HOW GOOD IS RYAN GRANT ?

[Bretsky]

I don't put him anywhere yet...

He only played in what??? 8/9 games???

Exactly why this is fun to project; because we don't know yet. But I'd still like to get your list of which RB's you'd rather have starting for Green Bay next year

[Partial]

Re: HOW GOOD IS RYAN GRANT ?

No way Clinton Portis or Maurice Jones-Drew are better than Grant, absolutely no way.

What players are you watching? Portis showed this year that he is really, really good when healthy. Jones Drew is the back-up and change of pace back who could start for more than half the teams in the NFL. The reason he isn't starting is because they have one of the best runner ever in front of him.

Both of those players are leaps and bounds ahead of Grant to this point. Maybe not when all is said and done, but they have shown they can produce on their own without great quarterbacks and they have done it over a longer period of time.

[Bretsky]

My presentation of this topic was poor; in reality I wanted to list the RB's I'd take over Grant next year. At this point he could be a one year wonder or the real deal.

[Partial]

The best backs in the league are versatile like Westbrook or Tomlinson. They can play much longer and be an entire offense on their own. This is what Bush is supposed to be and what McFadden will be.

Grant is not one of those guys you can line up anywhere and can run routes like a receiver, but he seems to be as effective a runner as anyone else in the league. He's fast, he's decisive and he's got good instincts.

Not to say I told you so, but I did tell all of you guys that Bush would be average at best and called it out even after the Fresno game that'd Lendale would be better. Gotta rub that one in every now and again

I don't think McFadden is a similar type of player. He isn't nearly as quick. McFadden is the best back in the draft, but I don't think he is anywhere near either of those guys listed above in versatility, and not close to Tomlinson at being a singleback.

As for my thoughts on Grant to address Bretsky's post, I am in the undecided camp in that it is far too soon to tell. He hasn't shown that he can produce without a stud quarterback yet, nor has he shown he can hold up to the pounding. I think he'll be a very good player for us if A-Rod turns into Tony Romo.

I don't think he'll be half as effective as he could be if Rodgers is a dud.

I don't think he has the skill set to be a 1500+ rusher and tote the rock 275 times or so.

If I'm Coach MM, these are the guys I want ahead of Grant if the scope is one year. Over the long term, it'd be very different of course.
Peterson
Bush
McCalister
Barber
Bradshaw
Ward
Jacobs
Westbrook
Portis
James
Gore
Jackson
Tomlinson
Johnson
Maroney
Brown
Lynch
Taylor
Jones Drew
Addai
Parker
McGahee
Mendenhall
Stewart
McFadden

[b bulldog]

I'd take Grant over the most overrated player in the NFL, Reggie Bush!

[Lurker64]

I'd take Grant over the most overrated player in the NFL, Reggie Bush!

You got it wrong. Bush is the most overrated player in NFL History, not just the most overrated player in the NFL.

[Partial]

I'd take Grant over the most overrated player in the NFL, Reggie Bush!

I maintain they don't use him right. He has a lot of untapped potential still.

[The Leaper]

If you view his running skills alone, Grant is easily one of top ten RBs in the league IMO. He has incredible vision and shows the patience and knowledge critical to setting up and utilizing his blockers and has enough speed to make big plays happen. This is important, because these aspects of being a RB really can't be taught or improved on very much.

However, he is below average in terms of pass blocking and as a receiver out of the backfield. That is where I feel that guys like Parker and Portis are more of a complete package than Grant at this point. The good news is that these areas are ones where Grant can improve if he works at it.

If I had to rank him overall right now...he'd be in the 15-20 range, but with potential to be a top 8 back if he becomes solid in the areas he currently is subpar.

[GBRulz]

I'd take Grant over the most overrated player in the NFL, Reggie Bush!

You got it wrong. Bush is the most overrated player in NFL History, not just the most overrated player in the NFL.

I disagree, that title should not be taken away from Michael Vick.

[ND72]

If you view his running skills alone, Grant is easily one of top ten RBs in the league IMO. He has incredible vision and shows the patience and knowledge critical to setting up and utilizing his blockers and has enough speed to make big plays happen. This is important, because these aspects of being a RB really can't be taught or improved on very much.

I read the rest of what was said here, and I agree with that, but I totally disagree with this part. I love Ryan Grant. I liked him a lot when he was in college, but he is NOT a top 10 RB in any conversation. Let me state again that a LOT of the improvement in the runnign game came from the OL getting downfield better through the year. I buddy of mine who HATES Brandon Jackson even said that in the Detroit finale game, Brandon Jackson was even making the same reads and cuts as Grant, the biggest difference being that Grant just runs a lot more down hill and with more power.

I honestly struggle ranking him in the top 10 in the NFC, putting him around #8 or 9 to be kind.

[Scott Campbell]

I'd take Grant over the most overrated player in the NFL, Reggie Bush!

You got it wrong. Bush is the most overrated player in NFL History, not just the most overrated player in the NFL.

Brian Bosworth.
KiJana Carter.
Tony Mandrich.

[The Leaper]

I read the rest of what was said here, and I agree with that, but I totally disagree with this part. I love Ryan Grant. I liked him a lot when he was in college, but he is NOT a top 10 RB in any conversation.

I'm saying he is a top 10 runner...not RB. In terms of his vision, power and speed, I think he is a top 10 runner. However, he is average at best in other areas that are crucial for a RB, such as blocking and receiving.

I buddy of mine who HATES Brandon Jackson even said that in the Detroit finale game, Brandon Jackson was even making the same reads and cuts as Grant, the biggest difference being that Grant just runs a lot more down hill and with more power.

I don't think it can be attributed entirely to blocking ND. To some extent, I agree...the coaches had to pound heavily on the OL last year due to their mediocre play.

However, the reason things opened up more in the 2nd half of the year IMO was because Favre had so much success passing during the first half of the year that defenses were forced to pull back and defend the pass...especially as McCarthy moved toward more multiple WR sets as the year wore on. It reduced the number of defensive players in the box, and left more openings on the backside of the play when we did run the ball.

That is why I think we will struggle in 2008. Rodgers is not Favre, and teams will stuff the run until he proves he can torch them with the pass. I'm not holding my breath.

The difference between Grant and Jackson all comes down to vision...and I think Jackson's improvement toward the end of the year has to do with the amount of experience he gained sitting on the sidelines and watching tape of Grant's decision-making in action. The guy was a rookie...he SHOULD improve a lot during his first couple years as his experience increases. However, saying Jackson did well against DETROIT is hardly a sign that the guy has really turned the corner.

[StPaulPackFan]

The difference between Grant and Jackson all comes down to vision...and I think Jackson's improvement toward the end of the year has to do with the amount of experience he gained sitting on the sidelines and watching tape of Grant's decision-making in action. The guy was a rookie...he SHOULD improve a lot during his first couple years as his experience increases. However, saying Jackson did well against DETROIT is hardly a sign that the guy has really turned the corner.

I agree 100%. No doubt, Jackson had a great day against Detroit. But Grant was posting career numbers before he got pulled. We all knew he wouldn't play the whole game because our playoff seed was already locked in, but he had 57 yard on just 6 carries.

IMO, the major difference between Grant and Jackson is decisiveness. Grant surveys the play, decides on his running path and then explodes into it. At the beginning of the year Jackson seemed to always be hopping around in the backfield and this resulted in many negative runs. In the Detroit game his best runs were when he hit the hole hard. At the end of the year he still hopped around at times but not as much as he did earlier in the year. Hopefully he continues to progress during the offseason.