phew... thanks Aaron, I knew we'd be fine (didn't I say that before?)

i agree with you, proof of this is last yrs game against seattle, B-jax showed me right then and there, that he could def be a diff maker when needed to balance out the offenese...

My only question: Will Nance be better than Willie Parker, or anybody else we can name who is on the street?

Thompson did manage to pull Grant out of... ...nowhere 3 years ago. I'll have faith until I can see Nance run the ball.

Well said Aaron. It's the next man up philosophy. Jackson! Strap on your helmet!

With Grant out, we'll see more screens and running back passes now that we have to play to Jackson's strengths - which are significantly different than Grant's strengths.

Future question - will Grant come back from this just fine, or will RB become our "most pressing need" for the 2011 offseason?

*Puts the paper bag and gun down*

o-okay. yeah. we'll be okay.

does anyone have an update on the james starks injury? any chance he'll be ready to practice 5 weeks from now?

We'll be alright .... Easy to say but not always the truth ..... GB has to have a respected running game to maximize the passing game ..... If good defenses don't respect the run (at least some), they can key more on the passing attack ......

At the same time, if BJ can stay away from nagging injuries he may very well be a 1000+ ...... He's a 2nd rounder who really has never had the opportunity that's before him now.

I wouldn't throw out a trade, just maybe the people mentioned earlier. Remember Ryan Grant himself was a trade.

Jackson has shown he can pick up a load, just not Grant's load-- both in total carries and possibly yards per carry. So I expect the back-ups to carry a bigger load. I don't think it will put that big of a strain on the pass-game, as the run game will adapt to Jackson.

Tthe packers ran the ball the vast majority of the time Grant was on the field in comparison to other teams (nod to Carriveau). Due to Jackson's superior pass catching and blocking skills, there's more mystery with you're number one back. Yes this puts more pressure on the back-ups, but who is to say an Undrafted Free agent in Dimitri Nance can't fill in the depth chart fine?

Remember the last time the packers had an undrafted free agent picking-up the void in the run game? I do. It was 2007. His name was Ryan Grant

It's about time. I knew I could count on you Nagler, to quell some of the more emotional fan's concerns. Here's one of the biggest positives i see coming from this (other than me taking bjax in my fantasy league), defenses will not be able to key in on a pass or screen any time that Jackson's in the backfield. Furthermore, I think we'll see a lot more of the screen pass, Jackson has always seemed to excel in that department. He's not the same runner Grant is(that's for sure) but he'll open up options that Grant didn't. One door closes, another opens, I'm still thinking super bowl.
Cheers.

Who the hell panicked? I've said all along, we'll be fine!

Geez, some Packers fans...

Jackson on first down is a pass threat as well, something RG wasn't. Also like the idea of more Kuhnbell. And Atlanta cast offs have worked for us before....

And...linemen make running backs...rarely the other way around.

Seems to me we keep finding a running game no matter who we have, I think Edgar Bennett does a great job developing whatever the personnel department gives him. Remember, like others have said we need functional not awesome (though I like awesome)

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Disagree. Jackson's too small. I think we need to go get somebody. TT never will, but it needs to happen. We'll all look back on what could have happened in '10 if Grant hadn't gone down or if we had signed someone decent. Lightning doesn't strike twice, there's no way TT picked another Ryan Grant off a practice squad. We're screwed.

Does anyone think we'll see the Big 5 again?

Put it this way, I'd rather lose Grant than any of our starters on defense. And most on offense as well.

The bad news is it's only week 1 and more injuries are inevitable. Hate to lose a couple solid contributers already.

From Falcons blog ~ "Nance, who’s listed fifth on the depth chart, behind Michael Turner, Norwood, Jason Snelling and Antone Smith, has to still be considered a super longshot to make the team." - Ted and his scouts must have seen something, cause the Falcons didn't.

Aaron, I wouldn't call trade talk "silly". How did that not giving up a fifth round pick for Randy Moss work out. Maybe trying to trade for Lynch the week before we play the bills isn't the best timing but the guy has skills.

Who the hell is Dimitri Nance? Does he even keep a roster spot if Starks gets healthy?

Aaron - when an important starter goes down, I think it's "silly" NOT to talk about lots of different trade/free agent scenarios. I think a team/GM needs to consider all the options.

I'm not as comfortable with our RB situation as you seem to be. I know you're a B-Jack fan and think he could even be as good as Grant. I hope he can be - I don't think he's bad. My bigger concern is depth. If Jackson gets hurt (which is part of his history), we have John Kuhn and some random rookie with no NFL experience who doesn't know the offense. I agree that we still have plenty of talent elsewhere to carry us deep - my concern now is that we have less of it at a position that is more important to the overall function of our offense than most will admit.

Oh well, now that the day's drama has subsided, I'll at least raise a beer to B-Jack and his health and hold out hope that he can take advantage of this opportunity.

The point about Jackson being so great in pass protection is my main concern. We desperately need him for that. He's a smaller guy, the every-down pounding may very well take a toll on him. Our running game has been average for what seems like forever, may as well be again. But if Jackson gets hurt, and our pass protection suffers greatly as a result, bye bye season.

Yeah, I understand Nagler's point. We'll probably do ok. But, There's no denying the scare factor of our run game will go down though. Grant has always had his haters, and he was bad in '08 BUT he was pretty darn good in '09 and seemed poised for 1500 yds this year. Small sample, I know, but I was buying the "more explosive" 2nd level talk...
-
Note that we didn't have a long run after his departure... this is gonna hurt.

Good point about the pass protection improving with Jackson in there, but I don't like him as a runner at all. I don't see him running with power -- it's almost like he tries to glide around too much. Grant had much more "oomph."

off-beat question. Is "We'll be fine" a Wisconsin thing? Whenever something negative happens in the Green Bay world, I hear those words from so many people. Just curious.

jackson
kuhn
nance

let that sink in.

ouch.

It's far too soon to believe the sky is falling. We're not a huge running team to begin with. I remember Jersey Al starting a very interesting talk about Grant last year, stating that Grant's fast, but only really effective when holes are opened for him. He didn't have Ahman Green's gift for making his own opportunities back when Ahman Green was #30.

So there was talk about being less than satisfied with Grant's performance. Some of the other players can step up and take a chance. That's often how star players are made.

Sure, it sucks that he's out, but it's not the same as if Rodgers were out for the season. I for one have always wanted to see John Kuhn get the ball a little more often.

"The Packers will be fine."

I needed that. Thanks.

GBP 4 LIFE

Aaron your right, the Packers will be fine with Jackson...unless he gets hurt to...but we all know how reliable he is so we know we have nothing to worry about right?

"We'll be fine" but not from anything BJ does or doesn't do.The Pack will be fine due to the schedule over the next few weeks even with BJ as the #1 RB(grimmace).
These next games should finally show all those BJ bandwagoners just how little he has especially after waiting 3 years.How can anyone think a RB needs that much time time to show his talent.
He can block but he can't run for the production we'll need.I predict alot of falling down with ease.
Hell,he should look like Sanders and Payton against Buffalo.I can't wait for the BIG SHOW.

I am worried about Jacksons durability though. If he gets injured the Packers have a converted fullback and a rookie who was not with the team at all.
Who do you expect to see as the 3rd down back? I cannot believe that Jackson is able to play all downs all the time. If it's Kuhn, has he shown anything for the neccessary blitz pickup?

Thank you Aaron for your fine work.

Let's just look at the math for a moment (God, did i just say that?? I avoid math at all costs most of the time). Let's assume Grant would have carried the ball 20 times a game and lets assume BJ gets the same amount of carries. Let's also assume BJ averages a full yard less per carry (say, 3.5 YPC vs 4.5 YRC). We're looking at 70 YPG vs 90 YPG---again, on average with some reasonably cautious assumptions. Can this offense not manage that? Working in some screens? With a little improvement in the return game on top of that? With one of the premier rushing QB's in the League? Yes, defenses will plan for us differently...heres where the coaching staff really earns their paycheck.

If we look at the last 7 games, from Nov 21st on when weather becomes more of a factor, it doesn't look that bad. 4 of the 7 are on the road. SF, NYG & Chi are in GB. That is when a weaker running game could really hurt. However, if we see an average per game drop of 25-40 yds per game, I am hard pressed to think this offense and this coaching staff can't make that up--especially if Jordy keeps doing what he did Sunday with the average starting field position.

It's all good.

Of course "we'll be fine". Nothing works like a simple platitude such as "duck and cover" or "just say no". Yup, that should do it.

i was wondering if anyone thinks i should put jackson is as my running back in my fantasy team

Nance on NFL.com

A Short Goal Line Run, But he looks promising.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-preseason/09000d5d819bc246