AJ Dillon fires back at criticism over performance in Packers preseason opener

AJ Dillon only carried the football four times—all on the same drive—in the Green Bay Packers' preseason opener. He managed just two yards, including zero on a failed fourth-down attempt, raising questions about his spot on the depth chart.

Poor run blocking didn't help, which is nothing new for a Packers offense that is far better suited to pass protection. Still, Dillon couldn't fight through contact to move the chains on 4th-and-1.

Second-year Emanuel Wilson put in an impressive performance, averaging 5.2 yards per carry for a team-best 67 yards and a touchdown.

Wilson had more time to get into rhythm and had the benefit of playing against backups, but he is building momentum nonetheless. MarShawn Lloyd's hamstring injury adds more confusion to the Packers' running back depth chart, but Dillon could face real competition from Wilson.

Dillon has received criticism for his performance in the preseason opener, and he responded.

Packers running back AJ Dillon responds to comments about preseason performance

Many have been critical of Dillon's performance against the Browns. He fired back at the comments.

"I graded at 98%. If you know football, you watched the tape, and you don't look at the stats," Dillon told Cody Krupp of FOX 11 News. "Somebody else go out there and do more than I did. That's football. Sometimes you have a drive like that where a block doesn't happen here, a block doesn't happen there."

"If you don't live inside my house, your opinion to me is so secondary that I couldn't be bothered with it," said Dillon. "To anybody on Twitter or whatever, you can't do what we're doing. Just enjoy, just watch."

Dillon makes some fair points, although the "you couldn't do this" argument falls a bit flat. Does that mean fans should accept Tim Boyle as the starting quarterback because we can't throw the ball as well as he can?

It's true that Dillon didn't get the blocks he needed, again highlighting an issue the offensive line struggled with last season. Per ESPN, the Packers ranked second in pass block win rate but 16th in run block win rate.

However, Dillon struggled far too often in short-yardage situations, and the same was true in last week's preseason opener.

It's unclear whether he will play in this weekend's contest against the Denver Broncos. Emanuel Wilson certainly will, and another good performance will crank up the pressure on Dillon.

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