The Packers running game was down to one semi-healthy back Eddie Lacy, a two-year fullback Aaron Ripkowski with two career professional carries ( 2-17-0TD) and a two-year wide receiver Ty Montgomery with five career professional carries (5-15-0TD) coming into the Cowboys game.
Against the Boys the wounded Lacy carried 17 times for 65 yards, Ripkowski carried 1 time for no yards and Montgomery 3 times for 6 yards. Lacy should have sat out the game with an ankle injury, but since General Manager Ted Thompson did absolutely nothing to bolster the running back position he had to play and it backfired big time with Lacy joining James Starks on the inactive list for several weeks after hurting that ankle more.
It was learned this week that Starks had knee surgery last week and we were NOT told and will miss at least 4 weeks. It was also learned that Lacy had more than a sprained ankle and should not have played against the Cowboys and he is now seeking a second opinion and could miss an extended period of time.
So our Nero, who was fiddling while the Packers running game was burning last week, finally got off his over-paid ass and made a move with his trade for the Chiefs 4th string 4-year running back Knile Davis for a conditional late round draft pick.
The trade was the 44th during Thompson's 12 years at the helm, but 28 were draft day trades for picks and 2 others swapping picks for picks before the draft. Of the remaining 14 trades only 7 were for players while the other 7 were trading away a player for a draft pick.
The 7 players acquired were LB Robert Thomas in 2005; WR Carlton Brewster and RB Vernand Morency in 2006, RB Ryan Grant in 2007, S Derrick Martin in 2009, S Anthony Smith in 2010 and Davis this week. Thomas became a starter in 2005, but was cut the following off-season and Grant became a bonafide star.
As of Wednesday heading into the Thursday's home game against the Bears Thompson has left the Packers with just 1 running back (Davis, who has 1 carry this season), 1 fullback (Ripkowski, who has 3 carries this season) and 2 conscripts (wide receivers Montgomery, who has 5 carries this season and Randall Cobb, who has 5 carries this season). What a cluster...k our General Manager has given us.
So who is Knile Davis and why is he here (to borrow General James Stockdale's famous opening of the 1992 Vice Presidential debate)?
2013 DRAFT ANALYSIS (Chiefs 3rd Round-96th pick): "If this pick had been made two years ago, you would have said it was dynamic and we wouldn't have waited this long to hear his name. But he sat out all of 2011 due to an injury. That's been an issue for him, to stay healthy. He struggled in 2012. Injuries, just no consistency." -- Charles Davis
OVERVIEW: Injuries have limited Davis since high school, but his talent when healthy is undeniable. He missed the 2011 season with a broken left ankle suffered in August after sitting out most of his junior and senior years in high school with collarbone and right ankle injuries. He then aggravated the ankle and broke his collarbone in the spring of 2010, but eventually recovered - much to the chagrin of SEC defenses.\
He only received 33 carries his freshman year at Fayetteville (163 yards, four TD) and averaged just five totes per game the first month of the 2010 season. Then the floodgates opened due to injuries to others (running back Dennis Johnson, receiver Greg Childs); Davis wound up leading the SEC in rushing with 1,322 yards and 13 scores, including a strong 152-yard performance in the Razorbacks’ upset of LSU. Conference coaches named first-team All-SEC for his accomplishments.
In his junior year, it was obvious that injuries had taken their toll on Knile's game. He lacked the same speed and power that had had displayed in 2010. Davis spent much of the year overshadowed by his teammate, Dennis Johnson. Davis only registered 112 carries for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns, as Johnson saw the majority of the carries. Davis also did not suit up for two games this season.
STRENGTHS: Big-bodied, north-south runner. Has a thick lower-body build and runs with enough forward lean to run through arm tackles. Agile enough to spin off tackles inside and hurdle would-be tacklers in the open field. Can use the strength he builds in the weight room to be a physical pass protector, aware enough to hit multiple targets. Provides some receiving skills as a check-down option over the middle and handling good throws in the flat. Tested very well in all combine drills.
WEAKNESSES: Has a long injury history, missing time or playing hurt in every season of his college career, in addition to the final two years of his of his high school career. Runs a bit top-heavy, gets tripped up easily in space, especially before he gets his head of steam. Inconsistent taking on tacklers at the second level, will try to run around them instead of using his strength. Inconsistent protecting his quarterback, resorts to (and misses) cut blocks. Lack of hip flexibility hurts his ability to adjust to poor throws as a receiver. Was unable to display adequate foot quickness in his final season. Despite workout speed, he rarely shows it on the field.
BOTTOM LINE: Davis is a bruising back who has struggled with injuries since high school, lost his entire 2011 season due to a broken ankle, and failed to look like the same player in 2012 as he was in 2010. In Indianapolis, Davis put together one of the best workouts of any prospect at the position, so a team might grow fond of his athletic upside. His power and burst in the open field make him tough to stop when all his parts are in working order; but this has proved to be a struggle for Davis. NFL Comparison: Shonn Greene.
PROFESSIONAL ANALYSIS: Davis' claim to fame in his previous three seasons with the Chiefs was in the return game. His rookie season he returned the opening kickoff 106 yards in the AFC Wild Card game at Houston, marking the longest kickoff return in AFC Wild Card postseason history and the second longest in NFL postseason history. The next season he was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in October of 2014 for returning the second half kickoff 99 yards for a TD against the Rams.
From the line of scrimmage Davis rushed for 242 yards on 70 carries (3.5 average) with 4 TDS and caught 11 passes for 75 yards his rookie season. He returned 10 kickoffs for a 32.1 average. He fumbled 3 times losing 1. In 2014 he rushed for 463 yards on 134 carries (3.5) with 6 TDS and caught 16 passes for 147 yards with a 70-yard TD. He fumbled 4 times losing 2. He returned 29 kickoffs for a 28.6 average. Last year he returned 34 kickoffs (25.1) and had just 28 carries from scrimmage for 72 yards (2.8) and caught 2 passes for 24 yards.
He has missed just 3 games in the NFL. He was active in all 16 games his rookie and second seasons. Last year he was active in 14 games (seeing action in 9 games) and inactive week 10 and 11 as the fourth running back. This year he was active the first four games, but was inactive last week. It seems injuries has not been a problem as a pro.
TRADE ANALYSIS: This from Rotoworld by the Kansas City Star's Terez A. Paylor on Twitter: "He is not very good." Here's more by Paylor from SB Nation: "It’s a surprise in that I didn’t expect the Packers but it’s not a surprise in that we’ve talked about a Knile trade for a while. It was reported that he wanted a trade, that the Chiefs were talking to other teams as long ago as last year and then ... nothing happened. The Chiefs kept him until now. Knile no longer had a role on the Chiefs offense with Jamaal Charles back and the emergence of Spencer Ware. Nor did he have a special teams role with Tyreek Hill’s abilities. They kept him on the roster despite many thinking he would get cut, apparently for a moment like this. He was inactive last week. The Chiefs have three backs they like ahead of him. He is a good player with special teams value though. The Packers could do worse."
This is CBS Sports' take by Will Brinson: "Why does this make sense for the Packers? The Green Bay running situation was a nightmare Sunday. Eddie Lacy was banged up and forced to keep fighting through injury while trying to grind out yards. Instead of a "normal" running game, the Packers were using wide receiver Ty Montgomery out of the backfield and dumping the ball off to him. This isn't unusual in Packers history; Mike McCarthy has used Randall Cobb out of the backfield before and Cobb was reportedly going to be the backup running back Sunday. But that's not a tenable long-term situation and it requires additional depth while dealing with injuries"
MY ANALYSIS: He averaged just 3.5 yards a carry his first two seasons, but fell to 2.8 last year. He seems to be strong north-south runner with some speed, so that is good. He also seems to be a kick returner although his average dropped each season. I'm thinking Davis has regressed each season and probably doesn't have much of a upside. My initial thought was Thompson found the absolutely cheapest player he could find even if it cost a 7th round pick, which Thompson coverts. There had to be a running back out there that has more upside, but maybe not or he would have cost a 6th round pick.
The Packers had former No. 1 pick (9th overall) and 1,200 yard rusher C.J. Spiller in for a tryout two weeks before who wouldn't have cost a draft pick if he had signed (he then signed with the Seahawks). I guess his salary was too much for the cheap Thompson to stomach. In his first game with the Seahawks Spiller had 12 yards rushing on 2 carries and caught 2 passes for 5 yards and a TD. Last week he had 1 rush for -3 yards, but caught 3 passes for 38 yards.
As of Wednesday morning the only other running back on the roster rookie Don Jackson is still on the practice squad, but has not been activated. Jackson (5-9 1/2, 208) played for Nevada where he rushed for 529 times for 2,370 yards (4.5 ave.) and 19 TDs. He also caught 23 passes for 269 yards (11.7) and 2 TDs.
In other personnel news: DT Brian Price, who was cut last week when Mike Pennel and Demetri Goodson were activated from PED suspension was re-signed to the practice squad. QB Joe Callahan, who was cut in preparation for the activations, was signed by the Saints joining John Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhnnn. And Sam Shields was placed on injured reserve with his 5th career (4th with the Packers - 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016) concussion.
I'm guessing Shields' career is over and undrafted free agent 2nd-year player LaDarius Gunter is now the full-time starter at right cornerback or maybe 2015 No. 2 pick Quentin Rollins takes over when he returns from a groin injury.
The other side has 2015 No. 1 pick Damarious Randall as the starter, but he is also out with a groin injury meaning 2014 No. 6 Goodson, who was a basketball player when drafted and, except for last week, never played much except on special teams, and 2016 undrafted free agent Josh Hawkins as the only options there. A cluster...k indeed. Thank you Ted Thompson.
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