And you all thought Ryan Grant sucked...

[Scott Campbell]

There's no timeshare in our backfield. It's not that impressive.

He has the same or fewer attempts per game (19.7) as three of the five ahead of him in yards.

Cedric Benson........23.4
Adrian Peterson.....19.7
Steven Jackson......20.4
Thomas Jones.......17.4
Chris Johnson........15.8
Ryan Grant............19.7

Team rushing yards per game is a different story. The Packers rank 13th in total rushing yards with 118 per game. Tha drop off would seem to be a backup problem. Maybe A. Green will help boost that stat.

The only guy ahead of him that's in a time share situation is Chris Johnson, and he's not sharing it much with Lendale White this season.

[Brandon494]

He's not the best back in the league but he doesn't "suck". Shit though, the guy was picked up for a 6th round pick. You can't have all-pro caliber people at every position.

Agreed and its not like he is running behind the best of O-lines. We are 4-0 this season when Grant runs 16+ times this season. There is no reason why he should not be getting the ball atleast 20 times a game.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Was having a tough time finding this: how far down the list does his average of 4.19 rank?

[rbaloha1]

RG is a good back but needs a running lane which he always locates. Not an elite back due to a lack of top end speed and ability to find yards if no lane exists.

[mmmdk]

Can Grant run vs Vikings come sunday? Our passing game needs to set up the run then Grant could have a sweet game. Grant is the answer this season; next season is still far away.

[channtheman]

Was having a tough time finding this: how far down the list does his average of 4.19 rank?

Grant is ranked 26th in the league with his YPC average.

[gbgary]

i've never had a problem with grant...the zone blocking scheme, on the other hand, i have had a problem with. i like the power type scheme better.

[cheesner]

Team rushing yards per game is a different story. The Packers rank 13th in total rushing yards with 118 per game. Tha drop off would seem to be a backup problem. Maybe A. Green will help boost that stat.

Our #2 backup, BJ, has been out until recently. I suspect he will start to get more carries as the season progresses.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Was having a tough time finding this: how far down the list does his average of 4.19 rank?

Grant is ranked 26th in the league with his YPC average.

Thanks. That is rather troubling to me: need to get more rushing yards on first down so AR does not have to drop back take time for plays to set up in order to make long throws. I thought I saw that AR's YPA was the highest in the league (not sure though). I think there's some young blood on the line that have played poorly, but their best football is still ahead of them!

[channtheman]

Was having a tough time finding this: how far down the list does his average of 4.19 rank?

Grant is ranked 26th in the league with his YPC average.

Thanks. That is rather troubling to me: need to get more rushing yards on first down so AR does not have to drop back take time for plays to set up in order to make long throws. I thought I saw that AR's YPA was the highest in the league (not sure though). I think there's some young blood on the line that have played poorly, but their best football is still ahead of them!

I actually made this topic because I was so surprised to see he was 6th. He doesn't feel like he's rushed for 600 yards or whatever it is. Even against the Browns his 150 yards were the quietest 150 yards I've seen in a while.

He's like Alando Tucker was at Wisconsin if you recall or are a Badger fan. He would average 20 points a game but man he wasn't a game changer. In most games, you would hardly notice him, which was surprising.


Edit: I'm just gonna add in the YPA average if anyone is interested.

1 Correll Buckhalter, Den 47 313 6.66 1 45 2 1
2 Chris Johnson, Ten 95 596 6.27 2 91 1 2
3 Ray Rice, Bal 73 441 6.04 3 50 0 2
4 Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG 80 455 5.69 3 38 2 2
5 Ricky Williams, Mia 70 396 5.66 5 68 1 0
6 Pierre Thomas, NO 56 314 5.61 3 34 0 1
7 Rashard Mendenhall, Pit 78 418 5.36 4 39 2 1
8 Frank Gore, SF 52 273 5.25 3 80 1 1
9 Tashard Choice, Dal 44 225 5.11 2 36 0 0
10 Adrian Peterson, Min 138 687 4.98 8 64 2 2
11 Thomas Jones, NYJ 122 602 4.93 7 71 2 3
12 Brian Westbrook, Phi 41 197 4.80 1 25 0 0
13 Jonathan Stewart, Car 57 273 4.79 2 28 2 1
14 Marion Barber, Dal 72 344 4.78 3 35 0 1
15 Mike Bell, NO 72 343 4.76 2 35 1 1
16 Donald Brown, Ind 46 212 4.61 2 45 1 0
17 Leon Washington, NYJ 72 331 4.60 0 33 1 0
18 Ronnie Brown, Mia 109 491 4.50 7 38 0 2
19 Willis McGahee, Bal 45 202 4.49 5 34 1 0
20 Fred Taylor, NE 45 201 4.47 2 19 0 1
21 Steven Jackson, StL 143 635 4.44 0 58 2 3
22 Cedric Benson, Cin 164 720 4.39 5 28 1 3
23 DeAngelo Williams, Car 105 461 4.39 5 20 2 1
24 Laurence Maroney, NE 61 265 4.34 2 45 0 1
25 Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac 108 463 4.29 8 61 1 2
26 Ryan Grant, GB 118 495 4.19 3 37 0 1

[HarveyWallbangers]

To be fair, a lot of those guys that are ahead of him haven't carried the ball that much. A comparison amongst the top 20 running backs in carries would be more valid. Still, 4.2 would still rank below average. However, I think he has the potential to finish higher than that. For the last few years, we've struggled mightily running the ball early in the season, but have gotten better as the year has gone on.

[channtheman]

To be fair, a lot of those guys that are ahead of him haven't carried the ball that much. A comparison amongst the top 20 running backs in carries would be more valid. Still, 4.2 would still rank below average. However, I think he has the potential to finish higher than that. For the last few years, we've struggled mightily running the ball early in the season, but have gotten better as the year has gone on.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/sortableStats?div=NFL&stable=rushing&stat=rushAtt&dir=descending

Grant holds up surprisingly well even when you compare him like that. It's shocking, but 2 straight games against the Lions and the Browns will do that for you I guess.

[HarveyWallbangers]

  Player                Car   Yds  Avg  Yds/Game
1 Cedric Benson         23.4  720  4.4  102.9
2 Steven Jackson        20.4  635  4.4  90.7
3 Adrian Peterson       19.7  687  5.0  98.1
4 Ryan Grant            19.7  495  4.2  82.5
4 Michael Turner        19.7  403  3.4  67.2
6 Larry Johnson         18.9  358  2.7  51.1
7 Ronnie Brown          18.2  491  4.5  81.8
7 Kevin Smith           18.2  348  3.2  58.0
9 Mike Bell             18.0  343  4.8  85.8
9 Maurice Jones-Drew    18.0  463  4.3  77.2
11 DeAngelo Williams    17.5  461  4.4  76.8
12 Thomas Jones         17.4  602  4.9  86.0
13 Brandon Jacobs       17.1  464  3.9  66.3
13 Clinton Portis       17.1  490  4.1  70.0
15 Knowshon Moreno      16.5  381  3.8  63.5
16 Jamal Lewis          16.4  280  3.4  56.0
17 Chris Johnson        15.8  596  6.3  99.3
18 Steve Slaton         15.6  341  3.1  48.7
19 Matt Forte           15.3  318  3.5  53.0
20 Marshawn Lynch       15.2  174  2.9  43.5
20 LaDainian Tomlinson  15.2  211  3.5  52.8

Amongst the top 20 RBs in carries/game (21 because of the ties), Grant's 4.2 average puts him 9th out of 21. I'm surprised. His YAC is actually slightly above average.

[sharpe1027]

For kicks, the list modified to remove those with less than half of Grant's carries:

1 Chris Johnson, Ten 95 596 6.27 2 91 1 2
2 Ray Rice, Bal 73 441 6.04 3 50 0 2
3 Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG 80 455 5.69 3 38 2 2
4 Ricky Williams, Mia 70 396 5.66 5 68 1 0
5 Rashard Mendenhall, Pit 78 418 5.36 4 39 2 1
6 Adrian Peterson, Min 138 687 4.98 8 64 2 2
7 Thomas Jones, NYJ 122 602 4.93 7 71 2 3
8 Marion Barber, Dal 72 344 4.78 3 35 0 1
9 Mike Bell, NO 72 343 4.76 2 35 1 1
10 Leon Washington, NYJ 72 331 4.60 0 33 1 0
11 Ronnie Brown, Mia 109 491 4.50 7 38 0 2
12 Steven Jackson, StL 143 635 4.44 0 58 2 3
13 Cedric Benson, Cin 164 720 4.39 5 28 1 3
14 DeAngelo Williams, Car 105 461 4.39 5 20 2 1
15 Laurence Maroney, NE 61 265 4.34 2 45 0 1
16 Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac 108 463 4.29 8 61 1 2
17 Ryan Grant, GB 118 495 4.19 3 37 0 1

[Maxie the Taxi]

I'm co-founder of the Ryan Grant Fan Club. I always liked him. Still do. I predicted he'd get 200 yards last week. He was 50 short. I guess by that measure some would say he "sucks."

How many of the other backs on the stat list above Grant would do better if they were Packers? McCarthy/Thompson like big, smart, one-cut backs. They don't draft big name RB's. I was hoping they'd draft Ray Rice. They didn't. So, like someone said, it is what it is.