Ryan Grant-Bad Blocking or Poor Decision Making? October 13, 2008
Posted by Wes in : Packershow , trackback
So which is it? Is Ryan Grant just on the bad end of some poor blocking, or is his indecisiveness on his cuts what is causing his poor performance this year? I have my opinion, but I’ll hold back until we get a few responses.
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I was at the game and it was pretty funny. Every time Rodgers went back in the pocket the crowd was loud but when the ball was released the crowd went almost silent. I think that the absence from training camp messed with his mojo. Anyway it was a good win and we looked good. I was surrounded by this north west Packerbackers club so I was around packer fans.
Addressing the question, it’s probably a bit of both, combined with fewer running plays called from the sidelines. It’s an interesting question after this game, because Ryan actually did fairly well. No breakout runs, but lots of steady running, one or two third-down conversions and eating lots of clock. I think the strategy for Indy is to run them into the ground, and pass only when it’s needed. Ball control and field position, that will be the keys to victory.
You’re right, John. Grant did have a good game in terms of total yards, but his ypc was only 3.3, which won’t get it done for the season. The bad part is that there were about 4 or 5 runs where if he had just cut either to the right or left, he would have had a big gain. It seems that his indecisiveness is killing his ability to gain yards.
Interestingly, in the ESPN game conversation, most of the complaints are about how many times the Packers ran. I don’t think it was an excessive amount, but there is a real fixation on the ‘breakout’ run. As I recall, last year Ryan didn’t really hit the breakout numbers until later in the season.
Perhaps the reason is this: He’s thinking too much. I know coaches grade players on their decision making skills, but perhaps in running something more basic has to take over. When he can react to a cutback opening without thinking about it he’ll be halfway through it before it occurs to him. I remember an old running back that used to do that a lot, Jim Taylor. He would feel his way along, then sense where to go and get through to the second level.
It might just be a matter of reps for Ryan.
I think its a combination but I lay it more on the OL…too many runs where the OL is getting blown up and pushed into the backfield. I think as Hall gets back in game shape and our OL gets some more opportunities that Grant will start to get the explosive runs to go with the 3 yards and a cloud of dust.