The narrative is, frankly, sickening at this point. Green Bay Packers, Fat Mike, Gravy Head, hand the goddam ball to Aaron Jones. Do that more than any other back you have. Put the ball in that guy’s hands. Do it often.
Gravy Head can’t quite grasp that concept, however.
Here you have a guy averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Meanwhile, the guy getting the most snaps — Jamaal Williams — averages 3.6 per carry. The other guy — Ty Montgomery — who is averaging 4.4 yards per carry, even got more snaps than option A did on Sunday.
I mean, this is simple math, right? You play the guy who gains you the most yards, right?
Not when Gravy Head is calling the shots.
Let’s look at the snap counts.
Williams: 33. Montgomery: 29. Jones: 22.
So, what then?
“There’s more to the offense than just running the football,” McCarthy said.
Hmmmm… is that right? I never would have thought.
Tell me more.
“I think it’s very obvious the balance we’re seeking from the running back position,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s one of the strengths that we’ve had since Aaron (Jones) has come back. We have three young men we believe in, three guys that contribute. There’s more to playing the position than just running the football.”
Okay, but Jones is greatly improved in pass protection, so that can’t be an excuse for keeping him off the field anymore, right?
“I don’t think … where clearly one guy is superior to the other two,” McCarthy said. “They all have excellent attributes you want to build off of.”
“I feel really good about how our backs are being rotated,” McCarthy said.
No one else does, Gravy Head.
And yes, Williams and Montgomery do have their positive qualities. They clearly do not have the explosiveness of Aaron Jones, however. It has been suggested that perhaps Gravy Head doesn’t want to burn Jones early and is saving him for the stretch run.
Thing is, it’s getting less likely that there is going to be a stretch run. The Packers are 2-2-1. They are behind the Chicago Bears in the division. They’re now tied with Minnesota Vikings. Six NFC teams have better records.
Plenty of season to go, sure. You would think that means plenty of time to utilize a dynamic player like Aaron Jones. Except, not in Green Bay.