Ryan Grant = Future back

[Tyrone Bigguns]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

You obviously don't understand football. The defense wasn't expecting pass in the 4th quarter..when Grant got most of his carries.

[Bretsky]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

This is just pure wrong. A LOT of people in here were not on the GADO train. MANY in here said he didn't remotely fit into the zone blocking scheme, and many in here said he failed at this very same offense in college and was not going to cut it.

And Grant got most of his yardage when GB was well up on Detroit on the scoreboard.......therefore you can NOT assume they were playing for the pass. Grant had a good game Thursday and the fact that you are making excuses to downplay his solid play discredits you.

Jackson sucked earlier this year when he had his chance. The coaches know this and barring injuries he flushed his own chances down the toilet.

It's obvious your manlove for Jackson will not let you see anything but the Jackson is great fallacy.

Seeing we all agree our coaches know what they are doing, can't we just figure our coaches are not idiots and they are playing the better player

And the fact that Jackson saw little action in the most important game of the year Thursday just illustrates how much of a differerce there is in the coaches eyes between the two.

Well, unless the staff that has led this team to a 10-1 start have no idea what the heck they are talking about..........it's pretty apparent from any and all facts you can gather they are playing the right guy.

[Bretsky]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

You obviously don't understand football. The defense wasn't expecting pass in the 4th quarter..when Grant got most of his carries.

Exactly

[Maxie the Taxi]

Ryan Grant. For a true idea of how good he is and how valuable to the Packers he is, put yourself in the shoes of the other team's defense and imagine playing against him.

Enough said. I'm glad he's a Packer.

[Deputy Nutz]

The bottom line, for a 6th round pick I will take his production and be happy with the trade.

[ND72]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

I am one that agrees with this. I like Grant, but I think our best running back is still Brandon Jackson. If our OL and our Coach had as much belief as they do right now week 1, we wouldn't know who Ryan Grant was, cause they'd have holes for Jackson like they do right now.

[FritzDontBlitz]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

I am one that agrees with this. I like Grant, but I think our best running back is still Brandon Jackson. If our OL and our Coach had as much belief as they do right now week 1, we wouldn't know who Ryan Grant was, cause they'd have holes for Jackson like they do right now.

And yet, when they put Brandon Jackson in to spell Ryan Grant, the holes suddenly disappear and he goes nowhere. Let me guess, the linemen won't block for him?

[ND72]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

I am one that agrees with this. I like Grant, but I think our best running back is still Brandon Jackson. If our OL and our Coach had as much belief as they do right now week 1, we wouldn't know who Ryan Grant was, cause they'd have holes for Jackson like they do right now.

And yet, when they put Brandon Jackson in to spell Ryan Grant, the holes suddenly disappear and he goes nowhere. Let me guess, the linemen won't block for him?

WELL, lets look...these are Jackson's stats since the emergence of Grant

vs. Detroit - 0 Carries, 0 Yards
vs. Carolina - 4 carries, 13 yards (4.3 ypc)
vs. Minnesota - 4carries, 1 yard...(carries of 6, 2, -3, and -4), 2 catches 14 yards
vs. KC - 5 carries, 18 yards (3.6 ypc) long of 11
vs. Denver - Inactive

13 carries, 32 yards (2.5 ypc)...if you take away the -7 in yards in the Minnesota game, of which I remember both distictly, where nobody blocked pat williams, and in the KC game, all of his carries went for positive yards, except the one where Johnson (LB) came in untouched for a -3 yard loss.

take out those -10 yards in carries, you'd have 10 carries, 32 yards...3.2 ypc, which is what the zone offense expects, 3 yards a carry. I'd say he's been more productive, in my opinion, since the OL in general has been opening more holes.

I'm not bashing grant, nor am I putting Jackson on the top of the grid...but Jackson has a lot more potential than many want to believe.

[FritzDontBlitz]

You guys all drink way too much. Everyone was saying the same shit about Gado last year, where is he now? Does he even suit up in Houston, or is he a doctor already? Grant has made some nice runs and has excellent burst and good cutting ability. Is he the answer? I doubt it. I still think in the end Brandon Jackson will prove you all wrong. He's stronger and he hasn't had the benefit of playing against the teams Grant is playing against. Grant didn't do shit most of the game, I think he got almost all of his hundred yards on two carries, both after the defense was thinking pass, thanks to Favre and Co. Our line has played MUCH better in recent weeks and Grant is getting the benefit of that. It more timing than anything for him if you ask me.

I am one that agrees with this. I like Grant, but I think our best running back is still Brandon Jackson. If our OL and our Coach had as much belief as they do right now week 1, we wouldn't know who Ryan Grant was, cause they'd have holes for Jackson like they do right now.

And yet, when they put Brandon Jackson in to spell Ryan Grant, the holes suddenly disappear and he goes nowhere. Let me guess, the linemen won't block for him?

WELL, lets look...these are Jackson's stats since the emergence of Grant

vs. Detroit - 0 Carries, 0 Yards
vs. Carolina - 4 carries, 13 yards (4.3 ypc)
vs. Minnesota - 4carries, 1 yard...(carries of 6, 2, -3, and -4), 2 catches 14 yards
vs. KC - 5 carries, 18 yards (3.6 ypc) long of 11
vs. Denver - Inactive

13 carries, 32 yards (2.5 ypc)...if you take away the -7 in yards in the Minnesota game, of which I remember both distictly, where nobody blocked pat williams, and in the KC game, all of his carries went for positive yards, except the one where Johnson (LB) came in untouched for a -3 yard loss.

take out those -10 yards in carries, you'd have 10 carries, 32 yards...3.2 ypc, which is what the zone offense expects, 3 yards a carry. I'd say he's been more productive, in my opinion, since the OL in general has been opening more holes.

I'm not bashing grant, nor am I putting Jackson on the top of the grid...but Jackson has a lot more potential than many want to believe.

I will just put it in this context: Jackson has not made the most of his opportunities. If he is as talented as you say, its too bad it hadn't shown up with all the chances he had from the beginning of training camp until he was replaced due to injury. After Grant's emergence its possible he may never get the chance to prove his worth again. To me, Jackson's running style and body language suggests a back who is trying to avoid contact at all costs. That's just my opinion, but he seems too timid to succeed as a featured back in the NFL. Grant attacks his runs in a way that no other back on the roster does, which makes him much more productive. Whether Jackson develops into a more productive runner in the future remains to be seen.

[HarveyWallbangers]

3.2 ypc, which is what the zone offense expects, 3 yards a carry.

This is the dumbest thing I've heard. If you average 3.2 yards/carry, you won't be in the league for long. That's not adequate for any offense. That's with you liberally taking out his three worst runs out of 13 runs. Why would the yards/carry be different for a zone offense than any other offense?

[vince]

I don't disagree that if/when Jackson can learn to quickly find and hit the hole with authority, he can utilize his lower body strength and be more productive than he's been thus far. He's still VERY wet behind the ears.

But you can't discount what Grant has done by saying he played against poor rushing defenses. He hasn't. Here are the relevant statistics.

Ranking by Yds/Attempt
DNVR-31
KC---- 9
MN---- 2
CAR--- 4
DET--- 4
AVG- 10

Football Outsiders Rushing Defense Rankings
DNVR-29
KC---- 6
MN---- 1
CAR--23
DET--- 8
AVG-13.4

Against those better-than-average run defenses, Grant has excelled. Among the 37 running backs with 100+ carries on the season, Ryan Grant's 4.6 yds/carry ranks an impressive 7th in the league. Here's the company he's with at the top of the list...

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Brandon Jacobs
3. Ronnie Brown
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Marion Barber
6. Brian Westbrook

Here's the list of the guys with 100+ carries he's been better than this year...

Travis Henry
Kenny Watson
Derrick Ward
Kenton Keith
Joseph Addai
Willis McGahee
Clinton Portis
Fred Taylor
Earnest Graham
LaDainian Tomlinson
Julius Jones
Kevin Jones
LaMont Jordan
Jamal Lewis
Willie Parker
DeShaun Foster
Frank Gore
Marshawn Lynch
Thomas Jones
Reggie Bush
Ron Dayne
Steven Jackson
Edgerrin James
Larry Johnson
LenDale White
Shaun Alexander
Cedric Benson
Warrick Dunn
Rudi Johnson

Grant has warranted the love he's gotten to date. In fact, I'd say he's been a bit underappreciated. He's been really good, and I'd say he's only going to get better as he continues to stack successes and learns more about how to use his running strengths.

[KYPack]

Great post, Vince.

Jackson is a good, solid kid. But he is still a kid.

Grant's experience has helped him cement the RB job. Someone pointed out you need two good backs. Jackson will fill that role for us in the future. We should be set for a couple years at RB.

[Rastak]

Great post, Vince.

Jackson is a good, solid kid. But he is still a kid.

Grant's experience has helped him cement the RB job. Someone pointed out you need two good backs. Jackson will fill that role for us in the future. We should be set for a couple years at RB.

Grant seems like the real deal to me. He hits the hole hard and he's quick. Jackson hasn't shown me anything. I bet the Giants greatly regret trading Grant with Ward and Jacobs both out. I think I would have kept Grant over Droughns but then hindsight is always 20/20.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I agree on Droughns. The Giants would have quite the combination in Jacobs, Ward, and Grant. Ward really impressed me earlier in the year.

[Bretsky]

I don't disagree that if/when Jackson can learn to quickly find and hit the hole with authority, he can utilize his lower body strength and be more productive than he's been thus far. He's still VERY wet behind the ears.

But you can't discount what Grant has done by saying he played against poor rushing defenses. He hasn't. Here are the relevant statistics.

Ranking by Yds/Attempt
DNVR-31
KC---- 9
MN---- 2
CAR--- 4
DET--- 4
AVG- 10

Football Outsiders Rushing Defense Rankings
DNVR-29
KC---- 6
MN---- 1
CAR--23
DET--- 8
AVG-13.4

Against those better-than-average run defenses, Grant has excelled. Among the 37 running backs with 100+ carries on the season, Ryan Grant's 4.6 yds/carry ranks an impressive 7th in the league. Here's the company he's with at the top of the list...

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Brandon Jacobs
3. Ronnie Brown
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Marion Barber
6. Brian Westbrook

Here's the list of the guys with 100+ carries he's been better than this year...

Travis Henry
Kenny Watson
Derrick Ward
Kenton Keith
Joseph Addai
Willis McGahee
Clinton Portis
Fred Taylor
Earnest Graham
LaDainian Tomlinson
Julius Jones
Kevin Jones
LaMont Jordan
Jamal Lewis
Willie Parker
DeShaun Foster
Frank Gore
Marshawn Lynch
Thomas Jones
Reggie Bush
Ron Dayne
Steven Jackson
Edgerrin James
Larry Johnson
LenDale White
Shaun Alexander
Cedric Benson
Warrick Dunn
Rudi Johnson

Grant has warranted the love he's gotten to date. In fact, I'd say he's been a bit underappreciated. He's been really good, and I'd say he's only going to get better as he continues to stack successes and learns more about how to use his running strengths.