Packers: Run game will be key against Rams in Week 8

Coming off of a bye week, the Green Bay Packers will have a tough challenge ahead of them against the L.A. Rams. In order to keep this one close and potentially pull off the win, it is going to depend heavily on the success of their running game.

This past week Packers head coach Mike McCarthy ran a self-scout, which he often does during the bye week.

A self-scout consists of sitting down with defensive coaches and having them put together a game plan as if they were playing against the Packers offense. This helps McCarthy identify weaknesses in the offense.

In McCarthy’s press conference earlier in the week, he was quoted as saying: “The run game needs attempts, that’s really the biggest thing coming out of the self-scout”.

Well Mike, in regards to that statement, I and much of Packer Nation 100 percent completely agree!

If the Packers plan to pull off the upset, the key offensively is going to be the success of the running game.

Packers are too pass heavy

Through the first six games this season the Packers offense has been one-dimensional, therefore making them very predictable and much easier to defend.

Now some of the blame for that can be attributed to the Packers being down early so often, but there are instances such as against Washington and Minnesota where they gave up on the running game too soon.

So far this season, Rodgers is averaging over 42 pass attempts per game and Green Bay calls a passing play 68.19 percent of the time, second most in the NFL according to TeamRankings.com.

The heavy passing attack can also be attributed to Green Bay’s red zone struggles.

On the year they’ve ran the ball just 14 out of 39 times when in the red zone and have scored a touchdown just 50 percent of the time, which is tied for 19th in the league, per TeamRankings.com.

Against a team like the Rams, the Packers will need touchdowns, not field goals if they hope to win.

Must control time of possession

An important factor to winning this game for the Packers is going to be controlling the time of possession and keeping the explosive Rams offense on the sidelines as much as possible.

This is an area that the Packers have done well in this season. On average they control the ball for nearly 32 minutes over the course of a game, fourth most in the NFL, and they accomplish this without utilizing the run game effectively.

The Packers aren’t going to stop this Rams offense, their best hope is just to slow them down. The Rams rank first in the NFL in total yards (3,125), rushing yards per game (153.1), second in yards per game (446.4) and are third in points per game at 33.6.

Clearly the Packers defense is going to have its hands full and it is going to be a high scoring game. So if the offense can be effective on the ground and string together a couple long scoring drives, it will go a long way to helping the Packers defense out and limit the number of drives for the Rams offense.

Green Bay’s backfield

Although the attempts for the Packers running backs have been limited, they have been very efficient and have the ability to exploit the Rams run defense.

With guys like Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh clogging up the middle, rushing against this defense would seem futile, but it has been a weak spot for this Rams defense. On the season the Rams are giving up 4.7 yards per attempt, ranking 26th in the NFL.

Specifically speaking, Aaron Jones needs to see an increase in touches. He’s a dynamic player in the open field and is very difficult to bring down. Jones is averaging a whopping 5.9 yards per carry this season.

Complementing Jones is Jamaal Williams, a power runner in between the tackles and is averaging nearly four yards per carry. The other is Ty Montgomery who is also averaging 4.0 yards per carry and is a great pass catcher out of the backfield.

The Packers guards in pass protection have been poor so far, which could mean trouble for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. So utilizing this great backfield will also help keep Rodgers upright and make him more effective in passing situations.

Green Bay’s running game will be a big factor in deciding Sunday’s outcome. Without it they will not win, plain and simple. Aaron Rodgers can only do so much.

It will be important to not fall too far behind early but if the Packers do, they cannot panic. Turning one-dimensional against the Rams is a recipe for disaster.

This is going to be a difficult game to win, especially with what we’ve seen from Green Bay thus far, but with a successful run game it gives the Packers a chance.