As we’ve reported, Green Bay Packers running back Ty Montgomery has an undisclosed leg injury. He missed his second consecutive day of practice on Wednesday. It now looks like he won’t play when the Packers face Washington on Saturday.
With Montgomery out, rookie Jamaal Williams has been getting first-team reps. In fact, Williams had started to get some first-team reps with Montgomery healthy.
So what happens if Williams goes out there with the No. 1 offense and tears it up? Montgomery wasn’t anything special in the Packers’ first preseason game. Granted, no running back was, but Montgomery fumbled.
This scenario may call into question who really is No. 1 in the Packers’ backfield.
I would say three things to that.
- Who cares? Mike McCarthy coaches this team. He only says he’s going to run the football. He never actually does.
- We expected a platoon anyway. Even when Eddie Lacy had the hot hand, James Starks would always manage to take some of his carries. The Packers are not going to ride one running back. They haven’t done so for years.
- See point one.
Williams certainly has an opportunity to seize more playing time. He looks like he’s taking advantage of that already.
We’ll be interested to see what he does behind a line that seems disinterested in run blocking on Saturday.
This is fake news. See point 1.
Of the two Williams is going to be the running back that will be used to grind out yards on the ground. Mayes may come into play later in the season in that role. Ty is going to dictate some matchup problems for defenses that will produce yards for Ty and others in the receiving and running game.
Is anyone concerned that Ty for so few carries has been injured a lot. His first year lost to lower leg. Last year had to leave the Giants and Falcons playoff games with what looked like lower leg injuries. This year already a injury.
I like the way Ty can force teams when he initially lines up in the backfield into matchup problems. Give him a few carries a game with several targets in the pass game. Dont let Ty get beat up running the ball. Ty is more valuable in forcing the defense to declare matchup problems to QB#1. Let Rodgers determine who on the defense he can exploit. Run or Pass.
Arguably the worst stable of running backs in the NFL.
Says a fan of the 32nd ranked rushing attack from last year. I guess you’d know. Before you do it, I’ll give the Dalvin Cook comeback…something like he’ll lead the league in rushing etc. etc.
We’ll see….
Well, don’t forget Latavius Murray either. We were terrible running the ball last year. Which maybe gives me some expertise when it comes to “worst stable”.
This year hope springs from a few sources.
1. AP’s loss was not a loss. He really did not play last year or, when he did, we wished he had not. His subtraction is not a loss.
2. The main issue was our O-line and injuries. Injuries can still happen but it is highly unlikely they would be at the same level. We went through 5 (FIVE ! ) starting Left Tackles. Just imagine David Bahktiari going down for the year, then his back up, then the back up right tackle moved to left tackle, then the unwanted free agent on the street playing a couple games and going down, and then ending up with a tackle off of another team’s practice squad. And that was just at LT ! Our LG was hampered by injuries, our OC was 34 years old, our RG missed the entire year with a mystery head injury, and our RT was a turnstile. Just getting back to an average run of injuries would be a huge improvement. But we did also add Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers and drafted Elflein and Isadora who have looked great in camp.
3. The aforementioned Latavius Murray. He is great in short yardage situations, a real Achilles Heel for us last year. Convert a couple extra third and shorts per game and, voila, more downs, and, over time, more rushing attempts and yards.
4. Dalvin Cook. Every once in a blue moon I am wrong but I really think you guys will be kicking yourselves for not drafting him when you had the chance. According to an insider there was great debate in the Packers draft room between Kevin King and Dalvin Cook. They a-l-m-o-s-t took him… but then did not. There is a huge gulf between the skills of McKinnon and Cook. Or between Montgomery and Cook for that matter.
I don’t predict he will lead the league in rushing. Too much O-line upheaval, good competition and carries being split with Murray, he has had injury issues in the past, and so forth. I’ll be very pleased — and a bit surprised — if he tops 700 yards actually. But he is also going to catch a ton of balls out of the backfield, possibly 50. The Vikings will not have a Top 10 run game but I think they will make Top 20.
Seriously, which NFL team do you think has a worse stable of running backs than Green Bay? You have a 4th rounder, a 5th rounder, a 7th rounder, all rookies, and a converted wide receiver. Quick, name another team with a WR as their starting RB backed up by a group of third day rookies. You can’t do it quick and you can’t do it at all.
Just saying…..
Mike Remmers nearly got Cam Newton decapitated in the super bowl, sooooo…
Players look great in training camp all the time before becoming an afterthought once the season starts.
Yeah the packers have a bunch of inexperienced backs, and they most likely won’t be a group that garners a lot of respect this year. Keep in mind Jordan Howard was a 5th round pick last year and was second in the league in rushing. Alfred Morris was pretty good his rookie year as well. Anything can happen
True, but still, I’d prefer rookies looked good in camp (Cook, Gedeon, Elflein, Isadora, Coley, Bower) than be injured (King, Jones, Dupre, Adams, + Biegel) or look unready for the big stage (same group of names as the last parenthetical statements + the rest of the Packer draft picks).
Remmers, actually, has looked poor in camp. Still likely an improvement over last year. He has very short T. Rex arms, Just like Dean Lowry. It’ll be fun to see those two butting heads while their little arms pinwheel ineffectively.
The point is: Is there anyone out there who can name a worse stable of running backs on an NFL roster? Anyone? Buehler? Buehler?
Oh yeah that’s right the injured Murray. He can’t play on the injury cart.
I didn’t say Green Bay didn’t have the worst RBs in the league, maybe they do.
However they won the Super Bowl in 2010 with Brandon Jackson as their starter.
Good luck with Sam Bradford again…he’s awesome.
He IS awesome! 3800 yards, 20 TDs vs. 5 INTs last year starting 8 days after arriving with the team with no running game and behind the worst most injured O-line in football! And with the offensive coordinator fired mid-season! And he set the NFL record for completion percentage! And was ALSO the NFL’s most accurate deep passer! All that and his QB rating was just barely behind Aaron Rodgers who had all the advantages Sam did not enjoy.
Yes, you are at least right about that. I have to agree with you. Sam Bradford IS awesome.
20 tds?…OMFG!!!……
WOW, that is seriously impressive. Rodgers only threw 30 tds and 3 picks in his last 11 games…but yea, Bradford is awesome, give him a cookie.
Rodgers does have an advantage over Bradford, he’s skilled.
Enjoy your third 1st round QB nobody.
BTW…have the vikings won anything? Ok, then stfu.