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Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post expects "the '07 (Ryan) Grant" to return this season.
Lombardi is a former high-level personnel man and still watches a lot of tape, so his opinion is worth consideration. He suspects that Grant's YPC and number of long runs dwindled in 2008 because he was more concerned with getting a new contract than working hard. Grant also fumbled more and scored less.

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Grant was really worried about getting a new contract, and now that I think about it, that really could have affected how he played last season. I think they will run some different plays for him than just up the middle to, but maybe a combination of play calling and the contract.

Negotiations dragged out and he reported to camp out of shape. That's what affected him last season.

I also think for a good potion of the year opposing teams wanted to force Aaron Rodgers to beat them, so they'd pack the box more. Now that Rodgers is a proven commodity, defenses will have to worry about the passing game a lot more, which will hopefully open up the running game for Grant and Jackson.

Coming into TC out of shape also caused him to get injured. The combination of fat, missed OTA's and missed TC led to a poor season.

We could definitely see a different Grant this year. He didn't have the second gear last year like he had the year before.

Anytime someone signs a nice contract and comes into camp out of shape it's a warning sign. He better be motivated this year.

When was the last time a RB held out for a bigger contract and then performed well during the season? I can think of several situations similar to Grant's, and none of them were successful.

I think we see significant improvement from Grant, James Jones, and Jermichael Finely vs. 2008. I expect our offense to be an absolute beast this year.

He BETTER have an amazing year. Otherwise I'm going to need some ideas of what to do with the authentic Ryan Grant jersey I won last year.

Wade-A-Holic wrote:He BETTER have an amazing year. Otherwise I'm going to need some ideas of what to do with the authentic Ryan Grant jersey I won last year.

You could replace the name Grant with Levens

automatic44 wrote:

Wade-A-Holic wrote:He BETTER have an amazing year. Otherwise I'm going to need some ideas of what to do with the authentic Ryan Grant jersey I won last year.

You could replace the name Grant with Levens

or "Favre Blows."

I'll believe it when I see it. I'm not a huge Grant fan, especially after the holdout last year. But I'll agree that it is possible he will have a good year.

So long as Grant is in good shape, the offensive line will dictate more than anything what kind of year Grant has.

I'm more curious about who the main backup shakes out to be and if that guy gets more carries than the backups got last year. Jackson should be the favorite at this point, but i'm excited to see how Wynn looks in camp.

El Duderino wrote:So long as Grant is in good shape, the offensive line will dictate more than anything what kind of year Grant has.

I'm more curious about who the main backup shakes out to be and if that guy gets more carries than the backups got last year. Jackson should be the favorite at this point, but i'm excited to see how Wynn looks in camp.

Lumpkin will be back as well, and Sutton, who brings a little bit different dimension, is in that mix also.

I have been following Grant on Twitter. He has been working out doing some crazy **** everyday. Today is his footwork day.

El Duderino wrote:So long as Grant is in good shape, the offensive line will dictate more than anything what kind of year Grant has.

Ding ding, give this man a prize

Grant suffered last year because the OL couldn't run block, except Clifton at LT. Even Detroit's crap on D shut him down (15 carries, 20 yards) because there were no holes for him to run to, except around the left side or behind trapping TEs, which they almost never used.

Maybe a healthy Sitton will help, but you have got to be concerned about the C-RG-RT situation in terms of run blocking. I liked Barbre coming out but he's got a lot to prove. One-handed teams struggle--see Buffalo and San Francisco.

Icness wrote:Grant suffered last year because the OL couldn't run block, except Clifton at LT. Even Detroit's crap on D shut him down (15 carries, 20 yards) because there were no holes for him to run to, except around the left side or behind trapping TEs, which they almost never used.

Clifton has been one of the worst run blockers on our line since we adopted McCarthy's scheme. You're right that the blocking wasn't good last year, but Grant's lack of production falls equally on his shoulders. Even casual observers could see he clearly wasn't right. Brandon Jackson ran behind the same offensive line last season and averaged 5.5 ypc while Grant only mustered 3.9. I understand that the sample sizes are different, and I'm a Ryan Grant fan who hopes he bounces back, but to say that all his success and failure can be tied to the offensive line is a fallacious argument.

Grant is a guy who has to have a hole quickly, and that hole needs to be where he expects it to be. Going back to his draft time his biggest knock was that he had no vision, and that's been largely validated. Jackson is a little more patient and has better vision, he just doesn't run as hard or as balanced at top speed. I think Hall's injury really set back Grant too.

Icness wrote:Grant is a guy who has to have a hole quickly, and that hole needs to be where he expects it to be. Going back to his draft time his biggest knock was that he had no vision, and that's been largely validated. Jackson is a little more patient and has better vision, he just doesn't run as hard or as balanced at top speed. I think Hall's injury really set back Grant too.

I don't think it's a lack of vision so much as it is a lack of ability to change direction. He's a pure north-south runner. I would also argue that Jackson runs with much better balance at all speeds, but that's not an important argument. Hall and Kuhn are largely interchangeable and about equally effective. I'm really hoping that Quinn Johnson takes the starting job.