This is the first article in a series that examines Green Bay’s positional teams. The next organization I’ll take a look at is the receivers.
Cleveland arguably has the ball-bearing tandem in the NFL with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray are a dynamic duo in New Orleans, as are Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in Dallas.
Surprisingly, however, the Green Bay Packers, which have traveled primarily through the air for more than 4 decades, can suffer the NFL’s deepest floor attack.
The Packers made a forged double with Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams a year ago. Green Bay then used a second-round pick over the powerful A.J. Dillon, which many compare favorably with Derrick Henry of Tennessee.
Now, when the 2020 crusade begins, the Packers’ offense counts more than ever with their floor play.
“As coaches, our task is to figure out what all the boys do most productively and put them in the right positions,” said Packers’ offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. “Our philosophy will be the same. We need it to be a balance. We need a marriage between the racing game and the game pass and the actions of the game. That will be our philosophy.”
Since 1980, the Packers have had only three seasons in which they have run the ball more than they have thrown it. Two were the shortened strike years of 1982 and 1987. The other 2003, when Ahman Green set the franchise race record for a season without marrying 1,883 yards.
It’s just that a quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, will throw the ball more than he throws it. But the 2020 Packers are more balanced than recent Green Bay teams.
The Packers ran the ball only 41.8% of the time last year, finishing 15th in yards on the court consistent with the game (112.2) and 16th in yards consistent with race (4.4). Second-year head coach Matt LaFleur would like to see all the numbers that happen.
As the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017, LaFleur oversaw an offense that ran the ball 46.7% of the time. As the coordinator of Tennessee’s offensive game in 2018, the LaFleur Titans ran the ball 51.0% of the time.
LaFleur would love to see the Packers much more balanced in 2020 than a year ago.
“I think in a full season we have a much bigger concept of who we are, what we’re doing right, and now it’s up to us to put that plan in place,” LaFleur said. “If I think about our installation from the first day of last season to our installation on the first day … this low season, night and day are different. We have a greater identity of who we are.”
LaFleur has a team of midfields capable of giving the Packers an attack in the top 10.
Jones had an escape season in 2019 and led Green Bay with a personal record of 1,084 yards per land. He also finished on the team at receptions (49) and third in yards at reception (474).
Jones finished the normal season with 16 touchdowns, which tied the league lead with Derrick Henry of Tennessee. He had 19 touchdowns in total, which matched Caroline’s Christian McCaffrey in the NFL lead.
Jones had two touchdowns in Green Bay’s playoff win over Seattle. Then, in the Packers’ 37-20 defeat to San Francisco in the NFC Championships, he had a touchdown.
Jones also remained healthy for a full season for the first time in his career, in all 18 games.
“Certainly, Aaron was dynamic to us,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Jones. “I think I was inspired by his ability to stay healthy and there. In fact, he had more touches than he did. So we’ve been very smart at that. It’s a vital component of what Matt seeks to do in attack. It’s a flexible part. You can move it anywhere. It really makes defenses difficult. I’m very excited to see him at the time of Matt’s attack.”
Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract and may be close to signing a monstrous contract with a wonderful season. Jones will earn $2.13 million this year and may earn five times that amount a year from now on.
Jones, 25, green Bay’s most productive attacking player a year ago and entering his early years. And if LaFleur sticks to the plan to run the ball more than in previous years, Jones may be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
“Whether it’s my first year or my senior year on a contract, I’ll be equally motivated,” Jones said. “It doesn’t replace just because a contract is at stake for me. I mean, I’m going to keep running and do everything in my power. I accept as true with my signature and the Packers. With that, I’d like to be a Packer for life. That’s my opinion on it.”
Williams is a forged supplement from Jones and provides a couple to Packers.
Williams is the only player in franchise history to have logged more than 400 yards on the court and more than two hundred yards at reception in his first 3 seasons in the NFL.
Williams averaged 4.3 yards consistent with career, a career-high last year. He also hit 39 passes, the personal record, and set a new non-public with five reception touchdowns.
Williams is tough, physical and remarkably consistent. He has played 46 of 48 games imaginable, never escaped, is a fair blocker and has stuck 75.8% of the passes thrown in his way.
“He’s not afraid. Anyone on the way doesn’t care who you are or your size, you get run over,” Jones said of Williams, his spouse and close friend. “If you don’t deviate from his path, he’ll weigh you down. You see the power on the floor when he does that. You see everyone on the sideline jumping out of their seats. Maybe there’s silence on the sidelines. and watch everyone run almost in the field. It provides energy to everyone. It provides energy to everyone.
Gutekunst’s resolve to use a second-round pick on Dillon really caught the eye. However, with Jones and Williams in the position of unrestricted loose agents in March 2021, Dillon offers insurance.
The 6-foot-247, Dillon is cut from the same fabric as assassins like Derrick Henry of Tennessee and former Pittsburgh Jerome Bettis.
Dillon set school records with 4,382 yards and 38 touchdowns in three seasons at Boston College before leaving school prematurely. Dillon has eclipsed the 1,000 yards in his three seasons with the Eagles, highlighted through a 2019 crusade in which he ran for 1,685 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Dillon then surprised many by running the 40-yard score in 4.53 seconds and did 23 225-pound replays in the NFL Combine. Its mix of size, speed and strength is rare and anything Packers are eager to show.
“I don’t need to compare A.J. Derrick (Henry) apart from the fact that they’re big humans running very fast,” LaFleur said of Dillon. “I think every time you have a big back in inscrustive weather, towards the end of the season when the groups are a little defeated, it’s a challenge. We’re excited about your skills, what it brings, how explosive it is. Is. “
If all goes well, the Packers think their ground game, and their back trio, can be incredibly explosive by 2020.
“We feel confident in those three boys,” LaFleur said.
I have covered the Green Bay Packers for various media since 2001, adding “Packer Plus” from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and recently Conley Media. I
I have covered the Green Bay Packers for various media since 2001, adding “Packer Plus” from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and recently Conley Media. I’ve also written 8 books about packers, adding bestsellers, “100 things Packer fans should know and do before they die” and “Aaron Rodgers: The Leader of the Herd.” Other books include: “If These Walls Could Talk”, “Packers Pride”, “Mike McCarthy: Nobody’s Underdog”, “Leaders of the Pack”, “Packers Essential” and “The History of the Green Bay Packers”. In addition, I do weekly radio performances at WSSP in Milwaukee (AM 1250) and WOZN in Madison (AM 1670).