Great article on insider

[Lurker64]

I think Waldo's list was not "backs who are better than Grant" but "backs who have traits that he wishes Grant has."

Reggie Bush certainly isn't a good RB, but you certainly wish that Grant had his athletic ability.

[Waldo]

I do believe in having multiple complimentary backs unless you have a special back.

Injuries suck, I'm not one to really bash a guy for them though. That is why most teams have more than 1 good RB.

Grant pales next to Addai and Forte as a receiver.

Felix is crazy explosive, a big play waiting to happen.

Thomas has great vision and plays with a ton of heart.

Leon is the mighty mite that can.

Run DMC is very explosive, always a big play threat.

Reggie is a great #2 player, not a bellcow, but he's a darn good receiver, X factor player.

Michael Bush runs with a ton of power. Like Brandon Jacobs jr. Same with Beanie.

What Cedric did to the Pack is something we haven't seen since Green. It wasn't just ineptness causing constant missed tackles.

The Caddy looks darn good this year too.

What special trait does Grant bring?

He's not shifty
He sucks in the passing game
He's not good at breaking tackles
He rarely bowls guys over
His vision isn't great
He isn't much of a big play threat
He has no x factor to his game

[Cheesehead Craig]

I said it before, this team is missing Brandon Jackson.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I do believe in having multiple complimentary backs unless you have a special back.

Injuries suck, I'm not one to really bash a guy for them though. That is why most teams have more than 1 good RB.

Grant pales next to Addai and Forte as a receiver.

Felix is crazy explosive, a big play waiting to happen.

Thomas has great vision and plays with a ton of heart.

Leon is the mighty mite that can.

Run DMC is very explosive, always a big play threat.

Reggie is a great #2 player, not a bellcow, but he's a darn good receiver, X factor player.

Michael Bush runs with a ton of power. Like Brandon Jacobs jr. Same with Beanie.

What Cedric did to the Pack is something we haven't seen since Green. It wasn't just ineptness causing constant missed tackles.

The Caddy looks darn good this year too.

What special trait does Grant bring?

He's not shifty
He sucks in the passing game
He's not good at breaking tackles
He rarely bowls guys over
His vision isn't great
He isn't much of a big play threat
He has no x factor to his game

So, the problem lies with not having the complimentary backs. If Bjack was that player then you have less of a problem with grant, right.

Injuries: I'm not bashing, just acknowledging that certain guys can't be counted on no matter how great their talent. And, the most important thing a player can bring is being active...so the team knows what they are getting.

Run DMC: Ok. So what. He hasn't done it yet. He didn't do it last year. And, this year he has a 3.6 average. So, the potential of breaking one is better...even if he doesn't do it? Ridiculous.

Felix Jones; Awesome. He can break away outta the chair he is sitting in. He played 6 games last year. And, now he is out again. You really seem to value promise rather than production.

Thomas: vision..ok. Heart..please leave that bs outta evals. Ty hates that bs...like gritty and gutty. That is way to freaking subjective. Can Ty say Grant plays with a ton of heart also?

Wash: Sure. But, so what. Your feature back rarely is like him. That is bj's role. Let's compare Grant to the other team's grant back.

M.Bush: I'm not going to listen or respect you when you are pulling this kind of bs. 122 total attempts. Please talk to us when he is a featured back.

Wells: Same as Bush. Look, you may like how they run...but the name of the game is production. 16 rushes. He can't even beat out Hightower. Bwhah.

R. Bush: Yes, he is a talented player. But, he wouldn't help us run the ball...unless you've decided that we won't running inside anymore.

Benson: That wasn't the point. It is ridiculous to talk about him as no one...not one person on this board woulda advocated signing him. Ty took plenty of heat defending him....don't recall you on this board doing so when everybody was essentially saying he sucked and was a knucklehead.
Grant: Again, i'm not here to defend him. I never thought he was great. Never advocated paying him big dollars, etc.

Caddy: He has 114 yards in 3 games. That is certainly something to write home about. He played in 10 games the past 2 years...and had less than a 4 yard average the past 3.

Grant: Well, one special trait is that he suits up and totes the rock. But, in your world, that isn't important. You'd rather have guys that have special skills but only play 6 games or don't produce.

Ridiculous.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I said it before, this team is missing Brandon Jackson.

Ty would agree.

[Waldo]

Other than health, what is one single thing that Grant is good at? One special trait he has?

Even average or bad backs have a special trait.

Ty you are completely missing my point.

A trait. Why should he be our starter.

Poppinga is a jag. No special traits. Ruvell Martin was a jag. No special traits. Cole was a jag. No special traits.

Our starting RB is a jag. No special traits.

LB's don't crash the gaps on most RB's the second they get the ball. They usually get the respect to wait for the plant/cut. Grant doesn't get that respect. They can render him useless by crashing the gaps, and he has no tools to burn their overpursuit. Why do you think our OL looks so pathetic, why it seems he is running into a wall of defenders every time? Defenses play Grant the way they play a noodle armed backup QB. Zero respect. No threat to get burned.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Other than health, what is one single thing that Grant is good at? One special trait he has?

Even average or bad backs have a special trait.

Ty you are completely missing my point.

A trait. Why should he be our starter.

Poppinga is a jag. No special traits. Ruvell Martin was a jag. No special traits. Cole was a jag. No special traits.

Our starting RB is a jag. No special traits.

LB's don't crash the gaps on most RB's the second they get the ball. They usually get the respect to wait for the plant/cut. Grant doesn't get that respect. They can render him useless by crashing the gaps, and he has no tools to burn their overpursuit. Why do you think our OL looks so pathetic, why it seems he is running into a wall of defenders every time? Defenses play Grant the way they play a noodle armed backup QB. Zero respect. No threat to get burned.

Grant has excellent speed. there, i've named a trait.

And, Health is a big trait.

Again, you are missing my point..don't ask me to defend him.

[The Leaper]

I agree with the notion that Grant is an average starting RB. His subpar receiving skills are a real drawback right now...because we could sure use a RB that could threaten defenses in the flat as a dump off option to keep pass rushes at bay. Sure, he plays every week and works his ass off. He's not hurting the team...but he doesn't seem like a very good fit for this team right now.

Can Grant be a 1400 yard back behind a solid OL with a high powered aerial attack? Sure. So can about 40 other guys in the NFL. Did you watch Steven Jackson on Sunday? That is a stud RB who produces even when much of the team around him is average at best. Stick Grant on the Rams and he's lucky to get to 900 yards and 6 TDs.

I also agree that Campen has to be at least part of the problem. This OL has gone nowhere in the last 4-5 years...and Campen has to be held accountable for that.

Nevertheless...I think this offense can manage with what we have. It will take some creativity and strong gameplanning...but it can be done.

[mraynrand]

Does Campen have a Big Trait?

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I agree with the notion that Grant is an average starting RB. His subpar receiving skills are a real drawback right now...because we could sure use a RB that could threaten defenses in the flat as a dump off option to keep pass rushes at bay. Sure, he plays every week and works his ass off. He's not hurting the team...but he doesn't seem like a very good fit for this team right now.

Can Grant be a 1400 yard back behind a solid OL with a high powered aerial attack? Sure. So can about 40 other guys in the NFL. Did you watch Steven Jackson on Sunday? That is a stud RB who produces even when much of the team around him is average at best. Stick Grant on the Rams and he's lucky to get to 900 yards and 6 TDs.

I also agree that Campen has to be at least part of the problem. This OL has gone nowhere in the last 4-5 years...and Campen has to be held accountable for that.

Nevertheless...I think this offense can manage with what we have. It will take some creativity and strong gameplanning...but it can be done.

Which would put him 150 yards behind a stud like Jackson and his 1046 last year. So, even a stud has a hard time with a crappy line. The rams line is at this moment better than ours. For all of Jackson's studliness...he has put up big #s once...and played 12 games 2 years in a row.

Don't get Ty wrong, grant is slightly above average....but, at least we can count on him. Lots of teams don't even have that. But, yes...his pass catching is a big liability. Ty was never in favor of the big money....but, this board was enamored with Grant..and rebuked anybody who wasn't onboard (the only question really was how much loot to throw his way). this board, maybe all boards..ty doesn't know, loves to fall in love...samkon, grant, sutton. They keep thinking you get something for nothing...and occasionally you do, but generally the best players are drafted. As the old expression goes, "the race isn't always to the strongest or the swiftest, but that is the way to bet."

The best thing you can say about grant is that we got him for practically nothing. His production vs. what we gave up is a feather in TT's cap.

Campen: Would agree.

[bobblehead]

I said it before, this team is missing Brandon Jackson.

Ty would agree.

Thirded...last year I pointed out that Chillar was outplaying our starters, but I also said BJack was outplaying grant in the same post. Bjack is sorely missed right now. And wtf happened to wynn?

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I said it before, this team is missing Brandon Jackson.

Ty would agree.

Thirded...last year I pointed out that Chillar was outplaying our starters, but I also said BJack was outplaying grant in the same post. Bjack is sorely missed right now. And wtf happened to wynn?

Ty was wondering that as well. He has some of the traits that Waldo likes. Ty would like to see what he could do.

[Fritz]

When is Brandon Jackson coming back? After the bye?

I would like to see him get some touches.

Next year's draft:

safety

running back

offensive line

[MichiganPackerFan]

I said it before, this team is missing Brandon Jackson.

After a couple seasons of being underwhelmed by grant, I've always wanted to get this guy some game time reps to see what he's got. However, I've started to think that if the coaches won't let him on the field, particularly early last season when Grant was recovering and a green and golden opportunity (like that?!) was there), he's just not a player and it's time to look for other serviceable options with upside.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I don't think any of our RBs are better than average (Jackson included), but you don't need a special RB to win. However, it would help if our OL played better. After 3 games, we've complained about the OL since we implemented the zone scheme. Hopefully, we improve like the last few years. I'm getting tired of it though.