"Put BJ in Coach, He's Ready To Play - clap, clap-clap - Today..."

Hey, Mike. Can I please see a little bit more of Brandon Jackson? Pretty please? I'm not saying we have a young Curtis Martin on our hands or anything, but check out the numbers. 2008 stats:

44 carries, 242 yards, 5.5 ypc. A small sample set, yes. If we include the last game of 2007 (stats do count against the Lions, right?) they are:

64 carries, 355 yards, 5.5 ypc.

And I'm not talking about those shotgun-draw plays on 3rd and 7. Why not leave him in for an entire series here and there? It's not that I'm as down on Ryan Grant as everybody else is either. Despite battling an early hammy issue, he's gonna end up with about 1,200 yards and a 4.0 average. He gets ripped for his contract, but I heard he's the 18th highest paid RB. 1,200 yards and a 4.0 average is about what you'd expect for the 18 highest paid RB, no?

I say give Jackson some more carries. Maybe a 60-40 Grant-Jackson split and see what happens. At this pint, why not?

Pack is Back??

As the game went along yesterday, did anybody get that feeling and catch yourself saying to yourself or whoever you were watching the game with: "This looks like the Packers of last year...this is what I've expected out of them all year long."

Game of the year no doubt. Statement game...if you will. The Colts were coming off a week in which they obliterated arguably the league's best defense. They were supposed to TEAR up GB's secondary, since Peyton was going to have all sorts of time to throw.

Saint Thomas...saint happening!

Our secondary was able to blanket their top 2 receiving threats. Our offense ran the ball efficiently and chewed up enough time (particularly in the first half) to allow our athletic secondary to have enough gas to run with their receivers yard for yard the whole game. Seriously, C. Woodson was within a yard of whomever he was guarding at all times. The guy is just playing absurd right now.

So while the D-line is still below average when it comes to a pass rush, you've got to like where this team is going into the bye week. We'll hopefully get some contributors back (Bigby and gasp...Harrell?) on the defensive side as the offense steadily improves.

To win 10 games this year...the Packers will have to run the ball the way they did Sunday. Let's hope Ryan Grant and the O-line figured something out.

Packers Preview - Running Backs

The Packer Sweep. Yeah boys, they don't run it like that anymore.

Starters:
Ryan Grant...half year wonder, or legit NFL horse? Grant was acquired at the end of the 2007 training camp for a bag of peanuts, didn't do much until week 8, then took the league by storm. Had the second most (after Tomlinson) rushing yards in the NFL post week 7. Was the only RB to get 100 against Minnesota. Had a 20+ yard run every 17.1 carries...best in the NFL. Was this a fluke? No. He's big, fast, and hauls ass after the initial cut - just what the zone blocking scheme calls for. Of course the musical chairs/MASH unit that is the O-Line will hinder production. And he also has to scrape off some rust after sitting out most of camp with a hammy tweak. I say Grant starts slow, only to improved as the season goes on. The night and day improvement of the running game pre/post Grant cannot be overstated.

Korey Hall and John Kuhn basically split reps at fullback. They never get a carry, but have decent hands and are good blockers.

Bench:
Brandon Jackson looked terrible at the start of 2007. Darrell Thompson thinks this guy looked bad. But after he finally figured out what he was doing, he showed glimpses of being a fine #2. Will he ever be "the man" for some team? That, I don't know. DeShawn Wynn was always nicked up and lazy...which will get you walking papers. I think Noah Herron will also get cut. Vern Morency is like Herron, only more explosive. Rookie Kregg Lumpkin seems to be a more interested and athletic Wynn.

Unit Grade: B. I really think Grant is the real deal, and Jackson has improved. With the O-Line situation in flux, it would be crazy to expect Grant to continue running how he did the second half of last year, but it's a pretty solid overall unit. The FBs are fine.