McGinn rips on Grant

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JJHardy7

Posted: October 26, 2008, 2:54 AM

Posts: 1243

I was kind of surprised to see this story:

http://www.jsonline.com/packerinsider/33255299.html

I know Grant hasn't had a great year, but I think McGinn is a little too strong by saying he shouldn't be a featured ball carrier. I was against signing Grant to an extension if it meant a lot of guaranteed money, but his contract has quite a few incentives in it and to be honest I don't think it looks like a terrible deal right now. I've said before that last year's passing success opened up the running game for Grant IMO. This year's passing attack looks to be pretty good and as time goes on I think teams will give Rodgers more respect and it should open up the running game a bit.

I also think it's interesting that if the Packers release Grant (I don't really see that happening) this off-season they will not take any cap hits.

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NDOG44

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 26, 2008, 3:26 AM

Posts: 1945

What a stupid article from a usually great writer in McGinn. Let me say that Ryan Grant has been disappointing so far this year, but the meat of the article, the scouts' takes are almost laughable. First of all, Will Lewis the Director of Pro Personnel for the Seahawks is basically saying his defense sucks...how else do you explain 200 plus yards in a playoff game against this "backup" RB? And some of the guys that the scouts would take over Grant are just silly. Leron McClain? Tim Hightower? Mewelde Moore? Seriously? Is this a fantasy football article?

And then the article kind of complains about how much Grant COULD make if he hits 1,500 yards etc. Ummm, that'd be a good thing Bob, well worth the money wouldn't it?

Just a really bad article, and again, Grant has been disappointing, and might really be a one year wonder. But I'm sorry, comparing never will be third down backs, and the like against him ,and having a personnel guy rag on him when his team was absolutely shredded by this 'just a guy' RB last year in the playoffs is kind of funny if you ask me.

Even next year, $3.25 Million for Grant is not even close to outrageous. Sure, if he continues to have a bad year maybe they will part ways before the roster bonus, but that'd be a telling move as well as far as team philosophy goes.

He even mentions guys that haven't even played (Jesse Hester????) and guys that can't even play (Laurence Maroney, Cadillac Williams etc.)

And don't even get me started on the offensive line play.

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PeaveyFury

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 26, 2008, 3:28 AM

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Posts: 2794

I agree completely JJ. The timing of the article is quite odd, as Grant has been a work horse the last two weeks, carrying the ball 30+ times both weeks, and has racked up nearly 300 yards combined in the last three games. It's like Bob wrote this article after the Tampa game and is running it now.

And the article was stunningly harsh:

it's almost as if the front office went brain-dead in its dealings with Grant.

Seriously? McGinn goes on to say later in the article that they can sever ties with no cap consequences if they determine he's not what they need/want, and would have payed him a nominal amount at best if that was the case. How is that indicative of 'going brain-dead'? That actually sounds like a good deal for the team to me.

The Packers are criticized quite a bit by some fans/media for not spending money in the offseason too. So here they actually went out and signed Grant to get him into camp and potentially lock him up after a nice season last year, and got him with only 3.5 million of guaranteed money and an incredibly incentive-laden deal that at the most tops out similarly in total money to the deal that Ahman Green signed with Houston a couple of years ago that a lot of fans thought they should have matched. And for Grant to actually hit the top end of that deal, he'd HAVE to perform well enough to actually earn the money.

Kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't with those same fans/media, apparently.

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JJHardy7

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 26, 2008, 3:34 AM

Posts: 1243

The Packers are criticized quite a bit by some fans/media for not spending money in the offseason too. So here they actually went out and signed Grant to get him into camp and potentially lock him up after a nice season last year, and got him with only 3.5 million of guaranteed money and an incredibly incentive-laden deal that at the most tops out similarly in total money to the deal that Ahman Green signed with Houston a couple of years ago that a lot of fans thought they should have matched. Kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't with those same fans/media, apparently.

I'm among those that wishes we spent more money in the off-season, but at the same time if the Packers can get the talent on the field for a cheaper price that's not a bad thing. I think the Grant contract was a pretty good example of that. I don't want to get myself into the Favre thing again, but I really don't know how much that situation impacted Grant's contract. I just can't see the Packers saying 'oh Brett is trying to come back -- quick double Grant's contract!' Grant's contract seems very cap friendly...if he performs he'll get paid more. Seems like the way contracts should be in the NFL. You're dead on Peavey with the Ahman Green comparison. I was bummed when he signed with Houston, but I understood that running backs wear down pretty quick and that was too much money for Ahman after coming off a 'solid', but not great year.

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LouisEly

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 26, 2008, 5:13 AM

Posts: 1105

Still 9 games left in the season (look at what Grant did the last 8 games last year). Still 11th in the league in rushing yardage (i.e. in the top 40% of starters). Hardly what I would call a "bad" year so far. Only one back in the league is averaging over 100 yards per game, so if people are expecting him to run for 1600 yards this year they should not get their hopes up.

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Thurston Fluff

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 27, 2008, 2:48 AM

Posts: 1655

My biggest problem with Grant is his fumbling. I can live with him as a runner but he can't continue to fumble like he has so far and still be a viable feature back.

The artist formerly known as BUC.

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bjkrautk

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 27, 2008, 2:58 AM

Posts: 959

From the Article:

Even when Grant was ripping off 100-yard games down the stretch last season, some personnel people never warmed to his ability level. One scout kept saying that defenses totally were geared to stop Favre, and that the threat of the play-action pass kept safeties out of the box. Plus, defensive coordinators hadn't had time to really study him.

By comparison, from me...back in July:

I would also expect to see teams stack up defenders at the line of scrimmage to shut down the running game on 1st / 2nd down. The Packers run game is a bit deceptive, in that they can't line up and expect 3-4 yards each time they call a run play. Grant is a good open-field runner with vision to find the seams in the zone blocking scheme, and the extra gear that has allowed him to break off 60+ -yard runs when he gets through the line. The thing is, those seams were available because teams weren't willing to stack the line against # 4, who had no fear of audibling out of a run play and throwing the deep ball....knowing there would be no safety help.

Grant's YPC have taken a nosedive, since he hasn't busted off a few 40-60 yard carries. Whether it's because of his hamstring, the quality of the O-Line, or defenses matching up to shut him down, the results haven't been there this year. I don't really think he's worse now than he was a year ago (with the exception of the hammy).
In all honesty, the decision whether to pay or cut Grant in the off-season should come down to the alternatives: will the cap space be put to more productive use? As one of the people who has complained that Green Bay is sitting on it's cap room, I am generally in favor of moves that improve the talent level of this football team; I'd rather keep Grant over cutting him and not doing anything with the savings.

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JoeHova

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 27, 2008, 8:49 AM

Posts: 1100

I also thought this article was a bit of a hatchet job. Paying a guy coming off a good year is not the end of the world, especially when it is as modest a deal as Grant got and when there is not much guaranteed money. Either Grant turns it around and makes it look like a good deal (which would be great for the Packers) or he continues to be desultory and gets cut. Either way, the deal doesn't hurt the Packers, so who cares that Grant may not have quite been worth his salary this year? There isn't even an owner who has to worry about lining his pockets, so why does it matter at all?

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homer

McGinn rips on Grant

Posted: October 28, 2008, 4:29 AM

Posts: 795

I don't by the "defenses geared to stop Favre" routine anymore. At this point, defenses better play Rodgers honestly or they're going to get torched. Perhaps they were stacking the line early in the year figuring Grant was the only option. It might not be a coincidence that his two biggest yardage games were his last two games played.

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jazzytrav

McGinn rips on Grant

#10

Posted: October 28, 2008, 4:37 AM

Posts: 5851

Yeah, but he was getting carry after carry. It was like they were determined to get him 100 yards, even if it took 50 carries. Kinda reminds me of the year that Edgar Bennett got 1,000 yards. The Packers were determined to have a 1,000 yard back, even if it meant he got 3 yards/carry.

Will you have this left guard to be the 224th pick?

~ReverendBrewmeister

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danzig6767

McGinn rips on Grant

#11

Posted: October 28, 2008, 11:46 AM

Posts: 1170

JoeHova said:

Yep

I'm a big fan of McGinn, but felt this piece was overkill. While maybe the Packers did overpay a bit given the leverage the team had, not much of the contract was guaranteed, it's not like Grant got say a 20 million dollar signing bonus. At any point after this season Grant can be waived and the team won't be sitting there with a bunch of dead money on the cap because of it.

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Crewin06

McGinn rips on Grant

#12

Posted: October 31, 2008, 8:46 AM

Posts: 2

I would like to see them split carries more.

Grant is not a feature back in the NFL but he is getting the percentage of the carries like he is a feature back. Let Brandon Jackson carry the ball more. It looks like Jackson hits the holes harder right now.

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BrewCrewForever

McGinn rips on Grant

#13

Posted: November 02, 2008, 5:40 AM

Posts: 1052

I to was surprised by this article when I read it in the paper. I still think Grant can be elite. But the combination of the holdout and hamstring injury really hurt him so far this season. I expect him to pick it up and be fine just like last year.

Formerly BrewCrewIn2004

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NDOG44

McGinn rips on Grant

#14

Posted: November 02, 2008, 9:32 AM

Posts: 1945

If Ryan Grant isn't a feature back, then Brandon Jackson surely isn't...not even close.

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