Brandon Jackson

[WeArePSU11']

I agree to Favor Morency in this one as well. He hasnt really had the chance to shine yet but I think he has a lot more potential than Jackson. He comes from a pretty good line of elusive running backs coming out of OSU along with Tatum Bell, which I believe he has the talent to bring a different running style to GB to that of Ahman Green's, which only worked for a couple of seasons. Im not saying hes going to be a dorsey levens or ne thing, but I think he has what it takes to be their starter

[knapplc]

Another thing, Brandon Jackson wasn't even the feature back at NE for what maybe half a season. He was constantly injured and sat behind Cory Ross the year before. I just don't see what the kool aid drinkers are buying. Not one of them can give me any reason except he looked good on film when he got a chance to play last year. My question is if he is so good, why the hell was he riding the pine until his Junior year and why the hell did he not win the feature job until midseason?

Did you watch any of Jackson's games last year? He was outstanding in several games. The guy is good.

Why didn't he start until mid-season? Nebraska had four very good RBs. Jackson was simply the best of them.

I watched Jackson's entire college career, and I'm not going to tell you that he's the guy in GB. I have my doubts. But he does have plenty of talent.

That said, I largely agree with you, LC - I think Morency has the starting job until (and IF) Jackson takes it from him.

[skibrett15]

All the talk so far has been that there will be at least 2 backs used. So if by ¨starter we mean someone who is getting 60% or more, then yeah, morency fills that role. Jackson is gonna get work early in the season and I expect it will continue to increase. I could also see jackson used more in the red zone. Morency came into camp really fit, I think both backs have the same value right now, both with a chance to be good if one gets injured.

[GreatestShowOnEarth]

Probably not a good idea to base your comparison on a players college career, especially in this instance. Jackson, who was injured in 05 by the way never really had a chance to have the featured role at NU because like Knapp said we have 4 VERY good backs. His college career was fairly unimpressive and i know many Husker fans that thought Jackson was a fool for leaving early. Obviously the NFL scouts have seen something in him that his college career did not show. Jackson is a very good pass catcher by the way. He's a very versatile back.

[maddog60]

The Packers or any team with as many needs to fill as they had going into the draft are not going to waste an early 2nd round pick on a guy unless they expect him to become a full time starter. I was surprised by Jackson, but Morency is fairly weak competition for any rookie RB, and the situation is there for Jackson to take the reins. That's enough for me to consider him as my #4 RB.

[stomperrob]

Posted July 30, 2007

Cause for concern at running back?

Injury-riddled Morency, rookie lead RBs

By Rob Demovsky
mailto:rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com


To everyone who believes the Green Bay Packers' running game will suffer without longtime starter Ahman Green, Brandon Miree offers a history lesson.


Miree, the Packers' fullback, was a rookie with the Denver Broncos in 2004, the year they were charged with replacing Clinton Portis and his 1,591 yards rushing.


"Everyone was wondering how Denver's running game was going to react to it," Miree recalled on Sunday. "We ended up having a 1,000-yard rusher in Reuben Droughns, and three different running backs (Droughns, Quentin Griffin and Tatum Bell) each had 100-yard games."


The comparison is at least worthy of consideration given that the Packers last season implemented the zone-blocking running scheme that was created in Denver by former offensive line coach Alex Gibbs and remains a trademark of the Broncos' offense.


However, there are legitimate reasons to wonder if the same thing can happen in Green Bay after the Packers refused to get into a bidding war for Green, who signed a four-year, $23 million contract with the Houston Texans.


The first — and perhaps most important — concern has become an issue two days into training camp. Third-year veteran Vernand Morency has failed to quell doubts about his durability, something that has been a knock against him going back to his college days at Oklahoma State.


Morency dropped out of Saturday's practice and didn't suit up on Sunday because of a knee problem. The Packers don't believe it's a serious injury, but it again raised concerns about his ability to be an every-down back for an entire 16-game season.


"I don't know (if he can); we'll see," Packers General Manager Ted Thompson said. "If he hangs onto that starting job, we'll see."


Morency's relatively small build — he's listed at 5-foot-10, 212 pounds — combined with a short history of nagging injuries provide enough cause for concern. In college, he missed five games in 2002 due to an ankle injury and one start in 2004 (his only year as a full-time starter) because of a knee injury.


Last season, he sat out consecutive games due to a back injury that occurred late in a game against Arizona on Oct. 29, when he had his best showing (101 yards on 11 carries) since coming to the Packers in an early season trade with Houston for Samkon Gado.


"I go back to what he's done in the offseason, (and) I'm surprised that he's had an injury this early," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I'm not concerned. We've talked over and over again, if it takes one guy to do the job, we'll do it with one guy. If it takes a committee of backs to do it, then we'll do it by committee."


The rest of the committee is made up of a rookie second-round draft pick with plenty of promise, a career backup and a former practice-squad player. The rookie, Brandon Jackson of Nebraska, took the majority of the reps with Morency out but still has a ways to go. Though he was more effective than in Saturday's practice, Jackson still ran tentatively at times.


Perhaps his best run so far in camp came Sunday morning (in a non-pads practice) on a stretch play — one of the mainstays in the zone scheme — to the right in which he waited patiently for a hole to open and then turned the corner for an 8-yard gain.


"I'm pretty comfortable with that," Jackson said of that play. "It's like a lot of plays we did at Nebraska. You've got linemen running at you, and you're basically running downhill sideways. You have to stay disciplined and read it."


Though Jackson admitted he was tired following the morning practice, he believes he can handle a starter's workload even though during his three college seasons he started only 11 games and in only one season had more than 85 carries.


"I know Vernand will be back, but if worse comes to worse, I feel very comfortable taking a lot of reps," said Jackson, who estimated that he got about 80 percent of the snaps during practice last season at Nebraska.


Behind Morency and Jackson is P.J. Pope, who was signed off Chicago's practice squad last season and appeared in one game, and third-year pro Noah Herron, who primarily has been a third-down back. Early in camp, Pope has worked ahead of Herron at times and could be a contributor as a short-yardage back.


"In this system, when you have turnover (at running back), you just plug people into the system and keep going," Miree said. "I really have great confidence in all of those guys."

source: http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 00566/1989

[stomperrob]

Jackson's stock just shot up a few points:

Posted August 3, 2007

Morency may miss a month

By Tom Pelissero
mailto:tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com

Sunday, Vernand Morency was "day to day."


Monday, he was out "maybe a couple weeks."


Thursday morning, five days after Morency was hurt, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said his starter-by-default at running back could miss almost a month because of a sore patellar tendon.


So goes the latest twist in the mystery of Morency's injured knee.


"It's a knee strain, is what it's classified as," McCarthy said. "It's a couple weeks. It could be two. It could be four."


It was the first time McCarthy provided details about the injury since Morency went down in the first practice of training camp on Saturday afternoon. If McCarthy's timetable is accurate, Morency would miss at least one preseason game and might cut it close for the Aug. 30 preseason finale at Tennessee.


General Manager Ted Thompson acknowledged Morency's recovery could take most of the preseason, but said the team isn't interested in bringing in another back.


"Obviously, we're disappointed Vernand is not going to be able to play in maybe the first couple of preseason games," said Thompson, who on Sunday speculated the injury was a bruise. "We'll see how he goes after that. We also have some young fellows here we need to see play and need to see practice, so that affords them an opportunity."


Second-round draft pick Brandon Jackson has spent the most time with the first-team offense since Morency, acquired from Houston in September for running back Samkon Gado, was sidelined. P.J. Pope, Noah Herron and rookies DeShawn Wynn and Corey White also have practiced with the starters.


"It pains me every single day to go out there and watch those guys practice and get better and me not out there during it," Morency said. "I'm in here getting my rehab done two, three times a day so I can be out there and contribute."


For Morency, who missed parts of two college seasons because of injuries and sat out two games with a back injury last season, missing time could mean missing an opportunity to prove he's durable enough to be a featured back.


"I'm not sitting here waiting for him," McCarthy said. "I don't mean that disrespectfully to him. (Injuries) happen. We have to move on as a football team. I hope he gets back."


Pressed about the rate of his recovery, Morency repeatedly said it's "in God's hands."


"When you come in and rehab," Morency said, "you can stretch and do those type of things, do ab work, do hamstring work, get the muscles around the knee stronger, so that's what we're working on."


For how long?


That's a mystery.

source: http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 30501/1989

[Kilroy]

That's an interesting development that could become that much more interesting if the rook shines in the preseason. Definitely a situation worth watching closely.