In the NFL, one man’s injury creates a meaningful opportunity for another.
As is for most teams in the league, this was the case for the Green Bay Packers with running back Cedric Benson being placed on IR (designation to return) and the promotion of second-year back Alex Green to the starting job.
Green was far from overly-impressive in his first game as a starter (22 carries for 65 yards), but it provided the framework for what could be a promising career for the 24-year-old kid.
The Packers are one of those teams starving for a decent running back. They already have the best quarterback in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers and one of the most talented set of wide-receivers. But they haven’t had a solid running option since Ryan Grant ran for 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2009.
In fact, Green Bay hasn’t had a 100 yard rusher during the regular season since Brandon Jackson rushed for 115 yards at Washington on December 10th of 2010.
They may have a pass-happy offense in Green Bay, but I can guarantee you Head Coach Mike McCarthy would love to get a little more production out of the running back spot. Since 2010, the Packers are 2-8 in games where they throw more than 70% of the time. In more balanced approaches, they are an astonishing 29-3.
Whether Green is the guy who can help the Packers on their recovery to balance has yet to be seen.
Green is a guy the Packers had very high expectations for after choosing him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft (96th overall). A significant knee injury derailed his rookie season, but he’s been fairly close to 100% healthy this season.
Coming out of Hawaii, Green was part of a pass-happy offense and entered the draft as one of the best running back prospects because of his build and better-than-average speed. The biggest question on Green was whether he could handle a full workload.
So far with a full workload, Green has shown some flashes which give you the sense that he has a bright future in the league. One of them was a 41 yard scamper in the loss to the Colts. He showed off some acceleration that the veteran Benson (age 29) and back-up James Starks just do not have.
Against Houston who has one of the best fronts in the AFC, Green didn’t have a stat-sheet that impressed, but the way he used his strength and power to fight for every yard was impressive.
Following the game, McCarthy praised his young back by saying, “I thought Alex Green played very, very well for his first opportunity tonight to fully have the football. I thought it was a good start in the right direction for our run game.” (Quote obtained from Packers.com)
If McCarthy’s right and Green can help the run game go in the right direction, it could be a jump-start to a very successful career in the NFL.
What do you think of Alex Green? Does he have the stuff to be a starting running back in the NFL? Let me know by commenting below.
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice and pretend to be a Golf expert from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best. If social media is not your thing, shoot him an email at grays@uwalumni.com.
Pictures:
Alex Green vs. Texans (sbnation.com)
Alex Green vs. Colts (packersnews.com)