My newest favorite Packers player has touched the ball exactly 50 times this season. He has a rushing average that’s barely above three yards a carry, and when he was brought in as a second-round pick in 2007, he lost a shot at the starting job first to a seventh-round pick, then to an undrafted free agent the Packers had traded for.
Yet I’ve become a huge fan of Brandon Jackson. And it’s what he brings to the Packers that gives them a chance to make a deep playoff run.
We saw Jackson’s ability to make plays in last week’s win over Seattle, when he scored all three of his touchdowns this season (two rushing, one receiving) in a 48-10 victory. But he’s made himself an invaluable member of the Packers for other, grittier, less talked-about reasons this year. He’s caught 19 passes for 158 yards, becoming a reliable safety valve for Aaron Rodgers on third downs. And his most important contribution — his pass-blocking — has helped the Packers shore up a shoddy protection scheme that threatened to derail the season, not to mention cost Rodgers his health.
Watch Jackson when he’s in the game. You’ll see him pointing out blitzers before the snap, just like Rodgers is doing. And when a rusher gets free, it’s often Jackson who takes them on one-on-one, making sure to get his pads lower than the attacker’s and usually standing them up straight while Rodgers uses the extra half-second to unload the ball. In a passing attack that’s gone back to the stuff that made it so effective under Brett Favre (three-step drops, quick releases and slant routes that allow receivers to gain yards after the catch), Jackson’s subtle contributions are a key element.
And they’re going to be an even bigger component of the Packers’ offense during the playoffs. Here’s why: Of Green Bay’s possible first-round opponents, two of them (Minnesota and Dallas) have devastating pass rushes. And should the Packers get Philadelphia later on in the playoffs, they’ll face a blitz scheme that will depend largely on Jackson’s ability to stop rushers one-on-one.
I just got done reading a Sports Illustrated piece from their Dec. 28 issue about the Double A Gap blitz, which is the legacy of late Eagles coordinator Jim Johnson and is run by almost every team in the NFL in some capacity these days. (I eat the geeky X’s and O’s stuff up; that story, along with a well-done Joe Posnanski piece on former Boise State running back Ian Johnson, is why you should pick up a copy of the SI issue).
Anyway, here’s how it works: In a nickel scheme, two linebackers blitz — or threaten to blitz — the A gap (the space on either side of the center). The threat of a direct, frontal shot on the quarterback then causes defenses to either block down on the linebackers, slide their protection to the middle or attempt to pass off a defensive lineman to a running back or tight end. In any of those options, it’s usually a running back who has to take on an edge rusher (the Vikings’ Jared Allen, the Eagles’ Trent Cole or the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Ware, for example) or turn away one of the firing linebackers. It’s why Redskins offensive line coach Joe Bugel told Sports Illustrated: “This blitz has changed what you need in a running back. He’s got to be able to pass block, or you really can’t have him on the field.”
The NFL is a series of measures and countermeasures, one team innovating and 31 others figuring out how to respond. And that’s the other thing that impresses me most about Jackson. You don’t hear him complaining about his role in the offense–after Sunday’s game, when talking about his three touchdowns, he casually mentioned he’d like more touches, but he understands he has to earn those. Otherwise, it’s one coach or another raving about Jackson’s pass protection, how seriously he takes his technique, how much pride he finds in being Rodgers’ last line of defense. This was the guy who took issue with an NFL rookie promotional weekend because it was going to cost him time working out in Green Bay. It’s no wonder coaches loves him.
And let’s be honest: Jackson’s blocking ability could well be the difference between him being out of a job and getting meaningful snaps for a playoff team. He’s shown his ability in the brief moments he’s been given to display it (last week’s nifty cutback TD against Seattle or the 2007 finale against Detroit, for example). But he was hurt for too much of his rookie season, and by the time he got a chance to contribute, Ryan Grant had salted away the starting job. Jackson, though, has found another niche for himself. Maybe he’ll get a larger role on offense because of it. Maybe he’ll extend his career as a bit player for another several years.
But right now, he’s one of the Packers’ most important assets going into the playoffs. And that’s why my man-crush on Brandon Jackson must be admitted.
–Gene Bosling
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