With the first great Blog Battle of 2008 behind us, let’s turn our attention where it belongs - on the field.
Watching the playoff games again this past week (because I have no life) one thing jumped out at me I thought I’d share, and it has to do with the running back position. I keep reading and hearing Packer fans talk about how it’s a forgone conclusion that Vernand Morency will be gone next year. I’m not so sure. What he lacks as a runner he more than makes up for in pass protection. And if there’s one thing Aaron Rodgers will need help with starting out, it’s protection, especially if McCarthy is true to his word and plans to spread the field just as much as he did with Favre. You can bet that defensive coordinators will be salivating at the thought of bringing as much exotic pressure as they can dream up, knowing that, unlike Favre, Rodgers has never seen most of it.
In both the Seattle and New York games, Morency made some vicious, key blocks that allowed Favre time to find a late crossing receiver that ended up going for big gains. With three and four wide outs spread all over the field, Rodgers will need someone like Morency in the backfield. And Morency has certainly shown he is the best back at picking up the blitz that the Packers have, much more so than Herron, Wynn, Jackson or even Grant. This will be a major part of training camp evaluations, and if Morency can finally stay healthy (a huge ‘if’ I know) I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the final 53 against the Vikings on opening weekend.
