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Cedric Benson will likely be out at least eight weeks

At halftime of Monday night’s game between the Houston Texans and the New York Jets, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Packers running back Cedric Benson could miss eight weeks.

Earlier in the day, head coach Mike McCarthy didn’t reveal much about the severity of the injury to Benson’s foot, but Schefter suggested it’s a Lisfranc injury. Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes suffered a similar injury, which will sideline him for the rest of the season.

The Packers currently have three running backs on their roster in Alex Green, James Starks and Brandon Saine.

It’s much too early to tell whether or not the Packers will bring in a veteran running back to fill Benson’s shoes, but the top available free agents include Tim Hightower, Steve Slaton and Joseph Addai.

McCarthy suggested that Green, Starks and Saine would each get an opportunity to play next Sunday at Houston. We’ll know much more about the Packers’ running back situation following their first full game without Benson.

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Marques is a Journalism student and also a columnist at Jersey Al's AllGBP.com and Bleacher Report. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.

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This time, RB Cedric Benson will be suiting up in Green and Gold.

The third week of the preseason is upon us, which is also known as the “dress rehearsal” for the starters before the real games begin in earnest.

That means we will get to see a full half of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ starting offense tonight as they face off against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.  The starting offense showed some signs of life last week against the Cleveland Browns, but still struggled in some areas.

Same goes for the Packers’ starting defense.  Tackling seemed to be improved, but the defense still was swallowed up in coverage by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden.  This week, they face off against Andy Dalton and a Bengals offense that struggled at times in the 2011 season.

As for the backups, this is a big game for Graham Harrell.  Confidence in him as the backup behind Aaron Rodgers hit an all-time low after the 35-10 loss to the Browns in which Harrell failed to lead the offense to a touchdown in roughly three quarters of action.

Here’s what to look for in tonight’s game:

Turnovers

It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but the Packers must start taking better care of the football.  Read more... (905 words + 1 image, estimated 3:37 mins reading time)

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Packers RB Brandon Saine

I could have easily titled this post “Brandon Saine: The New Brandon Jackson?” or “Brandon Saine Could Be Packers Third Down Back,” because that’s exactly what he’s shaping up to be. Though, in all fairness, I actually think he could be better than Jackson used to be.

Saine was picked up by the Green Bay Packers in 2011 as an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State. Though he was released in the final cuts, the Packers signed him to the practice squad, where he stayed until being promoted to the active roster halfway through the season. His first significant appearance came in the Thanksgiving Day showdown against the Detroit Lions, and Saine would later go on to see some significant playing time against the New York Giants and the Lions rematch.

According to ProFootballFocus.com, these are some of the stats for Saine in the seven games he appeared in:  Read more... (738 words + 1 image, estimated 2:57 mins reading time)

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Josh Sitton is part of a talented Packers offensive line.

It’s time for Packers training camp. Soon, your Sundays will be filled with Packers football instead of whatever other boring thing you do on Sunday’s without football.

Before camp officially kicks off, here’s how I grade the Packers position group by position group. We’ll start with the offense this morning and check out the defense later today.

How different will these grades look after camp? Who knows, but for now, this is where the team stands in my eyes.

Quarterback: A+
There’s not much more to say about Aaron Rodgers, the reigning MVP, that hasn’t already been said. Even if he regresses a little, Rodgers is still an ’A’ quarterback. I suppose I could dock the Packers a little for having backups with no experience, but I’m not. I’m sick of that debate. Backup QBs with “experience” are usually just bad QBs. I’ll take my chances with a young guy that can still be developed.

Link: Ron Jaworski ranked Rodgers the No. 1 QB in the NFL during a top-to-bottom review of NFL QBs on ESPN. Check out a summary of Jaworski’s thoughts on Rodgers in Kevin Seifert’s ESPN NFC North blog.  Read more... (746 words + 1 image, estimated 2:59 mins reading time)

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Surprisingly, one of the biggest concerns from Packers fans is depth at running back (personally I would have put safety as my top concern).  Fans are worried that the combination of James Starks, Alex Green and Brandon Saine may not be enough to take pressure off Aaron Rodgers and the passing game.  One thing that I think fans have missed is that Alex Green isn’t exactly ready to play, after suffering a brutal ACL injury during week 7 of the 2011 season, whether or not he can be a significant contributor for the offense in 2012.  On the flip side, while Packers fans should not hold ill will against Adrian Peterson, who also injured his ACL (as he is a class act and a great football player), let’s just say Packers fans are hoping to see Peterson in sweat pants during week 13 and week 17.

I wanted to know a little more about ACL injuries in general and their effect in the NFL, so enter in “Outcomes of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries to Running Backs and Wide Receveirs in the National Football League” by Brian J Sennett MD et al. which was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, volume 34, no. 12 1911-1917.  Sennnett et al. looked at 33 running backs and 31 wide receivers that had suffered an ACL injury while on a NFL roster between 1998 and 2002 and analyzed their performance compared to players in their respective positions who had not suffered an ACL injury.  The results are not good.  Read more... (1257 words + 2 images, estimated 5:02 mins reading time)

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Packers RB James Starks has the edge to be the starter in 2012.

When James Starks took a handoff, shed two defenders, powered his way through another, and reached for a 17-yard touchdown against the Saints in last season’s opening game, it looked like the Packers were set at running back.

That run was exactly what the Packers were hoping to get from Starks. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t breathtaking. It was the offensive line creating a hole, Starks making a decisive cut, exploding through the hole, shaking off tackles and plowing his way for extra yards.

Unfortunately, that was one of the few decisive and explosive moments for Starks last season. It was his only touchdown run and there weren’t any other memorable runs the rest of the way.

Bothered by knee and ankle injuries, Starks looked tentative. He didn’t look like an ascending young running back ready to seize the long-term starting job on a perennial Super-Bowl contender.

Instead of the second-coming of Dorsey Levans or Ahman Green, Starks morphed into the only Packers offensive player to have a disappointing 2011 season.

Nontheless, Starks appears to be the front-runner to get the starting job in 2012.

Alex Green
Green might pose a challenge, but coming off  a major knee injury, it’s hard to envision the second-year player from Hawaii rising that quickly.  Read more... (773 words + 1 image, estimated 3:06 mins reading time)

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Will Alex Green be able to contribute in 2012?

Alex Green didn’t have much of a rookie season, registering 17 yards from scrimmage on three carries and one reception before tearing his ACL. The injury that cost Green the majority of his season and the beginning of this offseason isn’t keeping Green from entering 2012 with full confidence.

While many expected the Packers to add a running back during the draft, the team stayed pat with their current stable before adding a few backs as undrafted free agents.

“Not drafting a running back showed they have some faith in me,” Green said in Pete Dougherty’s article for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “We’ll see how things turn out when training camp comes around.”

The Packers are looking to enter the 2012 season with James Starks, Brandon Saine and Alex Green as their running backs.

There is some question as to whether Green will be ready by the time training camp goes around. If Green can’t get fully back to full strength, he may start the year on the Physical Unable to Perform list, eliminating him from the first six games of the season. If it becomes clear that Green won’t be ready, the Packers should have Ryan Grant on speed dial trying to bring him back into the mix.

Regardless of when Green is fully back from the ACL injury, he should have an opportunity to be a contributor in the Packers offense. Each of these running backs has something different to offer when they step onto the field.  Read more... (717 words + 1 image, estimated 2:52 mins reading time)

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