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Position-by-position: Running backs
Posted: July 24, 2007
On the Packers
Bob McGinn
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Green Bay - For the last decade, the Green Bay Packers ran with either the complete big back in Dorsey Levens or the breakaway muscle back in Ahman Green, with fullback William Henderson as a redoubtable escort.
From 2002-'05, the Packers enjoyed rare continuity at the position with Green, Henderson, Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher serving as the lead four backs all four years.
Even last season, Green was still around to provide Green Bay with its eighth 1,000-yard rusher in 10 years, aided by Henderson.
Now they're all gone, replaced by a nine-man contingent that includes six players without a snap of regular-season experience and just one, Noah Herron, who even played for Green Bay prior to last season. He arrived in November 2005.
"Seven straight years Ahman and William were in the backfield," said Joe Philbin, the first-year offensive coordinator who joined the staff in '03. "That is a long time. It's a changing of the guard, really in one year. But that's life in the NFL."
After going only so far in bidding for Green, general manager Ted Thompson watched him sign with Houston. He had the cap room to go after running backs such as Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, Chris Brown and Dominic Rhodes, not to mention a fullback group headed by Terrelle Smith and Justin Griffith.
Thompson could have traded for Willis McGahee, and he still could make a blockbuster bid for Kansas City's Larry Johnson.
If the Packers operate as usual and make no major moves, they'll be trying to make something out of maybe the least imposing depth chart in the league.
In its summer rankings, Pro Football Weekly rated the Packers' corps better than only one team, Tennessee. Earlier in the week, a personnel director for an AFC team said, "I still don't know what they're going to do at running back."
It's a fair question, a satisfactory answer to which could hold the key for a successful season.
"There's a lot of conjecture right now," Philbin said. "The big thing will be how these guys progress in the next five weeks. So to rush to judgment and say, 'Hey, we're loaded,' or to say, 'We have nothing,' I'm not ready to do either one of those things."
Vernand Morency, a shrewd trade acquisition by Thompson last September, is the front-runner, not just because he was here in '06 but also because his average in 96 rushes was an impressive 4.5 yards.
At some point, Morency could very well be challenged by rookie Brandon Jackson, a second-round draft choice.
Morency and Jackson seem almost like the same back. Each entered the league as a third-year junior, each scored 11 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test and each weighs 212 pounds. Morency measured 5 feet 9 5/8 inches at the 2005 combine and Jackson measured 5-9 7/8 at the '07 combine.
The Packers haven't had a featured back weigh less than 215 since 1992, when 205-pound Vince Workman led them with 631 yards. How a relatively small back will fare in short yardage and in the NFC North late in the season also is guesswork.
For now, at least, Jackson figures to run a little harder than Morency, who is more than strong enough to break arm tackles. Jackson definitely is faster than Morency, but one personnel director said all four collegiate reports written by his team's scouts listed speed as one of Morency's strengths.
"Probably the No. 1 thing that catches your attention is his ability to make a move in the hole," Philbin said, referring to Morency. "Unless the first guy's got a real clean shot it's hard for him to take him down. Smart guy. Very serious. Very hard worker."
Although not used much as a receiver, Morency in the opinion of scouts has typical baseball player's hands, which means they're good (he played center field in the minors for four years). And, said Philbin, "We feel comfortable with his ability to pick up blitzes."
Jackson didn't emerge until his third season at Nebraska and could need time, time the Packers really don't have.
"The thing that really impressed us was he keeps his feet in the ground," Philbin said. "Therefore, he's able to change direction, able to keep pretty good balance, able to maybe absorb a hit and not go down right away. He's got good quick feet."
The unknowns on Jackson include durability and pass blocking.
Another back with the exact same dimensions, P.J. Pope, almost cracked Chicago's talented depth chart as a rookie. Said Philbin: "We feel he's more of a power type of guy."
The big back is rookie DeShawn Wynn, a 232-pounder with natural running skills and 4.47-second speed at 40 yards. But he ran too often like a little guy at Florida, which won't be tolerated in the pros.
The Packers surely would like better than Herron, whose 40 time of 4.67 pales in comparison to the others. His hope would be that some seasoning and some savvy might come in handy at cut-down time.
At fullback, holdover Brandon Miree could be pushed by rookies Ryan Powdrell, Korey Hall and Corey White, all of them are trying to make transitions from other positions. The fullback that Miree replaced last September, Vonta Leach, now is entrenched as the starter in Houston.
"It's still an attitude position . . . you want a tough guy," Philbin said. "We have to take a really, really hard look at these guys. 'EB' (running backs coach Edgar Bennett) is going to be teaching his butt off in camp."
Miree is more athletic than the aging Henderson. As a blocker, he's more finesse than collision. The Packers want him to be more physical.
Powdrell, who played all but two games at linebacker for Southern California, has ideal size, can run and catch. Hall, strictly a linebacker at Boise State, would become a strong candidate to lead the Packers' lowly special teams if he learns to lower his pads and block people.
White was a running back at Alabama-Birmingham and will practice some there in camp, but at 239 also will get a long audition at fullback.
"Guys know there's a lot of opportunity out there waiting for somebody to grab it," said Philbin said. "Part of the job of coaching is developing players. I was kidding Mike McCarthy. We're going to need a bunch of 9-on-7 because we have a lot of guys to find out about."
Posted: July 24, 2007
On the Packers
Bob McGinn
Green Bay - For the last decade, the Green Bay Packers ran with either the complete big back in Dorsey Levens or the breakaway muscle back in Ahman Green, with fullback William Henderson as a redoubtable escort.
From 2002-'05, the Packers enjoyed rare continuity at the position with Green, Henderson, Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher serving as the lead four backs all four years.
Even last season, Green was still around to provide Green Bay with its eighth 1,000-yard rusher in 10 years, aided by Henderson.
Now they're all gone, replaced by a nine-man contingent that includes six players without a snap of regular-season experience and just one, Noah Herron, who even played for Green Bay prior to last season. He arrived in November 2005.
"Seven straight years Ahman and William were in the backfield," said Joe Philbin, the first-year offensive coordinator who joined the staff in '03. "That is a long time. It's a changing of the guard, really in one year. But that's life in the NFL."
After going only so far in bidding for Green, general manager Ted Thompson watched him sign with Houston. He had the cap room to go after running backs such as Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, Chris Brown and Dominic Rhodes, not to mention a fullback group headed by Terrelle Smith and Justin Griffith.
Thompson could have traded for Willis McGahee, and he still could make a blockbuster bid for Kansas City's Larry Johnson.
If the Packers operate as usual and make no major moves, they'll be trying to make something out of maybe the least imposing depth chart in the league.
In its summer rankings, Pro Football Weekly rated the Packers' corps better than only one team, Tennessee. Earlier in the week, a personnel director for an AFC team said, "I still don't know what they're going to do at running back."
It's a fair question, a satisfactory answer to which could hold the key for a successful season.
"There's a lot of conjecture right now," Philbin said. "The big thing will be how these guys progress in the next five weeks. So to rush to judgment and say, 'Hey, we're loaded,' or to say, 'We have nothing,' I'm not ready to do either one of those things."
Vernand Morency, a shrewd trade acquisition by Thompson last September, is the front-runner, not just because he was here in '06 but also because his average in 96 rushes was an impressive 4.5 yards.
At some point, Morency could very well be challenged by rookie Brandon Jackson, a second-round draft choice.
Morency and Jackson seem almost like the same back. Each entered the league as a third-year junior, each scored 11 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test and each weighs 212 pounds. Morency measured 5 feet 9 5/8 inches at the 2005 combine and Jackson measured 5-9 7/8 at the '07 combine.
The Packers haven't had a featured back weigh less than 215 since 1992, when 205-pound Vince Workman led them with 631 yards. How a relatively small back will fare in short yardage and in the NFC North late in the season also is guesswork.
For now, at least, Jackson figures to run a little harder than Morency, who is more than strong enough to break arm tackles. Jackson definitely is faster than Morency, but one personnel director said all four collegiate reports written by his team's scouts listed speed as one of Morency's strengths.
"Probably the No. 1 thing that catches your attention is his ability to make a move in the hole," Philbin said, referring to Morency. "Unless the first guy's got a real clean shot it's hard for him to take him down. Smart guy. Very serious. Very hard worker."
Although not used much as a receiver, Morency in the opinion of scouts has typical baseball player's hands, which means they're good (he played center field in the minors for four years). And, said Philbin, "We feel comfortable with his ability to pick up blitzes."
Jackson didn't emerge until his third season at Nebraska and could need time, time the Packers really don't have.
"The thing that really impressed us was he keeps his feet in the ground," Philbin said. "Therefore, he's able to change direction, able to keep pretty good balance, able to maybe absorb a hit and not go down right away. He's got good quick feet."
The unknowns on Jackson include durability and pass blocking.
Another back with the exact same dimensions, P.J. Pope, almost cracked Chicago's talented depth chart as a rookie. Said Philbin: "We feel he's more of a power type of guy."
The big back is rookie DeShawn Wynn, a 232-pounder with natural running skills and 4.47-second speed at 40 yards. But he ran too often like a little guy at Florida, which won't be tolerated in the pros.
The Packers surely would like better than Herron, whose 40 time of 4.67 pales in comparison to the others. His hope would be that some seasoning and some savvy might come in handy at cut-down time.
At fullback, holdover Brandon Miree could be pushed by rookies Ryan Powdrell, Korey Hall and Corey White, all of them are trying to make transitions from other positions. The fullback that Miree replaced last September, Vonta Leach, now is entrenched as the starter in Houston.
"It's still an attitude position . . . you want a tough guy," Philbin said. "We have to take a really, really hard look at these guys. 'EB' (running backs coach Edgar Bennett) is going to be teaching his butt off in camp."
Miree is more athletic than the aging Henderson. As a blocker, he's more finesse than collision. The Packers want him to be more physical.
Powdrell, who played all but two games at linebacker for Southern California, has ideal size, can run and catch. Hall, strictly a linebacker at Boise State, would become a strong candidate to lead the Packers' lowly special teams if he learns to lower his pads and block people.
White was a running back at Alabama-Birmingham and will practice some there in camp, but at 239 also will get a long audition at fullback.
"Guys know there's a lot of opportunity out there waiting for somebody to grab it," said Philbin said. "Part of the job of coaching is developing players. I was kidding Mike McCarthy. We're going to need a bunch of 9-on-7 because we have a lot of guys to find out about."
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