Another Martin\Francies Article

tromadz

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Not yet on receiving end
Packers hope young players catch on quickly
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
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Posted: Oct. 21, 2006

Green Bay - Coaches like to say that football is a simple game.

And often it is.

Say you have only two high-quality wide receivers. The other side has four defensive backs, so it's not hard to figure out who has the advantage.

The Green Bay Packers will face that simple mathematical dilemma in their game against the Miami Dolphins today and quite possibly for the rest of the season after losing two of their top four receivers.

With Robert Ferguson facing a possible season-long foot injury and Koren Robinson suspended for a year for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, the Packers are basically down to two receivers: Donald Driver and Greg Jennings.

Their two backups - Ruvell Martin, a street free agent who was recently serving as the No. 5 receiver, and undrafted Chris Francies, who was plucked off the practice squad to take Robinson's spot - can't be considered viable threats in the passing game until they actually prove they belong in the NFL.

So to expect the Dolphins, or anyone else for that matter, to respect anyone other than the two starters is wishful thinking.

"It becomes more difficult from a schematic standpoint," quarterback Brett Favre said. "When you're playing us, you go, 'OK, we shut down Driver and Greg, force them to beat us elsewhere. And until they prove they can run the ball and beat us - they have to prove that. Otherwise, we're going to load up on those two guys.' "

For the first 2½ years of his career with the Packers, Favre essentially played with the same hand he has now. He basically had Sterling Sharpe and another complementary receiver and no one else of any consequence.

Yet then-coach Mike Holmgren was able to milk enough production out of his running backs and tight ends to rank the Packers ninth in total passing yards in 1992, 18th in '93 and ninth in '94. It wasn't until later in Favre's career that Holmgren spread out the attack and started using multiple wide receivers on early downs.

Still, the basis of his game plan was to have two wide receivers, a tight end and two running backs in the lineup on first and second down.

"I believe we can (do that), but we need to run the ball," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said. "We need plus-4 on first down. If you get second and 6 you can do what you want. When it's second and 9, it changes things up."

Current coach Mike McCarthy's offensive system is very similar to Holmgren's, although McCarthy has taken to using multiple receivers and tight ends on early downs so that his play-calling isn't predictable. With Ferguson, and later Robinson, available he could force teams with weak secondaries into favorable matchups by going with three or four wide receivers.

It's unlikely Martin and Francies are going to draw half the attention that Ferguson and particularly Robinson did, so it just might be in McCarthy's best interest to stick with two wide receivers and count on his tight end and running backs to pick up the slack in his No. 2-rated passing game.

The tight ends would be a logical replacement for multiple receivers, especially David Martin and Tory Humphrey, two former wide receivers with the ability to split out wide and run downfield routes. Bubba Franks and Donald Lee are better in-line players because of their size and ability to get off the line of scrimmage and probably won't see a change in their roles.

But for the tight ends to be a factor, they have to be used and they have to have the ball thrown to them. So far, tight ends have accounted for 22 of the Packers' 118 receptions, which is approximately the percentage Holmgren threw to his tight ends in the early years of his reign.

"Our role doesn't change," Franks said. "It's going to be the same the rest of the year. That's what happens. That's how the offense is designed. You can't change the offense because you have guys down. We're still doing the same thing.

"It's going to be difficult, but these guys (Ruvell Martin and Francies) are going to have to step up. We'd love to get the balls. But we'll see."

For obvious reasons, McCarthy and Jagodzinski weren't revealing their game plan for the Dolphins, but their choices are pretty clear. Hope that Ruvell Martin and Francies can have some effect in the passing game, utilize David Martin and Humphrey in receiver roles or stick with Driver and Jennings and hope for the best.

The toughest plan to execute would be to stick with two receivers much of the game. While Favre was able to hit Sharpe whenever he wanted, he's dealing with smaller, less physical receivers in Driver and Jennings and can't throw the ball into traffic and expect them to catch it the way Sharpe did.

"We have gone with two wideouts," Driver said. "When me and Javon (Walker) were here, Robert got hurt and 'Chat' (Antonio Chatman) came in with three receivers.

"We still have to have a third receiver regardless of the situation. It's different when you have another wideout in the game, than a tight end. You have speed."

Right now, Driver is drawing double coverage on most downs. Opposing teams generally shade a safety to his side and play the cornerback shallow to cut off underneath routes. The other safety has been forced to play the middle of the field, which allows Jennings to work one-on-one with the cornerback.

When the Packers had Ferguson or Robinson, the middle safety had to choose which player he was going to double, Jennings or the No. 3. With Ruvell Martin and Francies serving as the No. 3, you can be sure Jennings is going to draw all the attention.

"That's what teams are doing, 'We'll stop Driver and let Greg beat us,' Driver said. "If he (Jennings) keeps taking care of business, they're going to double him. But if they start to put two on (both of us), here comes 'Rooster' (Martin). Once 'Rooster' comes in he's going to take care of business.'"

Perhaps Martin, because of his size (6 feet 4 inches and 217 pounds), will be able to help in the red zone. But he's not fast enough to draw safety help away from the other two and will have to win one-on-one matchups. Francies is raw and will be playing in his first NFL game, so for him to have an impact is wishful thinking.

Thus, the Packers are going to have to feel their way through this new territory.

"We'll find out Sunday," Jagodzinski said. "We have an idea from practice what these guys are going to be able to do. I think we'll have to just see where we're at.

I am interested in seeing if banking on young WRs as our backup plan works out. Im sure nobody thought that banking on a rookie WR would work out, but the Greg Jennings thing seems to be working out. I wanna see if the kids can step up to the challenge, like Greg did. I know I will be watching it closely as I support the team on gameday! Go Young Wrs! GO PACK!
 

kmac

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I do have faith that Ruvell Martin can step up, but come on. Having only 2 active WRs with any NFL experience is obscene.
 

Greg C.

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I liked this quote from Driver. We do need Rooster to step up:

"That's what teams are doing, 'We'll stop Driver and let Greg beat us,' Driver said. "If he (Jennings) keeps taking care of business, they're going to double him. But if they start to put two on (both of us), here comes 'Rooster' (Martin). Once 'Rooster' comes in he's going to take care of business.'"
 

kmac

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These guys both played pretty well today. Nothing special, but they didn't mess up, and that's really all we can ask from 2 guys with 0 experience.
 

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