The Packers this past off season decided to part ways with Ryan Grant who had a very productive career as their featured running back since 2007. He collected back to back 1,200 yard rushing totals before a devastating ankle injury on opening day 2010 derailed him.  He returned to play in 15 games this past season as a backup to James Starks, but Grant still managed 559 yards rushing while splitting time.

Jan 15, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers running back James Starks (44) runs with the ball against the New York Giants at the Lambeau Field. The Giants beat the Packers 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The running back position now will now feature James Starks.  After a great premiere in the 2010 playoff run to the Super Bowl, Starks was very average at best when given the spotlight in the 2011 regular season gaining only 578 yards on the ground even though he did have some big runs to seal games in the 4th quarter.  The concerns for Starks going into 2012 are that Grant is now gone and Starks has very little running back help behind him, and Starks had some nagging injuries last season that led him to miss 3 games. This must be some concern to the Packers faithful even though this is not the Power Sweep days of Vince Lombardi under  Coach McCarthy.

To say the position is incredibly thin at running back is an understatement.  Starks is now the starter and he has a career total of 679 yards rushing.  Second year running back Alex Green is the backup and he didn’t participate in Mini-Camp because he is still recovering from knee reconstruction surgery that Green had 6 months ago.  It is still uncertain if Green will be ready to go when training camps open in July.  Green career totals are 3 rushes for 11 yards.  If Green isn’t healthy enough to backup Starks who will be the backup come training camp? Brandon Saine would be with his career total of 18 rushes for 69 yards.  So you can see the backfield for the 2012 season has 759 career rushing yards combined.  Aaron Rogers could be in line to throw 50 passes a game next season with this kind of production waiting for him in the backfield.

Even though Matt Forte is not happy with the money Michael Bush received in the off season, the  Chicago Bears are way deeper at the running back position with Forte and Bush than any other team in the division, and especially the Packers running back position.  It makes you wonder why the Packers didn’t want Grants services back for another season? They seem to have a lot of faith in guys that have not produced a lot at the NFL level.

It was BEARly worth mentioning, but they are our BIGGEST rival!

DA BEARS!!!

The concern for coaches is, unlike the quarterback position that is always on the field, defensive players are constantly shuffled on and off the field with very little consistency.  Some teams like the Chicago Bears keep Brian Urlacher on the field for almost every play on defense will not have a problem.  The New England Patriots for one complained the their middle linebacker, Tedy Bruschi, played a little over half the plays on defense this past season.  It means that some teams may have to make a decision on the two players they are committed to keep on the field for every defensive snap.

The result of the rule change should quiet the concerns from the Spygate controversy that has continued to linger throughout the league.  The wireless device will eliminate the need for signals to call defensive plays and eliminate the complaints of opposing teams stealing signals.  The change will also create a new set of problems for defensive coaches to keep one wireless helmet on the field at all times.  I’m waiting for the first game where a coach has his two designated defensive players on the field, pulls out the player with the wireless device, and has to pull the other player over to the sidelines and throw a new helmet on his head in time for the next play.

When the Committee met on this issue last year, the rule fell two votes shy.  This year the rule squeezed through with a 1-vote margin, bringing the longevity of the rule into question if opinions change during the season.  A tally of 24 votes are required to pass a new rule and the issue received a 25-7 margin.  Interestingly enough, all seven negative votes came from primarily offensive coaches.  The coaches voting against the change are Mike Holmgren (Seattle Seahawks), Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay), Lane Kiffen (Oakland), Andy Reid (Philadelphia), Scott Linehan (St. Louis), Jim Zorn (Washington), and Mike McCarthy (Green Bay).

The Bears will likely designate the wireless helmet for Urlacher, but the second helmet will be a hard decision.  The Bears have developed a high intensity defensive line utilizing a constant rotation of three defensive ends and a hand full of tackles.  The same can be said for the safety positions that are using a round robin until a clear solution is found.  If Charles Tillman or Nathan Vasher can bounce back from an injury-riddled season, they may be the top candidates.  Due to the unpredictability of every game, the Bears may not be willing to put the other helmet on Lance Briggs.  If the defense is getting beat in the passing game and the Bears have to pull the linebackers off the field it creates a liability at the linebacker position.