Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Robinson activated, Wynn put on IR, Grant named starting RB

As expected, the Packers activated WR Koren Robinson on Tuesday. To make room for him on the roster, rather than release receiver/returner Shawn Bodiford as some had speculated, the Packers placed rookie running back DeShawn Wynn on injured reserve for the season.

This does probably make the most sense, as Wynn has had problems all season staying on the field. After being named the starting running back for Monday night's game, he suffered neck and shoulder injuries on the first play of the game. One of the reasons Wynn supposedly fell to the seventh round in this year's draft was that he had a reputation for not being tough, for not playing through the dings that come with being a running back. Now, injuries are injuries. It's just that there are some injuries players have to learn to play through if they are going to have a NFL career. Whether Wynn will acquire some playing toughness will now have to wait to next season. He certainly has the physical attributes to be a powerful runner. There were flashes of that in the few carries he actually had. But...

Ryan Grant was named the starting running back on Monday. After his performance against the Broncos -- 22 carries for 104 yards -- he certainly deserves the opportunity. As Packers broadcaster, Wayne Larrivee, said about him, he was running with authority and delivering blows on the tacklers. And that's something that hadn't been seen much this season. Granted, Denver has the league's worst rushing defense. But the Packers had the league's worst rushing offense. At least we finally saw a glimmer of hope for that part of the game plan going forward. Let's hope that Grant can stay healthy for the remaining nine games.