One of the least-promising developments in the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Minnesota Vikings was the lack of a running game.
Not only were the Packers ineffective — 15 carries for 40 yards, a 2.7 average — but as you can see, they didn’t really even try to run the football. Two of those carries were Aaron Rodgers’ scrambles, so the Packers actually only called 13 running plays.
A number of those came late, when the Packers had a substantial lead and were trying to run the clock. The Vikings expected run and were easily able to shut down the Packers’ feeble efforts.
Obviously, part of our issue is that you need to run the ball more than 13 times. Another part of being successful at running the ball is situational.
The Packers didn’t do a good job at either and that’s on the coaching staff. Of course, Mike McCarthy doesn’t see it that way.
“I spent a lot of time on self-scout the last couple of days, and that’s really what this comes down to,” McCarthy said. “You play all this football and you spend so much time talking about the other guy, you really have to focus on what you’re doing and that’s really what today is for our team.
“We didn’t run the ball very well against the Vikings and that’s something we’ll correct because you have to run the ball this time of year regardless of who you’re playing and where you’re playing them.
“We’re going to spend this little extra time making sure we’re doing things right, like the discipline of it because obviously, it’s a one-game season.”
Sometimes, it seems like McCarthy doesn’t watch his own games.
Yes, the Packers could have run the ball better. They most certainly could also have run it more. If you give a guy like Ty Montgomery opportunities, he’s going to break big runs.
He proved that the week before in Chicago. When you give him just nine carries, as the Packers did on Saturday, you’re asking for a lot from a little.
Surely, the offensive line wasn’t great for the Packers against Minnesota. It may have been their worst game of the year all-around.
It’s still tiring to listen to McCarthy talk about establishing a running game when it isn’t actually part of his game plan. It’s a refrain we’ve been hearing all season.