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Running into trouble
Lack of experienced backs is troubling
By GREG A. BEDARD
gbedard@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 2, 2007
Green Bay - It only took running back Ryan Grant a few hours Sunday to make one very obvious yet important observation about his new team:
The Packers are hurting at running back after learning that Noah Herron is out for the season. Herron suffered a knee injury at Tennessee Thursday.
"This is definitely the youngest backfield I've ever been in," he said.
That's one way to say it. Another would be that the Packers, especially after the team decided to end the season of third-down back Noah Herron by placing him on injured reserve, appear headed into the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles woefully devoid of experience at the position.
"It is what it is," said general manager Ted Thompson, the man responsible for crafting the Packers' roster. "You just have to keep going, and you try to pick the best guys for your team, where you are at that particular time. So that's kind of where we are. But at the end of the day, we feel pretty good about this group."
In an effort to gain some help and experience, Grant was acquired in a trade Saturday from the New York Giants. The Packers got some more when they were awarded fullback John Kuhn off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thompson said he called around to see what other halfbacks might be available via trade but found the market tight.
And the Packers certainly look as if they need all the help Thompson could have found.
Vernand Morency, who was expected to begin the season as the starter before injuring his knee in the first practice of training camp, did return to practice but has missed over a month and likely will need time to raise his level of conditioning.
That leaves two rookies, Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn, and a newcomer in Grant as the only healthy halfbacks for the game against the Eagles - and perhaps beyond.
Jackson missed the final exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans because of a concussion but has been cleared to practice. Wynn said he expected Jackson, who started the first three exhibition games, to start against the Eagles.
"Right now I'd say that," Wynn said. "You never know how things are going to pan out from here to Sunday. But I expect him to definitely get most of the playing time come Sunday. I don't see why not, even though he had the concussion. It's not really holding him back. He's had a good camp."
Jackson carried 40 times in the exhibition season for 131 yards, which gave him a pedestrian 3.3-yard per-carry average.
Herron led the running backs with a 3.4 average. Last season he had a 20-carry, 106-yard performance against the St. Louis Rams when starter Ahman Green was inactive, and Morency struggled to pick up the slack.
Herron likely would have been an option to start against the Eagles if not for the knee injury he suffered against the Titans. The Packers and Herron first thought the injury was minor. But it was later learned he would need arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage and would be out at least until the Packer's Oct. 21 bye week. That's when the Packers decided to end Herron's season.
"It's heartbreaking to Noah; it's heartbreaking to us to have to make this transaction," Thompson said. "But we had to do it. We didn't think there was any way we'd get him back before the bye, and we just didn't have the luxury of being able to do that."
McCarthy said the loss of Herron definitely hurts.
"He was definitely going to be a contributor this year," McCarthy said.
For the short term, McCarthy indicated Morency, if cleared, would fill Herron's role as the third-down back. It's the same job Morency did last year and will give him an opportunity to round himself into form slowly.
Whoever gets called upon to line up next to quarterback Brett Favre in the shotgun will be asked often to protect him by picking up the blitz. The Eagles are one of the NFL's top teams at disguising their blitzes, so it might be too much to ask of a rookie like Jackson or Wynn.
Grant said it's something he did with the Giants, but the Packers' offense is much different.
"It is kind of night and day from what I ran in New York, to be honest with you," Grant said.
However, Grant has some familiarity with the West Coast offense after playing in it under coach Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame.
"It's not totally foreign to me. It's something I'm accustomed to," Grant said. "The terms might be a little different, but I understand the scheme and what we're trying to accomplish."
For now at least, the Packers are attempting to enter the season with four halfbacks that have a combined 96 carries and two NFL starts - all by Morency. And at fullback, Kuhn's six games played make him a veteran compared to rookie starter Korey Hall.
It's no wonder then that when Thompson was asked how many healthy running backs the Packers will have against the Eagles, he had to pause and think about it.
"We've had so many changes, I've got to think this through . . . ," Thompson said.
At this point, the Packers might just be happy to make it through the opener without any more.
Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Lack of experienced backs is troubling
By GREG A. BEDARD
gbedard@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 2, 2007
Green Bay - It only took running back Ryan Grant a few hours Sunday to make one very obvious yet important observation about his new team:
The Packers are hurting at running back after learning that Noah Herron is out for the season. Herron suffered a knee injury at Tennessee Thursday.
"This is definitely the youngest backfield I've ever been in," he said.
That's one way to say it. Another would be that the Packers, especially after the team decided to end the season of third-down back Noah Herron by placing him on injured reserve, appear headed into the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles woefully devoid of experience at the position.
"It is what it is," said general manager Ted Thompson, the man responsible for crafting the Packers' roster. "You just have to keep going, and you try to pick the best guys for your team, where you are at that particular time. So that's kind of where we are. But at the end of the day, we feel pretty good about this group."
In an effort to gain some help and experience, Grant was acquired in a trade Saturday from the New York Giants. The Packers got some more when they were awarded fullback John Kuhn off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thompson said he called around to see what other halfbacks might be available via trade but found the market tight.
And the Packers certainly look as if they need all the help Thompson could have found.
Vernand Morency, who was expected to begin the season as the starter before injuring his knee in the first practice of training camp, did return to practice but has missed over a month and likely will need time to raise his level of conditioning.
That leaves two rookies, Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn, and a newcomer in Grant as the only healthy halfbacks for the game against the Eagles - and perhaps beyond.
Jackson missed the final exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans because of a concussion but has been cleared to practice. Wynn said he expected Jackson, who started the first three exhibition games, to start against the Eagles.
"Right now I'd say that," Wynn said. "You never know how things are going to pan out from here to Sunday. But I expect him to definitely get most of the playing time come Sunday. I don't see why not, even though he had the concussion. It's not really holding him back. He's had a good camp."
Jackson carried 40 times in the exhibition season for 131 yards, which gave him a pedestrian 3.3-yard per-carry average.
Herron led the running backs with a 3.4 average. Last season he had a 20-carry, 106-yard performance against the St. Louis Rams when starter Ahman Green was inactive, and Morency struggled to pick up the slack.
Herron likely would have been an option to start against the Eagles if not for the knee injury he suffered against the Titans. The Packers and Herron first thought the injury was minor. But it was later learned he would need arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage and would be out at least until the Packer's Oct. 21 bye week. That's when the Packers decided to end Herron's season.
"It's heartbreaking to Noah; it's heartbreaking to us to have to make this transaction," Thompson said. "But we had to do it. We didn't think there was any way we'd get him back before the bye, and we just didn't have the luxury of being able to do that."
McCarthy said the loss of Herron definitely hurts.
"He was definitely going to be a contributor this year," McCarthy said.
For the short term, McCarthy indicated Morency, if cleared, would fill Herron's role as the third-down back. It's the same job Morency did last year and will give him an opportunity to round himself into form slowly.
Whoever gets called upon to line up next to quarterback Brett Favre in the shotgun will be asked often to protect him by picking up the blitz. The Eagles are one of the NFL's top teams at disguising their blitzes, so it might be too much to ask of a rookie like Jackson or Wynn.
Grant said it's something he did with the Giants, but the Packers' offense is much different.
"It is kind of night and day from what I ran in New York, to be honest with you," Grant said.
However, Grant has some familiarity with the West Coast offense after playing in it under coach Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame.
"It's not totally foreign to me. It's something I'm accustomed to," Grant said. "The terms might be a little different, but I understand the scheme and what we're trying to accomplish."
For now at least, the Packers are attempting to enter the season with four halfbacks that have a combined 96 carries and two NFL starts - all by Morency. And at fullback, Kuhn's six games played make him a veteran compared to rookie starter Korey Hall.
It's no wonder then that when Thompson was asked how many healthy running backs the Packers will have against the Eagles, he had to pause and think about it.
"We've had so many changes, I've got to think this through . . . ," Thompson said.
At this point, the Packers might just be happy to make it through the opener without any more.
Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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