halfback and was in position to take the third running back off the board but traded back from the No. 47 pick. He made Jackson the sixth back selected at No. 63 overall, behind Adrian Peterson (No. 7 overall), Marshawn Lynch (No. 12), Kenny Irons (No. 49), Chris Henry (No. 50) and Brian Leonard (No. 52).
The Packers will get a long look at what they have in Jackson in the final two preseason games, in part because of a backfield that's thin with injuries. Besides Morency, who was the starter going into camp after averaging 4.6 yards in a part-time role last year, the Packers are without potential backups P.J. Pope (knee) and seventh-round draft pick DeShawn Wynn (quadriceps). The only other healthy backs in camp are Noah Herron and undrafted rookie Corey White.
"It could be a little bit overwhelming for Brandon," Thompson said, "because he's been thrust in the role of starting and everybody looking at him, and after every practice, he probably has to answer questions. 'What about that dropped pass in this practice,' and that sort of thing. But he seems to be holding his own."
A look at the last five years shows how good drafting at running back in the first three rounds can provide immediate quality help, even if the odds are better with a premium first-rounder.
In the drafts from 2002 to 2006, 38 halfbacks were drafted on the first day, including 26 in the first and second rounds. Among them, four were 1,000-yard rushers as rookies: Addai (first round), Tampa Bay's Cadillac Williams (first), Detroit's Kevin Jones (first) and Washington's Clinton Portis (second). Two others — Jones-Drew (second) and Miami's Ronnie Brown (first) — rushed for more than 900 yards as rookies.
Others have had strong rookie seasons, as well, including Bush, Maroney and Norwood, a third-round pick who's 6.4-yard average per carry (and 600-plus yards) as a backup showed his big-play capabilities.
Then there were halfbacks from previous drafts, such as San Francisco's Frank Gore, a second-rounder who averaged 4.8 yards (and gained 608 yards) as a rookie in 2005; St. Louis' Steven Jackson, a first-rounder who despite playing behind Marshall Faulk as a rookie in 2004 gained 673 yards and averaged 5.0 yards a carry; and Dallas' Junius Jones, a second-rounder who gained 819 yards (4.2 yards a carry) as a rookie in 2004.
Jackson may or may not be a good player this season — halfbacks selected in the first two rounds averaged 489 yards rushing as rookies over the last five years, and there are plenty of busts among them. Tennessee's LenDale White (second round), Arizona's J.J. Arrington (second), Cleveland's Willie Green (first), and Houston's Tony Hollings (second) were disappointments as rookies on teams that were thin at running back.
"Right now, we think we got a good one," McKenzie said.
When General Manager Ted Thompson put much of the fate of the Green Bay Packers' 2007 running game in his decision to forgo free agency and tab halfback Brandon Jackson in the second round of this year's draft, he at least did it at the position where high draft picks probably have the best chance of helping out immediately.
The Packers need a major contribution from Jackson this year, not only because Thompson let Ahman Green leave in free agency but because of a knee injury to Vernand Morency in training camp. A look at last year suggests that if Thompson's judgment on Jackson was right — and with draft picks, it's almost always a big if — he can get quality play immediately, because halfbacks usually don't take too much time to develop.
Five rookie running backs played big roles for their NFL teams in 2006, including two that were drafted after the first round: Reggie Bush, who probably was the biggest reason for New Orleans' turnaround and run to the NFC championship game; Laurence Maroney, who ran for 745 yards for the title-contending New England Patriots; Joseph Addai, who gained more than 1,000 yards and had an MVP-type game in the Super Bowl for the Indianapolis Colts; Maurice Jones-Drew, who rushed for 941 yards and averaged 5.7 yards a carry for Jacksonville; and Jerious Norwood, who ran for 633 yards and averaged a gaudy 6.4 yards a carry for Atlanta.
All five were first-day draft picks, including Jones-Drew in the second round and Norwood in the third.
"History has told you that young guys could come in and play right away (at running back)," Thompson said Monday. "It's just a matter of natural running instincts and all the ingredients that make up a good running back. If you're a good running back in high school, if you have those qualities, it should (translate) into college and on to the pros."
Jackson is the Packers' unquestioned lead halfback with Morency sidelined because of a patellar-tendon injury. Morency injured the knee on the first day of training camp, and the Packers have given no indication when he might be back, though they appear to be hoping for the regular-season opener at the earliest.
McCarthy plans on Jackson and Morency sharing the load at halfback over the long season, but even if Morency returns in early September, he'll have missed all of training camp and be out of football shape. That means the 21-year-old Jackson will be the primary halfback early in the season, and perhaps longer, for a Packers team that needs to pump up a running game that finished 23rd in the NFL in yards and 21st in average yards per carry last season.
"If our committee (of backs) is not healthy, then it goes to a committee of one," said Reggie McKenzie, the Packers' director of pro personnel. "Coach Mike will figure out a way to get (Jackson) to be productive."
After an unproductive preseason debut at Pittsburgh last week, Jackson gave the Packers hope he can produce as a rookie with his 13-carry, 54-yard performance in the first half last of last week's game against Seattle. That included nine carries for 38 yards (4.2 yards a rush) with the No. 1 offense.
At 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, Jackson is on the small side for a halfback, and his pass-blocking remains raw, though the team considers him a willing blocker who has improved in that area since the start of camp and has considerable toughness. He's also a skilled receiver out of the backfield. The question is whether he's explosive enough to be a consistent gainer in the Packers' one-cut, zone-blocking scheme.
"What we saw (against Seattle) was improvement," McKenzie said. "He's getting better day in, day out, week in, week out. That's what you're looking for. When you're talking about a position like that, the more he does it, the more he attacks the line of scrimmage and visualizes, the more he sees, the better he's going to get. You're not going to see someone from Day 1 of training camp and say, 'That guy's going be a 1,000-yard rusher,' unless he's a big-time guy you take (in the first round)."
Going into the draft, Thompson needed a possible starting halfback and was in position to take the third running back off the board but traded back from the No. 47 pick. He made Jackson the sixth back selected at No. 63 overall, behind Adrian Peterson (No. 7 overall), Marshawn Lynch (No. 12), Kenny Irons (No. 49), Chris Henry (No. 50) and Brian Leonard (No. 52).
The Packers will get a long look at what they have in Jackson in the final two preseason games, in part because of a backfield that's thin with injuries. Besides Morency, who was the starter going into camp after averaging 4.6 yards in a part-time role last year, the Packers are without potential backups P.J. Pope (knee) and seventh-round draft pick DeShawn Wynn (quadriceps). The only other healthy backs in camp are Noah Herron and undrafted rookie Corey White.
"It could be a little bit overwhelming for Brandon," Thompson said, "because he's been thrust in the role of starting and everybody looking at him, and after every practice, he probably has to answer questions. 'What about that dropped pass in this practice,' and that sort of thing. But he seems to be holding his own."
A look at the last five years shows how good drafting at running back in the first three rounds can provide immediate quality help, even if the odds are better with a premium first-rounder.
In the drafts from 2002 to 2006, 38 halfbacks were drafted on the first day, including 26 in the first and second rounds. Among them, four were 1,000-yard rushers as rookies: Addai (first round), Tampa Bay's Cadillac Williams (first), Detroit's Kevin Jones (first) and Washington's Clinton Portis (second). Two others — Jones-Drew (second) and Miami's Ronnie Brown (first) — rushed for more than 900 yards as rookies.
Others have had strong rookie seasons, as well, including Bush, Maroney and Norwood, a third-round pick who's 6.4-yard average per carry (and 600-plus yards) as a backup showed his big-play capabilities.
Then there were halfbacks from previous drafts, such as San Francisco's Frank Gore, a second-rounder who averaged 4.8 yards (and gained 608 yards) as a rookie in 2005; St. Louis' Steven Jackson, a first-rounder who despite playing behind Marshall Faulk as a rookie in 2004 gained 673 yards and averaged 5.0 yards a carry; and Dallas' Junius Jones, a second-rounder who gained 819 yards (4.2 yards a carry) as a rookie in 2004.
Jackson may or may not be a good player this season — halfbacks selected in the first two rounds averaged 489 yards rushing as rookies over the last five years, and there are plenty of busts among them. Tennessee's LenDale White (second round), Arizona's J.J. Arrington (second), Cleveland's Willie Green (first), and Houston's Tony Hollings (second) were disappointments as rookies on teams that were thin at running back.
"Right now, we think we got a good one," McKenzie said.