The
Green Bay Packers' veteran running back made it clear when he
re-signed with his former team on Dec. 5 that he wasn't harboring a
grudge over the club's decision to sign another veteran running
back, Cedric Benson, in August. And he also said he wasn't mad that
when injuries struck, the Packers added two young, unproven backs
before finally giving him a call.
Grant has
spent most of the year out of football — he was with the
Washington Redskins from Sept. 26 through Oct. 23, playing in one
game and getting one carry - and just wants to keep things moving,
as he did last Sunday, when he carried 20 times for 80 yards and two
touchdowns and added a 34-yard catch-and-run in the Packers' 55-7
blowout of the Tennessee Titans.
"I feel
like I'm making up for lost time, so you have a little push with
that and a little edge, a chip. Of course," Grant said as the
Packers prepared for Sunday's regular-season finale against the
Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. "But that's OK. Whatever
drives the person is what drives them. So I'm OK with that - I
really am. And that's natural. It's not a bitterness. It's just,
I've got to make up (time). So I have to take advantage of the time
I get."
If the Packers
beat the Vikings Sunday and secure the NFC's No. 2 seed and the
first-round bye that comes with it, the team could have four
halfbacks at its disposal in the NFC Divisional Playoff round.
Second-year
man Alex Green, who missed last week's game with a concussion, is
expected to return to action Sunday, while former starter James
Starks, who injured a knee against the Vikings on Dec. 2, could be
back for the Jan. 12-13 divisional weekend. DuJuan Harris, one of
the young backs the Packers added ahead of Grant, was promoted from
the practice squad on Dec. 1. The other, Johnny White, picked up on
waivers from Buffalo on Oct. 15, was put on IR with a concussion to
make room for Grant.
Benson, who
injured a foot Oct. 7 and was originally placed on injured reserve
with the designation to return but wound up needing surgery and
won't be back this season.
While coach
Mike McCarthy has said he's going to use the running
back-by-committee approach, he's also said he'd prefer to have one
guy carry the load. And for much of McCarthy's time in Green Bay,
starting midway through the 2007 season, that guy had been Grant,
the fifth-leading rusher in franchise history.
"Trust
me, we're in tune with the production of every guy. If one of them
gets the hot hand, we're going to go. I'm not playing
favorites," McCarthy said. "If we feel someone is hot
running the football, he will run the football."
On Sunday,
that guy was Grant.
"Obviously
we have a plan going in, with the amount of carries we want to give
each guy, the type of carries we want to give them. But it changes
on game-day, it could change quickly," running backs coach Alex
Van Pelt said.
"I think
we feel good about our three guys (with) getting Alex back now, and
the possibility of getting James back down the road. As a running
back room, we're feeling pretty good about the guys we have and the
potential we have to help the team win in the playoffs."
Grant has
proven himself in late-season situations before. Last season, when
he was sharing carries with Starks, he ran 42 times for 243 yards
and two touchdowns in the team's final four regular-season games and
added seven receptions for 162 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown
in the regular-season finale. Of his 827 yards from scrimmage last
season, 405 came in the final four games.
Before missing
the team's 2010 Super Bowl run because of a leg injury he sustained
in the regular-season opener, Grant also had huge late-season games
in 2009 (with a 137-yard, two-TD effort in Chicago on Dec. 13), 2008
(with 104- and 106-yard efforts against Houston and Detroit in the
final four weeks of the regular season) and 2007 (with a team
playoff-record 201-yard, three-TD game against Seattle in an NFC
Divisional Playoff game on Jan. 12, 2008).
"He
always runs the ball well in the winter months," quarterback
Aaron Rodgers said. "We've kind of always said it with Ryan: He
runs the ball really hard in November, December and January. I'm so
happy for him. He was on the street a few weeks back, and it's all
the things I've always said about him: He's a great teammate, he
practices really hard, and he sets a great example for those young
guys. He studies hard, he knows the plan, he knows where he's
supposed to be. He's a one-cut guy and a downhill runner and he's
tough to tackle."
NFL
Capsule: Packers at Vikings
GREEN BAY
(11-4) At MINNESOTA (9-6)
Sunday, 4:25
p.m. FOX
OPENING LINE
— Packers by 3
RECORD VS.
SPREAD — Green Bay 9-6; Minnesota 8-7
SERIES RECORD
— Packers lead 54-48-1
AP PRO32
RANKING — Packers No. 3; Vikings No. 12
LAST MEETING
— Packers beat Vikings 23-14, Dec. 2
LAST WEEK —
Packers beat Titans 55-7; Vikings beat Texans 23-6
PACKERS
OFFENSE — OVERALL (13), RUSH (20), PASS (10)
PACKERS
DEFENSE — OVERALL (10), RUSH (14), PASS (12)
VIKINGS
OFFENSE — OVERALL (23), RUSH (3), PASS (32)
VIKINGS
DEFENSE — OVERALL (16), RUSH (13), PASS (20)
STREAKS, STATS
AND NOTES — Packers have won 12 straight against NFC North
opponents, tied for longest since realignment in 2002. A win would
help them surpass Colts from 2004-06 and Ravens from 2010-12 for
longest streak of new alignment era. ... Packers have won four in
row and 10 of last 11. ... Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown for
5,927 yards, 49 TDs and just eight INTs in 20 career games indoors.
His 116.1 QB rating indoors is best in NFL history. ... Rodgers has
thrown 20 TDs and four INTs in nine career starts vs. Vikings. ...
Packers averaging 129.9 yards per game on ground, seventh in NFL,
over last seven games. ... Fifteen of last 20 regular-season games
between these rivals have been decided by seven points or less. ...
Vikings RB Adrian Peterson 102 yards away from 2,000 for season and
208 away from breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record
set in 1984. He rushed for 210 in a loss to Packers Dec. 2. ...
Peterson has rushed for more yards (1,243) against Packers than any
other opponent. ... Vikings lead NFL with 29 runs of at least 20
yards and seven runs of at least 50. ... Vikings DE Jared Allen has
15 sacks in 10 career games vs. Packers, his most against any team.
