Green Bay Packers: NFC North RB Grades and Rankings

The frequency of running plays may be down significantly leaguewide from the smash-mouth days of 1970s and 80s, but the being able to safely gain yardage by handing the ball off to a productive running back behind an overpowering offensive line remains an essential component in every offense and usually translates into wins.

However, rostering a dominant feature back without elite, or at least above-average, quarterback play and a porous defense has left several teams on the outside looking in during the NFL postseason.

A hodgepodge of physically gifted running backs have resided in the NFC North over the past three years, but the vast majority of them have fallen short of expectations due to a myriad of reasons, including injuries, misuse or subpar blocking.

The Packers, for one, are a team that have struggled to build momentum on the ground due to their overreliance on the brilliant, but highly-flawed Eddie Lacy, whose inability to avoid injuries and personal battle of the bulge have combined to prevent him from reaching his enormous potential.

Mike McCarthy and the offensive coaching staff were collectively grasping at straws following their bellcow’s season-ending ankle injury last October.

They needlessly experimented replacing Lacy by distributing carries to runners that were either well past their prime (James Starks) or ill-suited for a feature role (Knile Davis, Don Jackson) before handing the keys to the backfield to converted wide receiver Ty Montgomery.

But though an Aaron Rodgers-led attack has the luxury of getting by with an ancillary running game that doesn’t necessarily have to be relied on most weeks, the Vikings and Bears won’t be afforded that luxury with their lack of firepower behind center and at the receiver and tight end positions.

The Lions, conversely, have ridden the coattails of franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to 27 wins and two playoff appearances over the past three seasons despite the utter lack of anything resembling a power ball carrier they could lean on to facilitate their overall ball movement.

Interestingly, every team in the NFC North, with the exception of the Silver and Blue, has infused their 90-man rosters with promising young backfield talent that can markedly alter the complexion of their respective offenses.

Will Detroit’s plan to elevate their running prowess through continued reinforcements on the offensive line be enough to catapult Stafford and company to the top of the division?

Stay tuned as we examine all four organizations and their efforts to exert their will by pounding the rock.