Well, by god! Gravy Head has finally figured it out! The Green Bay Packers will be running the ball more often from now on.
We will, of course, believe that when we see it. However, coach Mike McCarthy trotted himself out on Monday and proclaimed a commitment to the running game.
The Packers use the bye week to “self scout.” Meaning, they analyze their deficiencies and figure out what they need to do differently. The big thing? Run the football more.
“The run game needs attempts, that’s really the biggest thing coming out of the self scout,” McCarthy said.
Hmmmm… really?
We’ve been hammering the Packers for most of the season for not running the football. We are certainly not alone in doing so. Primarily and obviously, the Packers need to get the ball in Aaron Jones’ hands more often.
Jones is averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Yet, he has only 32 carries in the four games he’s played. Those carries break down as follows: 6, 11, 7 and 8.
It is, quite frankly, amazing that the Packers haven’t utilized Jones more. It is, quite frankly, amazing that Buffoon has just realized the Packers need to run more. Did he watch any film prior to the bye? Was he at any of those games his team played in?
It’s still going to be all about throwing the football, of course.
“When you throw the football, especially normal down and distance, you want to be higher in action pass than in dropback,” McCarthy said. “The action pass is where you want to do a better job.”
McCarthy has talked about the importance of running the ball before. How the Packers needed to do it more often. And typically, that has turned out to be lip service.
McCarthy says the Packers are going to run the ball more. Then they do nothing of the sort.
We would like to think this time will be different. The weapon is there in Jones.
And this is the perfect week to surprise everyone. The Packers travel to face the undefeated Rams in Los Angeles. What’s the best way to derail the type of potent offense the Rams have?
Control the clock. Own the time of possession.
How do you do that?
You run the damn football effectively.
What will be interesting to see is if McCarthy finally just goes with his best option in Jones. Or will he stick with Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery? Both of those guys have gotten more snaps in the Packers’ last two games than Jones.
That’s crazy in and of itself. So perhaps this week we’ll know if McCarthy has any inkling about running the football or if he just likes to tell you he does.