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Running into issues
Position far from settled
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 29, 2007
Green Bay - Day 2 in the great running back race began with de facto starter Vernand Morency standing on the sideline nursing a bruised knee.
The injury didn't set general manager Ted Thompson scurrying to his office to see if there was some way he could get Ahman Green back, but it did raise a red flag about the committee he has assembled to handle the halfback job.
Morency came into this season needing to prove that he could carry a full load without wearing down, and to be injured in the first practice was not a good sign. One of the best-conditioned athletes on the team, the 5-10, 212-pound Morency missed two games last year with a lower back injury just as he was picking up steam and didn't regain his form until the final four games of the season when he gained 167 yards on 27 carries (6.1 average).
Though not necessarily injury-prone, Morency battled two injuries in college as well, including an ankle that cost him five games as a freshman and a knee that cost him a game in 2004. He worked so hard in the off-season, beginning his training right after the '06 season started, that he had to back off at one point because he didn't want to get burned out. "I think he's going to be fine," Thompson said. "That's the nature of training camps. You go along and somebody goes down and then he gets better and then somebody else goes down."
With Morency out of the backfield Sunday after banging his knee in the first practice Saturday, the rest of the committee was soaking up the practice repetitions. Rookie Brandon Jackson, practice squad pickup P.J. Pope and veteran Noah Herron were the beneficiaries, splitting the much-sought after action.
"This is what happens," fullback Brandon Miree said of the National Football League. "Guys go down and you have to step up. Everyone is going to get an opportunity and when you do you have to make the most of it."
Morency's injury, even if it turns out not to be serious, highlights the problem the Packers have replacing Green, who took his six 1,000-yard seasons with him to Houston this past off-season. They don't even know whether Morency can do it, let alone the three or four guys who are behind him.
Jackson, the Packers' second-round pick from Nebraska, has the eyes of the organization on him the most. The minute camp started he was on the fast track toward preparation for the regular season, and is expected to compete for the No. 1 job. The fact he opened up camp with two drops in the passing game and left a lot to be desired in his pass blocking wasn't exactly a good sign for Thompson or coach Mike McCarthy. Both nerves and unfamiliarity with the offense were legitimate excuses for the rookie, but also shed some light on what the Packers are facing this summer.
"The first practice I was thinking a lot," Jackson said. "Now, today I have that one practice under me. It's coming a little naturally. I feel like every practice I feel a lot more comfortable in this system." Besides being new to the offense, the 5-10, 212-pound Jackson is fairly new to being a No. 1 back. He didn't become the starter at Nebraska until last season and had just 188 carries. Despite having just 291 collegiate carries he declared early for the draft.
It may be a couple of weeks before the Packers know what kind of contribution they're going to get from him. With seventh-round draft choice DeShawn Wynn sidelined because of a stomach virus, Pope is getting his shot to show what he's made of. Though just 5-9, Pope is a muscular 215 pounds and appears to be more durable than Morency or Jackson.
He was picked up off Chicago's practice squad last year after putting on a good show in training camp and has patiently waited for his turn. Pope faces the challenge of having played in a spread offense in college, a power gap scheme in Chicago and now a zone blocking scheme.
He mostly ran the other team's offense in practice last year, so he's just now learning what it's like to run this offense at full speed. "Going through minicamp and OTAs (organized team activities) with the zone blocking scheme you get looks, but it's not the same," Pope said. "Now that we have pads on I really have a feel for how everything is moving and cutbacks and things like that. I'm still trying to get a good feel for that."
Pope may be the least heralded of the contenders, but his ability to run between the tackles could earn him a roster spot as a short-yardage back. That is, if he doesn't win the halfback job outright, which at this point is a possibility given all the unknowns in the backfield.
The Packers know what Herron can do, but they're eager to see Wynn in pads because he not only has size (5-10, 232 pounds), he has excellent feet. But with a reputation for being lazy and undisciplined he has a lot to prove during this camp.
As practice marches on, the running back picture is supposed to become clearer. But at this particular time, it couldn't be more clouded.
Position far from settled
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 29, 2007
Green Bay - Day 2 in the great running back race began with de facto starter Vernand Morency standing on the sideline nursing a bruised knee.
The injury didn't set general manager Ted Thompson scurrying to his office to see if there was some way he could get Ahman Green back, but it did raise a red flag about the committee he has assembled to handle the halfback job.
Morency came into this season needing to prove that he could carry a full load without wearing down, and to be injured in the first practice was not a good sign. One of the best-conditioned athletes on the team, the 5-10, 212-pound Morency missed two games last year with a lower back injury just as he was picking up steam and didn't regain his form until the final four games of the season when he gained 167 yards on 27 carries (6.1 average).
Though not necessarily injury-prone, Morency battled two injuries in college as well, including an ankle that cost him five games as a freshman and a knee that cost him a game in 2004. He worked so hard in the off-season, beginning his training right after the '06 season started, that he had to back off at one point because he didn't want to get burned out. "I think he's going to be fine," Thompson said. "That's the nature of training camps. You go along and somebody goes down and then he gets better and then somebody else goes down."
With Morency out of the backfield Sunday after banging his knee in the first practice Saturday, the rest of the committee was soaking up the practice repetitions. Rookie Brandon Jackson, practice squad pickup P.J. Pope and veteran Noah Herron were the beneficiaries, splitting the much-sought after action.
"This is what happens," fullback Brandon Miree said of the National Football League. "Guys go down and you have to step up. Everyone is going to get an opportunity and when you do you have to make the most of it."
Morency's injury, even if it turns out not to be serious, highlights the problem the Packers have replacing Green, who took his six 1,000-yard seasons with him to Houston this past off-season. They don't even know whether Morency can do it, let alone the three or four guys who are behind him.
Jackson, the Packers' second-round pick from Nebraska, has the eyes of the organization on him the most. The minute camp started he was on the fast track toward preparation for the regular season, and is expected to compete for the No. 1 job. The fact he opened up camp with two drops in the passing game and left a lot to be desired in his pass blocking wasn't exactly a good sign for Thompson or coach Mike McCarthy. Both nerves and unfamiliarity with the offense were legitimate excuses for the rookie, but also shed some light on what the Packers are facing this summer.
"The first practice I was thinking a lot," Jackson said. "Now, today I have that one practice under me. It's coming a little naturally. I feel like every practice I feel a lot more comfortable in this system." Besides being new to the offense, the 5-10, 212-pound Jackson is fairly new to being a No. 1 back. He didn't become the starter at Nebraska until last season and had just 188 carries. Despite having just 291 collegiate carries he declared early for the draft.
It may be a couple of weeks before the Packers know what kind of contribution they're going to get from him. With seventh-round draft choice DeShawn Wynn sidelined because of a stomach virus, Pope is getting his shot to show what he's made of. Though just 5-9, Pope is a muscular 215 pounds and appears to be more durable than Morency or Jackson.
He was picked up off Chicago's practice squad last year after putting on a good show in training camp and has patiently waited for his turn. Pope faces the challenge of having played in a spread offense in college, a power gap scheme in Chicago and now a zone blocking scheme.
He mostly ran the other team's offense in practice last year, so he's just now learning what it's like to run this offense at full speed. "Going through minicamp and OTAs (organized team activities) with the zone blocking scheme you get looks, but it's not the same," Pope said. "Now that we have pads on I really have a feel for how everything is moving and cutbacks and things like that. I'm still trying to get a good feel for that."
Pope may be the least heralded of the contenders, but his ability to run between the tackles could earn him a roster spot as a short-yardage back. That is, if he doesn't win the halfback job outright, which at this point is a possibility given all the unknowns in the backfield.
The Packers know what Herron can do, but they're eager to see Wynn in pads because he not only has size (5-10, 232 pounds), he has excellent feet. But with a reputation for being lazy and undisciplined he has a lot to prove during this camp.
As practice marches on, the running back picture is supposed to become clearer. But at this particular time, it couldn't be more clouded.
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