The offense must run through Jones and Dillon

[gopkrs]

It was ironic because Lombardi prided his Packers with the running game. That was their trademark. And his. He even said when he got there that they would take a step back by emphasizing the run. Now teams DID make their name more with the QB and the pass back then. For Unitas, Tittle, and Bobby Layne throwing the football in those situations was not so surprising. But for Green Bay it was almost a rebuke of who they were and what they did. The most powerful running game in the NFL and you are going to risk a pass with one yard to go? That was always brought up in post games when it did happen.

It's gonna depend on your O line. We pass so much on short yardage, imho, because we cannot have good trust in our O line to open a hole when the D is looking for the run.

 

[Pkrjones]

I've always wondered if Lambeau was 20 years old and not 60+, would it rank so high on these lists.

Probably not. The aluminum bench seats are outdated & uncomfortable but that lends to the history & nostalgia of an older stadium. Guarantee no new stadiums would ever consider putting in 20"wide per person bench seats.

 

[Voyageur]

Probably not. The aluminum bench seats are outdated & uncomfortable but that lends to the history & nostalgia of an older stadium. Guarantee no new stadiums would ever consider putting in 20"wide per person bench seats.

As I used to refer to it, sitting in the seats at Lambeau is hemorrhoid heaven, when the temperatures dip. But, it's the price we pay to be stuffed in like sardines. It makes the atmosphere a lot cozier in some ways, and a little spooky if you're sitting next to someone on a hot day, who hates water and bathing!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I've always wondered if Lambeau was 20 years old and not 60+, would it rank so high on these lists.

I doubt it. A lot of the Lambeau appeal is its age and history. Also, nothing like hard metal benches that nobody sits on anymore and an obvious shortage of bathrooms, to remind us how old the stadium is. I will say one thing that I appreciate in other stadiums, are actual seats and more isles. Anyone that has been to a game at Lambeau will know what I am talking about.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

As I used to refer to it, sitting in the seats at Lambeau is hemorrhoid heaven, when the temperatures dip. But, it's the price we pay to be stuffed in like sardines. It makes the atmosphere a lot cozier in some ways, and a little spooky if you're sitting next to someone on a hot day, who hates water and bathing!

One thing I wish they would outlaw in Lambeau and most other stadiums, is the wearing of "large hats" once the game starts. Anyone who has had to sit behind a 6' 4" large man, wearing a large block of yellow foam on his head can relate.

 

[Voyageur]

One thing I wish they would outlaw in Lambeau and most other stadiums, is the wearing of "large hats" once the game starts. Anyone who has had to sit behind a 6' 4" large man, wearing a large block of yellow foam on his head can relate.

Fortunately that's never happened to me. But I can sympathize with it having happened. You pay good money to watch the game, not someone wearing a hat from behind. My cheese head is reserved for Sunday golf cart rides after the Packers win. My wife and I take a victory tour of our park, to let people know that we're Packer fans, and won. When we lose, my flag goes down to half mast. It flies under my American flag on our 40' high flag pole.

Speaking of flags, the winds are so intense down here most of the time that I go through a US flag in less than 3 months.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

When we lose, my flag goes down to half past.

They make little blue pills that might help with that.

 

[gopkrs]

I doubt it. A lot of the Lambeau appeal is its age and history. Also, nothing like hard metal benches that nobody sits on anymore and an obvious shortage of bathrooms, to remind us how old the stadium is. I will say one thing that I appreciate in other stadiums, are actual seats and more isles. Anyone that has been to a game at Lambeau will know what I am talking about.

Take away the benches and you lose a lot of seating capacity.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Yes, its a nice stadium, but not nearly the history or quaintness of Lambeau. Not to mention that their Championship Trophy Case is still empty!

Wouldn't it be hilarious if someday, someone found out that when the trophy case was built, the manufacturer didn't even bother installing hinges on the door? Because they knew they'd never have any reason to open it?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Take away the benches and you lose a lot of seating capacity.

Seems these days that most are standing the entire game anyway. Imagine if they removed all the benches and made it "standing room only". They might be able to pack another 40,000 people in! Our nickname would take on a whole new meaning.

 

[OldSchool101]

I still think Dillon wasn’t properly exploited in the passing game. On small sample size he still performed good there. One of his biggest strengths was one of his biggest unknowns coming out of BC. Catching the ball. In addition, our OL was getting better towards seasons end, around the time Dillon was injured. He’s best suited as the RB2 in a 1-2 punch.

Dillon enables us to get another finesse RB at RB2 to be Jones’ successor. Also have Dillon here 1 year to get that Rookie ramped up, plus act as a formidable contingency in event of an injury in the RB room. Dillon can comfortably elevate to our RB2 if either RB1/RB2 on the depth chart injure or miss time (I think we should draft a Top #88-125 RB

Dillon could be an affordable piece of our Offense. I’ll also remind you that he plays better in cold weather. Which I’m fully expecting next January. His worst production season since being a Rookie was 2023, at 863 All Purpose and 2 TD across 15 contests. 4.7 career per touch and 4.8 career per touch in the Playoffs. He also takes the focus off drafting 2 RB’s and he’s fully up to speed in our Offense.
Imo. The slight drop in production is justification this season that he would be as our RB2/3 and that’s where the $$ should fall
(2yr X ~$4.5-$6Mil offer)

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I still think Dillon wasn’t properly exploited in the passing game. On small sample size he still performed good there. One of his biggest strengths was one of his biggest unknowns coming out of BC. Catching the ball. In addition, our OL was getting better towards seasons end, around the time Dillon was injured. He’s best suited as the RB2 in a 1-2 punch.

Dillon enables us to get another finesse RB at RB2 to be Jones’ successor. Also have Dillon here 1 year to get that Rookie ramped up, plus act as a formidable contingency in event of an injury in the RB room. Dillon can comfortably elevate to our RB2 if either RB1/RB2 on the depth chart injure or miss time (I think we should draft a Top #88-125 RB

Dillon could be an affordable piece of our Offense. I’ll also remind you that he plays better in cold weather. Which I’m fully expecting next January. His worst production season since being a Rookie was 2023, at 863 All Purpose and 2 TD across 15 contests. 4.7 career per touch and 4.8 career per touch in the Playoffs. He also takes the focus off drafting 2 RB’s and he’s fully up to speed in our Offense.
Imo. The slight drop in production is justification this season that he would be as our RB2/3 and that’s where the $$ should fall
(2yr X ~$4.5-$6Mil offer)

Agree.

I think the premature demise of AJ Dillon is on its second go around in this forum.

Is he a top 30 NFL RB? No. Nor should the Packers pay him like one or even a top 50 back for that matter. However, his skill set and knowledge of the offense still adds value to their offense and locker room. If the Packers can resign him at an affordable price, he may still have a decent future as the Packers #2/#3 RB.

 

[Pkrjones]

Imho, a RB2/3 should be a young, ascending guy on a rookie contract who can regularly play 20-35% of snaps. Dillon showed during Jones' absence that this offense couldn't excel with him starting. Not a coincidence the O "gelled" when Jones returned. Sure, he has some talent...but it's replaceable by players with higher ceiling.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Imho, a RB2/3 should be a young, ascending guy on a rookie contract who can regularly play 20-35% of snaps. Dillon showed during Jones' absence that this offense couldn't excel with him starting. Not a coincidence the O "gelled" when Jones returned. Sure, he has some talent...but it's replaceable by players with higher ceiling.

While I get what you are saying, in which round do you plan on drafting this rookie? In 2024, if the Packers use their 2nd pick in the 2nd round on a RB, his contract would be around $1.6M+/year. Not to mention the "cost" of using the pick. Wait until the 3rd round and pick #91? Still at $1.4M/year.

I guess what I am getting at is this. If you don't have to break the bank on Dillon and use a Day 1 or Day 2 pick on a RB, you resign Dillon and use a Day 3 pick on a RB and hope to bring him along as your #3 and potentially your eventual #1. I don't think Dillon is going to get any high offers after his 2023 season, his best option might be to sign a 1 year "prove me" contract with the Packers and hope for a successful 2024 season that nets him a bigger contract in 2025.

 

[gopkrs]

Not a big Dillon fan. I think Wilson is better right now.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Not a big Dillon fan. I think Wilson is better right now.

Better or has the potential to be better?

Wilson has less than a single game worth of NFL stats (14 carries, 5 receptions). Unless I am missing something, I just don't think that he currently should be considered a better back than Dillon.

 

[Thirteen Below]

While I get what you are saying, in which round do you plan on drafting this rookie? In 2024, if the Packers use their 2nd pick in the 2nd round on a RB, his contract would be around $1.6M+/year. Not to mention the "cost" of using the pick. Wait until the 3rd round and pick #91? Still at $1.4M/year.

I guess what I am getting at is this. If you don't have to break the bank on Dillon and use a Day 1 or Day 2 pick on a RB, you resign Dillon and use a Day 3 pick on a RB and hope to bring him along as your #3 and potentially your eventual #1. I don't think Dillon is going to get any high offers after his 2023 season, his best option might be to sign a 1 year "prove me" contract with the Packers and hope for a successful 2024 season that nets him a bigger contract in 2025.

I think the running back situation is too complex to separate into two distinct parts; a "what do we do about AJ" part, and a "what do we do about Aaron" part. It's true that we would benefit greatly from upgrading Dillon, but we also need to be focused on replacing Aaron - and both of these things are probably on a 1 to 2 year timeline, at most. So I think we need to look at the RB situation more comprehensively.

We learned some important lessons about our running game this past season. First, it's very obvious our whole offense does revolve completely around the running game, and second, that the running game revolves completely around Jones. But we also had to face the fact that he's turning 30 next season, whch is pretty old for a workhorse back. He also missed 1/3 of the season with multiple injuries, for the first time in his career.

I mean, between college and the NFL, the dude's been tackled over 1700 times. Statistically, there's a pretty good chance that this was already his last really good season, and if it wasn't, there's an even higher chance that 2024 will be. We can't afford to wait until he's finished before replacing him; smart thing to do is to fill that need in this year's draft so that we have a seamless transition.

I don't agree with letting RB wait until Day Three and then hoping whoever we find there develops. That's what Green Bay's been doing with running backs for over 25 years, and we've only hit on a mid-to-late round RB twice - James Starks in the 6th, and Jones in the 5th. I don't think we can afford to take a gamble of that importance on a decision with such a low chance of success.

Given all this, i think we need to go RB on Day Two. We can run our offense just fine on a really good back, and there are a half dozen guys in this draft I'd be happy taking in the 2nd or even 3rd Round. Let him spend the year splitting time with AJ and giving Aaron the occasional breather, and see what you have at the of the year - if Jones is still strong, the new guy can maybe take AJ's place. Or, we replace Jones with the new guy for 25, and replace AJ with Nichols or another later round pick.

But the bottom line is, we need a feature back to replace Jones within 2 years, and if we draft one early this year, it's not a wasted opportunity, because one thing we can't afford is to get caught without a chair when Aaron Jones' music stops. I see RB as one of our top 2 or 3 priorities this spring.

 

[Poppa San]

I still want Dillon on the roster but in the H-Back / FB role instead of Deguera. That dude missed too many blocks against SF in the backfield. Dillon should assume the John Kuhn role.

 

[OldSchool101]

Not a big Dillon fan. I think Wilson is better right now.

Wilson is not better than Dillon this minute. Could Wilson develop into a RB2? sure.
If we are talking about solely Rushing per carry, Dillon has receded. However I don’t think his place is at RB1. There’s a 80% chance Dillon rebounds in 2024. He’s not done yet, but he did admittedly have a down season

Imo.
-We need 3 RB’s and 1 on PS.

-We are in “Win Now” mode

-We need a short yardage capable RB

-We highly benefit from a good blocking/catching option at RB

If we don’t resign Dillon? we now need 2 RB’s

-We can’t expect to get 17+4 Postseason games from Aaron Jones

-Rookie RB’s rarely perform immediately in all 3 phases and having full playbook at their disposal? Not happening.

-Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones were nowhere close to their ceiling as Rookies in blocking, receiving and rushing.

-We don’t have the luxury of 1-2 seasons of waiting to ramp up our RB room. We should aim to be SB competitive by 2024 seasons end

 

[OldSchool101]

I still want Dillon on the roster but in the H-Back / FB role instead of Deguera. That dude missed too many blocks against SF in the backfield. Dillon should assume the John Kuhn role.

That’s basically what Dillon is..
while he’s not exceptional at blocking, he’s exceptional at receiving and he’s large enough, strong enough to not get easily pushed around. If he’d do a shorter 2yrX5mil we’d be foolish not to resign imo

One thing that didn’t help was when our WR room was banged up, they keyed on our RB1, which was Dillon He’d often get hit 1 yard behind LOS which speaks volumes. Also earlier in the season opponents brought more pressure to test Love. Love had the 2nd highest pressure rate in the NFL at one point. They were sending 5 regular and that doesn’t help our RB.

 

[gopkrs]

Better or has the potential to be better?

Wilson has less than a single game worth of NFL stats (14 carries, 5 receptions). Unless I am missing something, I just don't think that he currently should be considered a better back than Dillon.

I think you are missing his running ability. imho

 

[Heyjoe4]

I think the running back situation is too complex to separate into two distinct parts; a "what do we do about AJ" part, and a "what do we do about Aaron" part. It's true that we would benefit greatly from upgrading Dillon, but we also need to be focused on replacing Aaron - and both of these things are probably on a 1 to 2 year timeline, at most. So I think we need to look at the RB situation more comprehensively.

We learned some important lessons about our running game this past season. First, it's very obvious our whole offense does revolve completely around the running game, and second, that the running game revolves completely around Jones. But we also had to face the fact that he's turning 30 next season, whch is pretty old for a workhorse back. He also missed 1/3 of the season with multiple injuries, for the first time in his career.

I mean, between college and the NFL, the dude's been tackled over 1700 times. Statistically, there's a pretty good chance that this was already his last really good season, and if it wasn't, there's an even higher chance that 2024 will be. We can't afford to wait until he's finished before replacing him; smart thing to do is to fill that need in this year's draft so that we have a seamless transition.

I don't agree with letting RB wait until Day Three and then hoping whoever we find there develops. That's what Green Bay's been doing with running backs for over 25 years, and we've only hit on a mid-to-late round RB twice - James Starks in the 6th, and Jones in the 5th. I don't think we can afford to take a gamble of that importance on a decision with such a low chance of success.

Given all this, i think we need to go RB on Day Two. We can run our offense just fine on a really good back, and there are a half dozen guys in this draft I'd be happy taking in the 2nd or even 3rd Round. Let him spend the year splitting time with AJ and giving Aaron the occasional breather, and see what you have at the of the year - if Jones is still strong, the new guy can maybe take AJ's place. Or, we replace Jones with the new guy for 25, and replace AJ with Nichols or another later round pick.

But the bottom line is, we need a feature back to replace Jones within 2 years, and if we draft one early this year, it's not a wasted opportunity, because one thing we can't afford is to get caught without a chair when Aaron Jones' music stops. I see RB as one of our top 2 or 3 priorities this spring.

Agreed. As much as we would all like Jones to stay 27 forever, it's not gonna happen. And no team contends for a division title much less an NFC championship or SB without a sustained ground game. Gotta wonder how many close games would have been different with Jones available this year.

So if there's a solid back there in round 2 or round 3, take him. Or hope to get lucky in the 4th or 5th round. I think Jones was taken in the 4th, but it's too risky to count on that. And it's not reasonable to expect Jones to play on anything other than a snap count this year.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I think you are missing his running ability. imho

Like I said, 14 regular season carries just isn't enough to fully evaluate any of his abilities. I never said that he can't be a good RB in the NFL, it's just too premature to think he can be and worse, rely on it.

 

[DigRun]

I always love to read articles like this and I know some rank U.S. Bank Stadium ahead of Lambeau. Yes, its a nice stadium, but not nearly the history or quaintness of Lambeau. Not to mention that their Championship Trophy Case is still empty!

NFL Stadiums Ranked From Best to Worst (Updated 2023)

With many incredible NFL stadiums for fans to watch their favorite teams, these are the 30 NFL stadiums ranked from best to worst for 2023.

www.profootballnetwork.com

Also that it's already rapidly "falling apart"! What a boondoggle that I get to help pay for...48MM in repairs in the next year, 280MM in the next decade. The New Jersey businessmen love their new investment...play well enough to sucker delusional fans into thinking this is the year we clear the dust from the case but not so bad as to unanimously warrant a total rebuild!

 

[Poppa San]

Like I said, 14 regular season carries just isn't enough to fully evaluate any of his abilities. I never said that he can't be a good RB in the NFL, it's just too premature to think he can be and worse, rely on it.

WTF? You channeling Capt now?