Monday Morning Quarterback: Part 2

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:09 am

Topic 5: Have we seen the best of Maurice Jones-Drew?

He sure was banged up last year and it's tough to see this little bowling ball continue to take the hits and keep on standing. I saw you had him ranked among your Top 5 RBs last week. Let me know where you'd draft him and what kind of projections are you expecting from MJD this year. And are you projecting them with Garrard at QB or the rookie, Gabbert?

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:13 am

Topic 6: Do you agree with Jason Garrett that the days of the workhorse RB are over or do you think he's merely rationalizing the fact he doesn't have one?

Heck, Dallas has like four RBs, don't they?

I guess that's your point, though, they don't have the one workhorse anymore. I think you were the one saying that they never should have tried to make Marion Barber into an every-down back, that he was perfect in the role they had him in. Now you look prophetic.

I agree that you'll see more RBBC's this year than ever before. It's the new specialization of the NFL. Heck, I can see the Packers using three different backs this year for three different situations, can't you? This is going to carry over into fantasy football and those owners who get that one stud back who performs and stays healthy will be ahead of the rest. Agreed?

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:15 am

I still believe in MJD. Yes he played hurt last season but he still topped 1,300 yards rushing for the second consecutive season. In the 14 games he played, he topped 80 yards rushing 10 times and topped 100 yards seven times, including three games of more than 130 yards rushing. Those are still elite RB numbers.

The concerns are his receptions and TDs dipped significantly. Touchdowns are the most difficult stat to predict but one would think the Jags would want to get him more involved in the passing game again and I believe that will occur if he's healthy.

I'd still take him as a Top 5 pick if he's healthy and that will be the key. If all reports coming out of Jags' camp are positive about his health I won't hesitate to target him as one of my Top 5 RBs regardless of who the QB may be (and I expect it will be Garrard to open the season).

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:18 am

Topic 7: Matthew Stafford says his shoulder is fully healed? What's the over/under on how many games it takes before he gets hurt again?

Now stop calling him injury-prone. You saw how Julius Peppers landed on his shoulder in Week 1 last year. No QB could have kept their shoulder in place with that hit. I could see him rebounding like Schaub and having a nice, nice run in Detroit. He's just going to have to learn to get rid of the ball when he feels pressure and avoid those constant hits. The pressure is always coming from both sides, but the veteran QBs know how to get rid of it before the big hits come. As you know, Favre was the master of that for 16 years and he rarely took the big shots in Green Bay.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:18 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
Topic 6: Do you agree with Jason Garrett that the days of the workhorse RB are over or do you think he's merely rationalizing the fact he doesn't have one?

Heck, Dallas has like four RBs, don't they?

I guess that's your point, though, they don't have the one workhorse anymore. I think you were the one saying that they never should have tried to make Marion Barber into an every-down back, that he was perfect in the role they had him in. Now you look prophetic.

I agree that you'll see more RBBC's this year than ever before. It's the new specialization of the NFL. Heck, I can see the Packers using three different backs this year for three different situations, can't you? This is going to carry over into fantasy football and those owners who get that one stud back who performs and stays healthy will be ahead of the rest. Agreed? I subscribe to John Madden's theory that if you have two that means you don't have one.

While more and more teams are going to dual back approaches, the teams that do have workhorse RBs aren't afraid to lean on those guys. Arian Foster, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson all come to mind. So do guys like Frank Gore and Rashard Mendenhall. Certainly you can thrive with a committee approach but I think if a team has a stud RB they're often in better shape than the teams that have to rotate guys.

Give me a RB you can give the ball to 20-25 times a game. And if Jason Garrett had a guy like that I'm willing to bet he'd be singing a much different tune.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:19 am

Sorry Greg but Stafford is injury prone until he proves otherwise. I'll go with 5 games as the over/under before he gets hurt again. And that's probably being quite generous.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:21 am

Topic 8: Okay, a subject near and dear to your heart: What the hell is the NBA doing with the Bulls-Heat scheduled for Wednesday night and then not again until SUNDAY NIGHT??

I thought these guys played every night during the regular season. Then they get to the Conference Finals and they play twice in 7 days?? I LOVE the NBA Playoffs, but I hate it when they schedule these Conference and Finals games so sporadically. There should be hoops every night going forward, not 3 and 4 days apart. Very frustrating.

Okay, one more here on this subject: Will there be an NBA season next year? Should we start planning for the National Fantasy Basketball Championship again or not? It looks like the NBA is negotiating more in the back rooms than the NFL ever did and STern has said he's watching what the NFL is doing and hoping not to duplicate this PR nightmare. Do you believe him?

[ May 16, 2011, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:23 am

The NBA's playoff scheduling has been a joke for years. They play every other day throughout the regular season but in the playoffs they get 3-4 days off. Idiotic.

I think there will be a shortened season next year. The owners' latest proposal included some radical changes (some of which I really like) and I don't see that situation ending soon. I'm very much pro-players when it comes to the NFL's labor situation but I'm pro-owners when it comes to the NBA.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:30 am

Topic 9: Packers' Tailgate Tour

This last week the Green Bay Packers toured the state with 3-4 current players, 3 players from their 1996 Super Bowl team and 3 players from their 1960s Super Bowl teams in a pep rally for the upcoming season. The NFL allowed CEO Mark Murphy to travel with the players and for the tour to continue because all of the money went to charity. The Tailgate Tour stopped in six different cities and the players gave speeches and free autographs to the fans. The Packers are very fan savvy and this is just another example of how they keep young and old having Green and Gold running through their veins.

Here's a link to that story: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/121844099.html

The Packers had Hall of Famer Jim Taylor on the tour along with Jerry Kramer. Dorsey Levens and Antonio Freeman and Gilbert Brown represented the 1996 Super Bowl team and Matt Flynn, Josh Sitton and Desmond Bishop represented the 2010 team. You've gotta like it.

It was during this tour that Murphy mentioned that the Packers would eventually retire Brett Favre's No. 4 jersey. Class act. Do you agree Tom? And when do you think that will happen? Do you agree with me that he deserves a bronze statue in front of Lambeau where Curly and Lombardi currently reside?

By the way, I found Gilbert's quote about Favre and the Vikings pretty interesting: "Grown men should not wear purple ever," Brown said. "They look like 11 little Barneys out there."

Speaking of Murphy, I thought he'd be more involved in the negotiations. Remember, he was a player rep during the 1982 strike and a lead player at that time. He has to know where the players are coming from. But he's representing the owners from the Packers' side, even though the fans are really the owners. He has to know how this lockout is killing apparel sales and everything else in Titletown. Get a deal done, Murph, get it done.

[ May 16, 2011, 11:31 AM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:34 am

I think somebody might need to remind Gilbert he once played for the Vikings, albeit briefly.

I think it's a great move to honor Favre but I hope they don't wait too long. I think it's something that should be done within the next 2-3 years. I'm fine with giving the team next season to revel in the Super Bowl championship but I'd say honor Favre in 2012. I also agree that doing more than retiring is jersey is a great idea. Favre meant as much to this team as anyone and he should be remembered and honored for all the greatness he and the team achieved while he was there.