By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Edgar Bennett found out the hard way just how important ball security is in the NFL.
Bennett was a rookie with the Green Bay Packers in 1992 when he was lost a fumble against the Detroit Lions. The Packers won the game, but then-coach Mike Holmgren decided to teach Bennett a lesson by sitting him down for a few games.
"It was just one of those situations during my rookie year when they taught me the importance of hanging on to the football, by sitting me down for awhile," Bennett said. "He drove his point home and I got the message."
After learning the lesson, Bennett went on a four-year stretch when he didn't lose another fumble for 63 games, a span 726 carries.
As Bennett tells the story, he laughs and shakes his head. If anybody knows how to hold on to a football, it's Bennett. But after running backs Noah Herron and Ahman Green fumbled away the ball in Sunday's win over the Lions, it's easy to wonder if the Packers are getting the message.
"Those are two critical plays in the game that could have really factored in the football game," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.
"Edgar Bennett does a good job with his individuals. He stresses it every day, and we just have to keep emphasizing. That's our job, teaching and demand. We need to get it corrected."
During their loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 17, Green had a fumble late in the game that led to a Saints touchdown. His fumble Sunday didn't prove as costly, but the Packers' coaches were adamant that the fumbling has to stop.
"He was loose with the football. That's the only time that thing comes out. You've got to hold it tight to your body," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said as he grabbed a reporter's arm to demonstrate.
"There's four points of pressure: palm, forearm, biceps and chest. That's how you carry the football."
The most frustrating aspect of the fumbling for the coaching staff is ball security is emphasized in every practice.
Running backs typically practice with satin-covered footballs that are difficult to hang on to. They also run a drill in which several footballs are tied together and each running back tries to pull the ball away from his teammates.
"We've got a number of different drills, and we're constantly trying to improve on every aspect of that," Bennett said. "They understand the technique they're supposed to use, and we'll continue to make it a point of emphasis in practice."
Green has fumbled the ball away twice this season, and Herron also has struggled, fumbling away a kickoff against the Saints as well as one against the Lions.
Herron said the running backs are going to try to do what they can to remedy the fumbling problem.
"It's the most important thing we do," Herron said. "You just have to hang on to the football."
Jagodzinski said he'll have no problem benching a player if the fumbling continues.
"It's going to get to the point where if you fumble, you're out," Jagodzinski said. "Put someone else in there. It doesn't matter. You can't put the ball on the ground like that. Period."
Green has been dogged by fumbling throughout his career. Jagodzinski seemed stumped by how a running back can be so effective yet can't hang on to the ball.
"I don't know why he does it," Jagodzinski said. "It's been addressed with him today, but it's something that has to be emphasized over and over and over again."