Bulaga hurt?

[Upnorth]

I think our run game is better this year due to Lacy / Harris and no Saturday

[Harlan Huckleby]

No wonder they look alike, they both are #27.

If you search on "Ron Dayne Giants" for pics, you'll see that Ron Dayne slimmed-down quite a bit as a pro.


Oh ya, I know that picture of Lacy above is deceptive, I just put it up as a joke.

[pbmax]

Sorry, couldn't resist a trip down recent memory lane.

I don't have any reason to believe that Lacy won't surprass Dayne, but the sportswriter who made the comparison also covered Dayne in college, maybe it was Oates, I forget. The two backs have similar running styles.

Blocking scheme could make a difference. Not sure what they run at Alabama, but Alvarez's zone and Packer's zone share some similarities.

We'll know more if he plays Friday, there were a lot of big holes in the scrimmage.

[wist43]

We can go back and forth about whether a RB makes the OL or OL makes the RB.

Regardless, I think you raise a good point. The OL certainly shares blame for some of the run game's failings.

I would, however, argue that the OL depth is what hurt them. Sherrod hasn't been healthy and has yet to show he can be the starting LT (or RT). Bulaga was thought to be a potential Pro Bowl RT so they kept him there...meanwhile Newhouse ends up at LT. Lang was stuck between Newhouse and Saturday and could only help one of them at a time...then he hurt his elbow and floundered at RT when Bulaga got hurt. McGinn was right about one thing: Barclay, not Lang, should have been at RT. Barclay saved their bacon last year...the OL was at least 2 spots short of decent backups, and he was able to step in.

It's no surprise TT drafted Bakh and Tretter. Last year there were a lot of young guys (Datko, Barclay, EDS) that should be better. Newhouse claims he's working on improving his run blocking...and while he has good feet, he's not the LT anymore. Saturday is gone.
I expect improvements this year from the OL and will be disappointed if there isn't. The depth is better at OL and RB.

To be very effective at running the ball, of course you need both a good OL, and good RB.

However, the Packers, moreso than most teams are pretty dead in the water regardless of talent b/c of how MM approaches the run game - defending the run against GB is far too easy, b/c MM only has 3 running plays - and all of the problems that are obvious b/c of the finesse players TT and MM favor.

I'm not sure how much improvement we could realize even if we lined up 5 pro bowlers in front of Adrian Peterson. That we were able to run effectively for that brief stretch of games that culminated in our SB win only serves to show how much of a fluke it really was. That was the only stretch of games since MM and TT have been here - after he dumped Sherman's kick-ass line - that MM's offense has been able to run the ball.

A 6-8 game stretch in 7 years... worth of football - you'd think that at some point someone within the organization would wonder if there is something wrong with the picture??

I had hoped that we could improve enough in the run game this year that it would take some pressure off of ARod, but with Bulaga going down, I now hold out no hope that we'll see any improvement.

[pbmax]

However, the Packers, moreso than most teams are pretty dead in the water regardless of talent b/c of how MM approaches the run game - defending the run against GB is far too easy, b/c MM only has 3 running plays - and all of the problems that are obvious b/c of the finesse players TT and MM favor.

Somehow Alex Gibbs, Mike Shanahan and Barry Alvarez (formerly) make four running plays work for big yards every year. And in the NFL, its worked with late round draft picks and scrap head lineman who were too light for other teams.

Besides, the Packers run more than the ZBS plays anyway.

[wist43]

Somehow Alex Gibbs, Mike Shanahan and Barry Alvarez (formerly) make four running plays work for big yards every year. And in the NFL, its worked with late round draft picks and scrap head lineman who were too light for other teams.

Besides, the Packers run more than the ZBS plays anyway.

I know the ZBS has worked in some places, but for sure and for certain it's been nothing but a mess in GB since MM installed it.

Look what happened in Oakland last year... I remember their OC - every week, as he was peppered with questions to explain why they couldn't run the ball - he kept saying "patience, it will come around". It never came around, and was a complete disaster all year for them - he was fired a few milliseconds after their final game.

As for MM running more than 3 plays - yeah, here and there you'd see Sitton or Lang pull, but so infrequently as to be able to say those plays are certainly not part of anything MM wants to do. He wants to run 3 running plays - and that's it.

You would think that after all these year of sucking - absolutely sucking - at running the football, that MM would look in the mirror, but that hasn't, nor is it ever, going to happen.

[pbmax]

I know the ZBS has worked in some places, but for sure and for certain it's been nothing but a mess in GB since MM installed it.

Look what happened in Oakland last year... I remember their OC - every week, as he was peppered with questions to explain why they couldn't run the ball - he kept saying "patience, it will come around". It never came around, and was a complete disaster all year for them - he was fired a few milliseconds after their final game.

As for MM running more than 3 plays - yeah, here and there you'd see Sitton or Lang pull, but so infrequently as to be able to say those plays are certainly not part of anything MM wants to do. He wants to run 3 running plays - and that's it.

You would think that after all these year of sucking - absolutely sucking - at running the football, that MM would look in the mirror, but that hasn't, nor is it ever, going to happen.

His hire of Jeff Jagodzinski doesn't seem wise in retrospect. If Jags knew what he was doing, M3 has never been able to replicate it.

[Fritz]

I know the ZBS has worked in some places, but for sure and for certain it's been nothing but a mess in GB since MM installed it.

Look what happened in Oakland last year... I remember their OC - every week, as he was peppered with questions to explain why they couldn't run the ball - he kept saying "patience, it will come around". It never came around, and was a complete disaster all year for them - he was fired a few milliseconds after their final game.

As for MM running more than 3 plays - yeah, here and there you'd see Sitton or Lang pull, but so infrequently as to be able to say those plays are certainly not part of anything MM wants to do. He wants to run 3 running plays - and that's it.

You would think that after all these year of sucking - absolutely sucking - at running the football, that MM would look in the mirror, but that hasn't, nor is it ever, going to happen.

You're right, Wist. MM is a lousy coach. He'll never go over a past season in review to learn from it. He'll never wise up to the need for a real running game. He's too in love with the pass.

And Thompson - he loves soft players. Loves 'em. He'll always deliberately draft a soft finesse guy over a roughneck, because he likes finesse.

And Capers - he's terrible. Deliberately uses stupid two-down lineman schemes when everybody knows that doesn't work. Doesn't really like playmakers. Doesn't make adjustments. Doesn't know how to use talent.

If it weren't for one player - just one, single player named Rodgers - this team would be 2-14, maybe, every single year. That's how lousy the above three leaders of this organization are.

[bobblehead]

I'm not sure how much improvement we could realize even if we lined up 5 pro bowlers in front of Adrian Peterson. That we were able to run effectively for that brief stretch of games that culminated in our SB win only serves to show how much of a fluke it really was. That was the only stretch of games since MM and TT have been here - after he dumped Sherman's kick-ass line - that MM's offense has been able to run the ball.

.

I gotta disagree a bit. When Grant was on fire in the 13-3 season, we looked like the Ahman Green Packers.

[bobblehead]

His hire of Jeff Jagodzinski doesn't seem wise in retrospect. If Jags knew what he was doing, M3 has never been able to replicate it.

NOw that you mention it, when he left is when the running game depleted even with Grant still there he was never the same. Perhaps MM should have hired Alex Gibbs when I was pining for it.

[Fritz]

Maybe Jags would come back as the assistant line coach. He's been fired from every job he's had since he left GB, I think. Should be humble enough to take any position there is.

[Guiness]

How long was Jags with the Pack? Just one year as OC as I recall, and that was the year they drafted a few OL that were to be suited for the ZBS - Colledge in particular. Seemed to me like the team was set back a few years by his experiment.

[Joemailman]

Contrary to popular (or at least Wist's) opinion, the Packers ran the ball fairly effectively from 2007-2009 with Grant as the primary ball carrier. YPC of 4.1, 4.1 and 4.3 doing those years. They also ran it fairly well late in 2010 with a healthy Starks. They had a YPC of under 4 in 2006 and 2010-2012 with the likes of Brandon Jackson, Kuhn, Green and Benson running the ball. The biggest problem has been the quality of the ball carriers. Things picked up late last year when Harris took over for Green. The Packers have the best group of RB's they've had in quite a while. Good enough that Harris might not make the team. Because of this, the running game will be better this year. If the offensive line is improved, the running game could be quite a bit better.

[Freak Out]

Thank you Joe. So....are we going to try and meet in GB this year for custard?

[Bretsky]

Thank you Joe. So....are we going to try and meet in GB this year for custard?

Screw the Custard
Let's get Caramelized !