(Quick apology: This was supposed to be up Wednesday afternoon. But the whole Judas situation caused us to push some things back. Our bad.)
Part one of our series focused on the three key battles along the offensive line. For part two, we’ll be focusing on three battles amongst players the hogs will – or, at least could – be blocking for in the backfield.
Backup quarterback
The combatants: Brian Brohm (23 years old, 6-feet, 3-inches, 223 pounds, second NFL season), Matt Flynn (24 years old, 6-feet, 2-inches, 222 pounds, second NFL season)
Aaron Rodgers is the most important player on the Green Bay Packers this season. Now, before you go making fun of me for being master of the obvious, keep in mind that the reason I say such a thing is because of the players behind him at QB.
The Packers are not deep in any sense at quarterback and, if Rodgers were to suffer a long-term injury, they likely become a five-win team at best. I am not, and have never been, comfortable with the decision to pass on signing a veteran backup. Green Bay is leaving itself open to disaster, surprising considering how much Ted Thompson likes depth.
That said, there is an interesting battle going on for the backup job as Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm will duke it out for another year.
That Brohm – a second round pick in 2008 who was thought by many to be a first-round talent – is still battling Flynn – a seventh round pick in 2008 who was almost a lock to be a career third-stringer at best – shows just how far off he is from having the light turn on.
His disastrous performances last preseason can be forgiven due to his lack of experience. But from everything written or said about him during the ‘08 regular season and this year’s OTAs and minicamps, you get the sense that he still isn’t progressing at all. Rodgers was similar at the start of his career, but we knew by year two that maybe the kid could play a little bit.
Any number of factors play in here. It could be his arm strength, good for college but not the pros, his lack of mobility or his somewhat shy nature, something you can’t have as a quarterback in the NFL. Either way, he’s going to have to fix what ails him and quick.
Flynn, on the other hand, seems to be a natural leader (he did win a national title at LSU remember). His arm strength isn’t, to say the least, but he’s mobile and has a decent amount of grit. This is not to say that Flynn is the next Tom Brady or anything, but simply to point out that he has many of the intangibles a quarterback should have. In fact, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article from this past week quotes a personnel director from another team as saying he’d try to trade for Flynn if he ran his own team.
Flynn has the job for now and the guess here is that he keeps it. Too many question marks surround Brohm and it’s hard to see enough of them getting cleared up in one camp.
No. 3 running back
The combatants: DeShawn Wynn (25 years old, 5-feet, 10-inches, 238 pounds, third NFL season), Kregg Lumpkin (25 years old, 5-feet, 11-inches, 228 pounds, second NFL season)
The Packers are set at the top two running back slots. Starter Ryan Grant has his money and will be ready to go from day one. This should lead to a big-time bounce back season. Brandon Jackson – as underwhelming as he’s been – is still young and, as a former second round pick, the team will give him one more year as the backup. The clock is ticking, though.
Things are interesting at the No. 3 spot. In fact, this is one of the closest battles to call heading into camp.
It seems like forever ago, but Wynn appeared to be a solid up-and-coming talent. At the start of the 2007 season, Wynn took the starting job and held it for the first quarter of the year or so and put up some decent numbers. However, injuries have haunted him since then and questions exist as to how tough he really is – even causing some to nickname him “DeShawn Wimp.”
Still, his talent comes out in flashes, like his 100-yard rushing performance against the Detroit Lions in the season finale last year. The Packers must like him at least somewhat as they have kept him around two-plus seasons.
Lumpkin was maybe the best story to come out of camp last year. Seemingly having no shot to make the roster at the start of things, Lumpkin was one of the best Packers throughout the preseason and absolutely earned his roster spot. Early season struggles by Grant and Jackson could have given Lumpkin a shot to really step up, but a hamstring injury caused him to go on I.R., ending his season.
If Lumpkin can bounce back, health-wise, and continue his hard-working ways from last camp/preseason, he very well could be back on the roster for opening day.
Still, it’s hard to imagine him surprising people like he did last year. Talent usually wins out in the end and, while this battle is still tough to call, for now Wynn looks like the early favorite.
Fullback
The combatants: Korey Hall (25 years old, 6-feet, 243 pounds, third NFL season), John Kuhn (26 years old, 6-feet, 259 pounds, fourth NFL season), Quinn Johnson (22 years old, 6-feet, 1-inch, 250 pounds, rookie NFL season)
As Adam pointed out to me recently, this is one of the more underrated, yet intriguing battles heading into Saturday.
The Packers will need to be more consistent in the running game and fullback is, obviously, crucial in that. Let’s face it: The team has never found an adequate replacement for the great William Henderson (one of my all-time favorite Packers).
That isn’t to say each of these three couldn’t become solid fullbacks. Hall has done a fantastic job considering he moved to the position from linebacker at Boise State (smurf turf!). He’s a solid pass-catching option and isn’t bad as a blocker, though clearly he has some work to do.
Kuhn is more of a traditional fullback who isn’t much of a threat in the passing game. Given the Packers’ tendency to throw to the backs, he needs to work on that in a major way.
Johnson was considered a steal in the fifth round this year out of LSU. The biggest positive in his game is that he is a nasty, physical player, traits that are somewhat lacking in Hall and Kuhn. If the Packers are intent on becoming a more physical running team, as they say, Johnson could go a long way in making that a reality.
One thing is clear: The team will only keep two fullbacks, meaning the loser is out of a job. That player will likely be Kuhn. Green Bay will keep Hall for his pass-catching and Johnson for his punishing run-blocking.
-Chris Lempesis
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