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Are You Comfortable with the RB Position?


CWood21

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Much has been made about going into the season with a converted WR as our starting RB.  And Ted Thompson drafted three RBs to add to the competition with Jamaal Williams in the 4th round, Aaron Jones in the 5th round, and Devante Mays in the 7th round.

So that being said, how comfortable are you with the position?  And how do you you think the camp battle shakes out?

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Obviously, Ty Montgomery is going to go into the season as the starter but he's never really shown he's been able to carry the workload.  IF he can, I think he helps the offense tremendously but it's something that's going to be a question until he proves it.  I really liked Jamaal Williams coming out of BYU, but he's more a traditional runner and I'm not sure he's going to be a guy that Mac is gonna like.  He's not very good in pass protection and limited history of catching balls out of the backfield, more of a natural runner.  Aaron Jones is your traditional 3rd down back, and I think he's the last back to make the roster.  Mays seems like an early PS candidate.

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5 hours ago, skibrett15 said:

just envision us complaining all year about how we're rotating backs and no one can get into a flow.

At this point, there will always be someone who will complain until one of them holds down the position.  Do you think Montgomery can handle the workload, or is it going to be a RB by committee situation?  What say you @bkobow05?  @CentralFC or @HorizontoZenith how about you?

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25 minutes ago, bkobow05 said:

I'm fine with what we have as long as everyone does their job. No, we don't have a workhorse back but neither do the Patriots, which is who I think we're trying to emulate. RB isn't that important tbh 

My one concern with the RBBC approach is that it hinders the Packers ability to run the hurry up offense.  Right now, Montgomery is probably the only back whose capable of filling that role so if we're going to do a RBBC approach it means less hurry-up.  Do you think Mac is willing to dial back his hurry-up offense?

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This notification stuff is amazing. 

Anyway, I'm more than comfortable at RB.  I feel it's a position less valuable to us than other teams, and I feel like we'll have a legitimate ground game this season.  I don't think we'll keep four like a lot of people think, but I'm sure the three we keep will each bring something unique. 

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1 hour ago, HorizontoZenith said:

This notification stuff is amazing. 

Anyway, I'm more than comfortable at RB.  I feel it's a position less valuable to us than other teams, and I feel like we'll have a legitimate ground game this season.  I don't think we'll keep four like a lot of people think, but I'm sure the three we keep will each bring something unique. 

I'd agree that I don't think that they are carrying 4 RBs.  If you carry an extra RB, you are taking from another position.

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Am I comfortable in the personnel in mid-July? No. 

Monty was a savior, and has immense talent with respect to strength and pass catching, but he's not a three-down back. We have limited evidence (available) that confirms his sickle cell trait issues. Look at his carries down the stretch in 2016 and it's fewer than 12-15 game in and game out. He kills Chicago, but disappears in others. That said, he can be a productive HB if he's in a non-featured role. I'm confident an offseason of work has improved his frame, stamina, and vision, but there are recurring questions that need to and will be answered by October/November.

This all said, I'd be a HELL of a lot more confident if Lacy was in the fold, put on some sort of ridiculous incentive-laden weight restriction, and combined with Monty + a rookie. I'm also a realist, and I'm thrilled Lacy's out of the picture, and our HB room is back to having some accountability. 

Williams and Jones have a lot to offer right off the bat. Williams is going to see 100-125 carries if he shows an ounce of vision in training camp. His physicality, in my eyes, is an excellent complement to Monty. Jones has a lot of ability as well and could push for a roster spot. 

Back to the original question, the triple-dip on RBs was, at first, an overkill. In hindsight it made too much sense. Monty is a stud in a weaponized role, as opposed to a three-down workload that acutely undercuts his health. 

I think we'll be fine. We have experience (Monty), fresh legs (x3), and a veteran FB with some bad memories. I'm more confident now than I was in 2010 and 2011. 

 

All said, I trust in the staff in getting 2 of those 3 backs ready for action by mid-September. 

We're fine.

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Just now, CentralFC said:

A related question, how does the loss of Lang influence our run game?

So little we won't even notice it.  It's Sitton 2.0 with Lang.  People all upset only to realize that we'll end up just fine and at a fraction of the cost.  Our running game doesn't need a dominant offensive line to be successful.  When you've got Aaron Rodgers, teams rarely load the box.  Montgomery and Lacy both averaged over 5 yards per carry for us last year.  Don't see any reason whatsoever to worry about our running game this coming season. 

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17 hours ago, CWood21 said:

At this point, there will always be someone who will complain until one of them holds down the position.  Do you think Montgomery can handle the workload, or is it going to be a RB by committee situation?  What say you @bkobow05?  @CentralFC or @HorizontoZenith how about you?

My read on the McCarthy style of back rotation is that he prefers to give guys an entire drive.  Much like we see the no-huddle and 11 personnel for an entiredrive, there will be a primary back for drives.  Once in a while you will see a sub if a guy rips off 3-4 good runs in a sustained drive.

I'd expect we see Montgomery getting about 55-60% of drives to start the season.  From there, Jamal Williams will mix in and dominate touches on a few drives.  Jones/Mays will be the spell back and probably not get an entire drive unless they flash during the game or if one of Monty/Williams is banged up.  Ripkowski seems likely to play in the 2 minute drill.

11 hours ago, HorizontoZenith said:

So little we won't even notice it.  It's Sitton 2.0 with Lang.  People all upset only to realize that we'll end up just fine and at a fraction of the cost.  Our running game doesn't need a dominant offensive line to be successful.  When you've got Aaron Rodgers, teams rarely load the box.  Montgomery and Lacy both averaged over 5 yards per carry for us last year.  Don't see any reason whatsoever to worry about our running game this coming season. 

It's a bit different with Lang.  Lang was a much better run blocker than Sitton.  I agree with your overall point that we are not that reliant on talent at run blocking to succeed.  It's very Peyton led Colts (post edge) where we are running against very soft fronts.  Rodgers not quite as patient as Peyton in simply taking the 6 yard run when it's presented.

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12 hours ago, CentralFC said:

A related question, how does the loss of Lang influence our run game? 

Some.  But not necessarily a ton.  I'd imagine that there will be some drop off, because I don't think Jahri Evans was particularly strong in the run game but someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.  But I'd agree with @HorizontoZenith that I think the drop off will be less and very akin to the difference between Josh Sitton and Lane Taylor.  I think the drop off will be less than the contractual difference between Evans and Lang.  I do anticipate at some point in the future that Kofi Amichia gets a look.  He was one of the guys that I (and Cadmus I believe) pegged as a potential Packers draft pick.

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2 minutes ago, skibrett15 said:

My read on the McCarthy style of back rotation is that he prefers to give guys an entire drive.  Much like we see the no-huddle and 11 personnel for an entiredrive, there will be a primary back for drives.  Once in a while you will see a sub if a guy rips off 3-4 good runs in a sustained drive.

I'd expect we see Montgomery getting about 55-60% of drives to start the season.  From there, Jamal Williams will mix in and dominate touches on a few drives.  Jones/Mays will be the spell back and probably not get an entire drive unless they flash during the game or if one of Monty/Williams is banged up.  Ripkowski seems likely to play in the 2 minute drill.

I guess I'm looking back a few years ago when we really had that RBBC approach, and it seemed like McCarthy wasn't really a fan and felt that it messed with momentum.  I'd imagine if we're going with that approach, it's going to be run the hot hand situation and not a situation decision.

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1 minute ago, CWood21 said:

I guess I'm looking back a few years ago when we really had that RBBC approach, and it seemed like McCarthy wasn't really a fan and felt that it messed with momentum.  I'd imagine if we're going with that approach, it's going to be run the hot hand situation and not a situation decision.

You mean the year Grant got injured vs Philly?  Deshawn Wynn and Kuhn closing out games vs NYG and Detroit?

Agree that Mac doesn't like switching backs up during a drive since it messes with flow, and doesn't like backs who overly limit play selection.  Williams will be the better runner, but Monty is a good player and probably better overall guy you want on the field since he's basically option 3/4 at receiver and can really make the defense play a certain way.

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