Alex Green

[RashanGary]

He looks indecisive at times. Harry Sydney said it looks like he's trying so hard not to fumble, he's not fighting the way he could be.

I'm going to give him a couple weeks after the bye, then start selling stock fast if he doesn't pick it up. Coming off the injury, he's probably getting warn down a little right now. The bye week for him, more than most players, should be a big help for him.

If he comes out and shows that extra burst/extra gear, I'm staying on board. If not, I'm selling stock fast. He looks like a good 3rd down back now. He does a nice job catching the ball. He has to start running the ball well or that might be all he'll ever be.

[sharpe1027]

This is what I see (unofficial observations and just my opinion):

Green does not setup the cutback by utilizing his blockers and making a defender commit before picking a hole. Contrast his runs with Benson's, both behind the same O-line. Benson would look like he was hitting one gap to force a defender to commit and then he would switch directions to hit another gap. This generally put a blocker between him and the committed defender. The result was a lot of 3-5 yard runs. Green generally just picks a hole and goes hard into the hole. The result is a lot of 0-2 yard runs. If you get Green in open space, he's pretty dynamic for a big back, but he needs to read and setup the blocks better before he can run between the tackles consistently.

[Bossman641]

I'm having a hard time figuring the run game out....is it Green or is it the OL? Even shitty teams break off 10-15 yard runs from time to time. Why is it that we are incapable of running when there are only 6 in the box?!?! McGinn had some pretty damning quotes from opposing coaches about Saturday the other day.

[Lurker64]

There are two issues as far as I see it.
1) Vision: Green Just doesn't see cutback lanes and misses obvious holes.
2) Blocking: Jeff Saturday is, at times, worse than useless in the run game.

[Brandon494]

I think we might have another Brandon Jackson on our hands.

[sharpe1027]

I think we might have another Brandon Jackson on our hands.

Yeah. Green is bigger and more willing to stay between the tackles, but just about as ineffective.

[denverYooper]

I think we might have another Brandon Jackson on our hands.

If he can become the blocker that BJax was, he'll have a role in their offense.

[Pugger]

If he can become the blocker that BJax was, he'll have a role in their offense.

Yes, but I suspect when we drafted him we hoped he be more of an every down back.

[red]

if i hadn't seen benson run well behind the same line then i would be saying that green is doing the best he can with the line he has.

but as we've seen, a good running back can make things work

[Patler]

if i hadn't seen benson run well behind the same line then i would be saying that green is doing the best he can with the line he has.

but as we've seen, a good running back can make things work

Benson wasn't exactly tearing it up. He just gets more out of nothing than Green does.

[Lurker64]

Benson wasn't exactly tearing it up. He just gets more out of nothing than Green does.

I think a big difference between Benson and Green is just in the vision. A lot of times Green will have a cutback open, but will instead just run into a wall of bodies. Benson rarely misses those.

[sharpe1027]

I think it is a combination of seeing the right hole and creating a hole by smart running. Benson tries to forces the defense to commit before he commits himself to a particular hole. This is almost like having an extra blocker.

With only a few guys in the box you might not break as many long runs because there's a lot of guys in the second level, but you should get consistent medium gains.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Benson wasn't exactly tearing it up. He just gets more out of nothing than Green does.

Benson averaged 3.5 yards/carry against the #4, #7, #8, and #30 ranked rush defenses in yards/carry in his full games.
Green is averaging 2.9 yards/carry against the #9, #19, #21, and #29 ranked rush defenses in yards/carry for most of his carries.

I think it's pretty obvious Benson is a much better RB at this point--which is disappointing to me. At this point I hope they give Starks more carries. I'm not saying to scrap Green completely, but we need to see what Starks can do.

[Patler]

if i hadn't seen benson run well behind the same line then i would be saying that green is doing the best he can with the line he has.

but as we've seen, a good running back can make things work

Benson wasn't exactly tearing it up. He just gets more out of nothing than Green does.

Benson averaged 3.5 yards/carry against the #4, #7, #8, and #30 ranked rush defenses in yards/carry in his full games.
Green is averaging 2.9 yards/carry against the #9, #19, #21, and #29 ranked rush defenses in yards/carry for most of his carries.

I think it's pretty obvious Benson is a much better RB at this point--which is disappointing to me. At this point I hope they give Starks more carries. I'm not saying to scrap Green completely, but we need to see what Starks can do.

I don't disagree that Benson is better. My point was with respect to Red's suggestion (at least the way I read his comment) that perhaps the O-line isn't so much at fault. Personally, I think the O-line has been mostly awful, regardless of whether it has been Benson or Green carrying. Benson got more because he is just a better back. Hence my comment that he gets more out of nothing. Benson's 71/248 compared to Green's 76/219 doesn't leap out as an indication that the O-line is doing a good job, when virtually every team has geared to stop Rodgers and has dared the Packers to run against them. Benson is better than Green, but the O-line has not been getting the job done for either one. If they were, Benson would have achieved more success than he did.

I heard Wayne Larivee yesterday morning on WTMJ summarizing a discussion he had with Mark Tauscher. While acknowledging that they miss Benson, he basically said the O-line is getting manhandled, and there hasn't been much there for any of the backs.

Personally, I don't think the O-line has been doing that great of a job at pass protection either. Rodgers has been responsible for his share of the sacks, too; but rarely does he ever get the luxury of dropping back, setting and throwing from a clean pocket.

[sharpe1027]

I think MM has been doing everything he can to hide the poor play of the offensive line especially after Seattle. They cannot run or pass protect against average or better DL.