The Lass Word: Comparing Aaron Jones to AJ Dillon

Is the Green Bay Running Game Still Okay?

Now that Aaron Jones is going to miss at least one or two games, AJ Dillon steps up from being the change-of-pace back, to the featured role.  Will the running game churn on without missing a beat? 

 

Dillon has certainly shown he can be productive.  He has already carried the ball 97 times for 421 yards and two scores.  He is averaging 4.3 yards per carry, just a shade under Jones average of 4.4.  He has also shown he can handle the receiving aspect of the job, having caught sixteen of eighteen targets for 196 yards.  His fifty yard rumble down the sideline off a screen pass, shedding tacklers all the way, is probably the most memorable play of Green Bay’s win over Seattle.   

 

But make no mistake.  Jones will be missed.  Comparing Jones and Dillon can be a bit deceptive.  There is the perception that Jones is the speed back while Dillon is the road grader.  Would it surprise you to know that Dillon actually ran a faster forty than Jones?  It’s hard to picture because, where Jones does excel, is in his quickness and explosion.  He also has excellent vision and patience.  He can wait until the hole opens up on the backside of the blocking scheme and then burst through it before the linebackers can react.  When a running play is stuffed up the middle, Jones has the quickness to bounce it outside and win the corner.  Dillon is more likely to lower his pads and charge straight ahead. 

 

That’s understandable, considering Dillon has always relied on his power.  The way he dragged Bobby Wagner into the end zone from three yards out was a joy to watch.  Jones couldn’t do that.  Which is not to say Jones doesn’t run hard.  In fact, he runs hard enough that it is not unusual to see the coaches use Jones inside the ten yard line.  He rushed for nine touchdowns last year, and three more this year.  But at 5-9 and 208 pounds, he’s just not strong enough to pull a linebacker along with him. 

 

Still, the absence of his big play ability could be an issue against the Vikings.  The last time these two teams played, the Vikings upset the Packers at Lambeau.  Jones missed that game as well.  The main issue in that contest was the inability of the defense to stop Dalvin Cook, who ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns.  But the offense seemed to lack the versatility and pop of Jones, both running and receiving.  Somewhat surprisingly, the Packers’ offense functions more successfully without Davante Adams, than it does without Jones. 

 

No doubt Dillon is built for a heavy workload, but his brutally physical running style results in his taking a terrible beating throughout the game.  He will need to take a series off now and then.  With Kylin Hill also injured, the back-up is Patrick Taylor.  At 6-2, 217, Taylor showed in the preseason he is more of a power back in the vein of Dillon than a quick, explosive type guy like Jones.  I’m anxious to see what he can do with significant carries.  At the moment, he is one play away from being the Packers’ number one back. 

 

Ryquell Armstead is on the practice squad.  The former fifth round pick of the Jaguars in 2019 played 16 games in Jacksonville but carried the ball just 35 times. 

 

Recognizing they are now thin at running back, the Packers worked out Kerryon Johnson.  The former second round pick out of Auburn ran for over 1200 yards in three seasons with the Lions, but became expendable when Detroit drafted Deandre Swift and signed Jamal Williams.  Johnson has since gotten a look from the Eagles and 49ers but couldn’t stick. 

 

Oh, and don’t forget about Randall Cobb.  In his first tour of duty in Green Bay, Cobb often lined up in the backfield and took a few carries.  It wouldn’t shock me to see that happen a few times against the Vikings on Sunday. 

 

For now, it’s all about quadzilla.  He’s not Aaron Jones.  But he might be Eddie Lacy.  That would be just fine. 

 

 

 

 

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Ken Lass is a former Green Bay television sports anchor and 43 year media veteran, a lifelong Packers fan, and a shareholder.

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7 points
 

Comments (30)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Coldworld's picture

November 18, 2021 at 04:41 pm

Jones is a unique talent, but what I suspect may be the biggest impact isn’t at RB as much as his role in the short and intermediate passing game. We are going to need more out of Cobb, A Rodgers in option mode or see the Hback role expanded I think, in order to not be too predictable.

8 points
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stockholder's picture

November 18, 2021 at 05:34 pm

I'm going to say NO! I still think 3 guys are needed. And Gutey should have gone after a "Ahmad Green" when he had the chance. Green could run 4.45. Nobody can run that fast, except Jones. But when a little guy goes down. Were then forced to run between the Tackles.

-10 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 18, 2021 at 06:57 pm

Well he did bring a sub 4.4 RB on to the practice squad this week: Whyte. Armstead ran 4.45. So I guess you should be thrilled with his recent recruitment.

6 points
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scourge's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:57 pm

Well...Ahman Green may be the best RB in Packers history, so bringing in one of him...that's kinda a big deal.

As for the "nobody can run that fast but Jones," no...he can't. He ran a 4.56 40. Kylin Hill, the young back they brought in...who looked VERY good in camp, he was faster than Jones.

But speed is so wildly overrated at RB. At least the difference between a 4.4 and a 4.5 is. Vision, patience, footwork, balance, all that good stuff, FAR more important than .07 seconds faster. Especially since...you don't get to show off that speed unless you have the VISION and the patience to get to the 2nd level.

Finally, Jones is a much more physical runner than you seem to be giving him credit for. As evidenced by his power run where the Cards MLBer Simmons had him stopped well short of the 1st down(and endzone) early in the 2nd Quarter and he carried HIM into the endzone.

Ultimately...yeah...sure. If just going out and getting a Ahman Green was an option...EVERY team would do it. He still has one of the 10 best rushing seasons in NFL history.

6 points
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dobber's picture

November 19, 2021 at 07:20 am

"But speed is so wildly overrated at RB....you don't get to show off that speed unless you have the VISION and the patience to get to the 2nd level."

So true. Straight-line speed is fine, but twitchiness is likely just as--if not more--important since RBs are almost always operating in close quarters. Both Jones and Dillon had outstanding and nearly identical RAS scores...

https://ras.football/2019/12/18/aaron-jones-ras-13119/
https://ras.football/2020/01/30/a-j-dillon-ras/

Both tested well on explosiveness. Dillon benefitted from a stronger size component. Jones has a stronger acceleration component (10 and 20 yard splits). All those metrics are carried out independently of actually playing football, of course, and in the end, the eye test tells us that they're just different kinds of backs and tend to play differently with the ball in their hands. They complement each other well.

4 points
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LeotisHarris's picture

November 18, 2021 at 05:36 pm

By all means, please, let's forget about Randall Cobb as a running back. Quite frankly, his fundamentals, especially his pad level, put him at greater risk for injury on our football team when utilized in that capacity.

13 points
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10ve 💚's picture

November 18, 2021 at 06:32 pm

My thought exactly!

4 points
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scourge's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:48 pm

And he's just not as explosive as he was when he was 20 years old as a rookie.

4 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 19, 2021 at 08:33 am

He was never great as an RB in the NFL. He was useful as a surprise weapon that MM then began to over use. The surprise with Cobb was how good he was as a receiver, which was not necessarily expected based on his college record. At 31, we don’t want him pounding from the back field and I think that’s supported by his general snap counts. The odd schemed play maybe, but I’d save that for the playoffs.

1 points
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TheKanataThrilla's picture

November 18, 2021 at 05:46 pm

Get Dillon the ball with a head of steam going. I like to see him get some short passes and watch him wreck some linebackers and safeties.

4 points
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scourge's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:47 pm

The one thing I find baffling is lining up with Dillon next to Rodgers in the shotgun in short yardage situations. You did not see Love do that.

Go under center, put Dillon 7 yards deep...and let him pick a hole rather than basically showing the defense where you're going to run it. You're either running an inside zone...so if he lines up on the left, he's going to run it to the right...allowing the LBers to shoot the gaps, or it'll be a counter and that's just stupid and slow developing(especially in short yardage).

I wish someone would ask MLF and Rodgers WHY they choose that formation in short yardage situations.

5 points
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Ya_tittle's picture

November 19, 2021 at 12:04 pm

That run down the sidelines to set up his last TD last week was a thing of beauty. Love the DB who made a business decision to kind of dive at his feet and make a pretend tackle.

0 points
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Leatherhead's picture

November 18, 2021 at 05:47 pm

It’ll be Dillon and Taylor for two games. I think Jones might be back after the break, but Dillon might be carrying more of the load.

7 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 19, 2021 at 08:38 am

Taylor actually has good hands and was used as a catcher in college. I wouldn’t be unhappy to see him do a Dillon and sneak out while Dillon holds attention in the center. Come on LaFleur, be imaginative with our RBs, HBacks and think about some option plays.

1 points
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jont's picture

November 18, 2021 at 08:54 pm

Could the Jones injury open the door for Amari to get the ball a bit more?
In that "short pass equals a long hand-off" thing, there could be a few quick flairs to Amari in space where his quickness could get some yards.
No? It's a thougt.

1 points
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scourge's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:43 pm

Yes...exactly what I was thinking. I think the addition of Cobb took touches away from Rodgers. I think the Packers wanted to put the ball in his hands at or near the LOS on a fairly regular basis...but as we heard Big Dog say, Aaron Rodgers has his half of the playbook and MLF has his(which is weird, but...Whatever, seems to work).

But this is a good week to put Rodgers in the backfield, some presnap motion, a few jet sweeps and even some straight handoffs.

0 points
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dobber's picture

November 19, 2021 at 07:22 am

That's one thing they lose when going predominantly to Dillon: both backs will line up wide, but Dillon almost always motions into the backfield while Jones will stay out on the perimeter. Jones will make DCs respect him out there, moreso than Dillon.

2 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 19, 2021 at 08:43 am

I don’t know, be an interesting experiment to see how defenders cope with Dillon outside.

0 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 19, 2021 at 08:41 am

That’s exactly how A. Rodgers was used in college. They’d scheme to get him in space and then let him do it from there. Cobb seems to have had those plays though this year. Cobb has done well with them. I’m ok using either.

1 points
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Tundraboy's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:00 pm

With our offensive line why not just run a kind of sweep with Dillon behind it.

1 points
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scourge's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:41 pm

Because you want Dillon running downhill, not East to West.

The Vikings have guys like Kendricks, Barr and Smith...and they're much better defending those types of plays than power runs or even just that outside zone scheme.

4 points
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Tundraboy's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:53 pm

Oops, guess I forgot about them for a moment. Still would enjoy taking it to them and running right over them . Especially late in the game.

2 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 19, 2021 at 08:53 am

Then a Dillon and Taylor tandem will be perfect. Taylor isn’t as big as Dillon, he is still 6’1” and 217 and gets hard yards. If the packers want to pound, that’s a pretty good tandem.

1 points
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scourge's picture

November 18, 2021 at 10:39 pm

One of the best analysis' I've seen comparing Jones to Dillon. That Dillon ran a faster 40 isn't an indictment of Jones, just a way to put Dillon's incredible athletic ability into context. And yes, Jones vision, the way he finds those holes on the backside is VERY impressive.

The one thing I may quibble with...I doubt we'll see Cobb in the backfield. I think it's more likely we'll see Rodgers back there. He's VERY similar to Aaron Jones athletically...safe to say he doesn't have the patience or vision that Jones has, but he's 10 years younger than Cobb, he's a thick, physical WRer who's good after the catch...and I think the plan was to use him in the Tyler Ervin role when they drafted him.

So...that's the only thing I'd take issue with. Cobb at his age, it's less than ideal moving him around and asking him to take those extra hits. Amari Rodgers...he CAN take that type of pounding.

2 points
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Johnblood27's picture

November 19, 2021 at 06:52 am

I am still waiting to see the first glimpse of Amari Rodgers speed, power or elusiveness.

He has looked slow and tentative throughout the entire season thus far.

If nothing changes in his apparent skill set vs NFL competition, he will slip into obscurity, not take any leading roles in any gameplens.

I would love to see him have a couple impact plays, i just haven't seen any evidence of that happening vs NFL level competition, not even in pre-season action.

Sorry.

1 points
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dobber's picture

November 19, 2021 at 07:28 am

In all honesty, I wasn't all that excited about him at draft time...he seemed to be a product of a really good college offense and playing with a very good college QB. He seems to be someone that--if they keep his role and package of plays well-defined--he could be quite useful this season. Part of the problem becomes telegraphing plays in those instances, but he'll get better. I don't have a good feel for his ceiling, but I wouldn't write him off, yet.

4 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 19, 2021 at 10:25 am

I think Rodgers looks tentative on returns and offense. The one time he hasn’t been is when he’s been used as he was in college, schemed open in space and allowed to use his natural talents, something that we have only seen maybe a handful of times.

I think that’s part of the struggle, combined with the fact that, despite his build, he only rushed 6 times in his college career. He’s had a steep learning curve and he seems to need to be comfortable to unlock his talent.

Thinking about it, he probably has been denied opportunities in practice and games to develop that confidence due to Cobb. I’m not complaining as Cobb has performed better than I would have expected a rookie 3rd rounder to, but I think it’s held Rodgers back from esport with his namesake and familiarity with his role. For him I suspect that has a more negative effect that for many.

I also think LaFleur unwisely tried to make him learn too much. He should have just trained him in the option first. Trying to make him a full route receiver as well was probably to much for a guy who wasn’t in college.

1 points
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dekan51's picture

November 19, 2021 at 12:38 pm

"...a product of a really good college offense and playing with a very good college QB."

I think you may be right...but it is very early in his career.

0 points
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LambeauPlain's picture

November 19, 2021 at 01:07 pm

JJ may be a tad slower than AJD...but Jones is so dang quick and decisive. AJD has the size and strength to get tough yards and if he gets to daylight, he can make that handoff into a chunk play.

Both are solid receivers. And both have great balance, a characteristic of top running backs.

1 points
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CoachDino's picture

November 19, 2021 at 07:59 pm

jones will be missed bot in rushing and rec. per the article. we all like the shiney new toy and for good reason but aj is special still, packers r best with both. (yes, im captian obvious) icant wait for the packers to figure out how tobest use them...

0 points
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