Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams are fine. I’d even venture to say they’re decent.Collectively Josh Jones Jersey White , they’re the equivalent of sugar cookies.They’re good, and on occasion can really hit the spot, but they shouldn’t be anyone’s favorite dessert.Aaron Jones is like an ice cream cookie; he’s versatile, and (for the lactose intolerant) can be much more explosive than the other two.Jones, in his first game back off of suspension, made an instant impact on offense and showed why he’s the better choice for the Green Bay Packers at running back.On his first carry of the game, Jones made the right read but even with that read, if the first tackle was made, the play goes for a short gain of a yard or two.There’s some good and some bad with this play; the bad is that McCarthy is asking Jimmy Graham to run block a defensive end, which absolutely incenses me due to the sheer stupidity of the task.That’s like asking Andy Reid to run a marathon and expect him to finish top 30.Andy Reid is great, and Graham is great, but they are great at different things than what you’re asking of them.Jimmy Graham has never, in his 9 year NFL career, been a good blocker.Having him line up on the line with his hand in the ground and try to block Ryan Kerrigan on the edge is a giant L for the offense.Fortunately, there’s some good that helps mitigate this disaster.Corey Linsley, as the uncovered backside man, pulls to his right (I love it when you get a center pulling) and is there to cleanup the mess.The rest of the linemen block the man covering them with playside leverage meaning their head, hands and hips are to the playside of their defender,between their man and the ballcarrier. The linemen got a good burst off the line; Lane Taylor has already taken a step to his left by the time his man started to stand up out of his stance.Both Taylor and Justin McCray get good leverage and do a great job holding on to their blocks throughout the length of the run, and their success with those blocks sets up Jones well.With Linsley pulling, Taylor getting his DT, and David Bakhtiari dropping back to seal off the backside DE, Green Bay leaves the Will backer Aaron Jones Jersey White , #54 Mason Foster unblocked.This play is betting that Foster will take a conservative inside-out read - which he does - and Jones will run to the outside of him, rendering him useless at the point of attack.Had Foster scraped over the top, he would have met Jones in the hole, but instead he gets caught in traffic and doesn’t affect the play.Bulaga picks up the other inside linebacker with ease, as he also jumps inside in an effort to get to Jones, and in the process, renders himself useless and the hole is now vacated by any front-7 defender.The issue is, Geronimo Allison isn’t able to block Josh Norman, who slices inside and gets his hands on Jones.Norman, if he would have made the tackle, stops this play for a short gain.This is where Jones’ elusiveness comes in; he puts a spin move on Norman and easily runs through his arm tackle (and an outstretched leg), and then proceeds to run through a Damarious Randall-esque attempt at a tackle by Montae Nicholson.The end result was 10 yards, and it all looked too easy.Until he did it again on the very next play.This time Graham was split out wide along with everyone else including Jones, and Washington only had 6 men in the box.Blocking was zone scheme and Green Bay decided to leave the backside DE, who was lined up in the 9 technique, unblocked.Again, the thinking is that a player lined up so far away from the intended running lane isn’t going to have an impact on the ball carrier until 4 or 5 yards downfield at the earliest due simply to the angles of the running back vs. the defender, as long as Jones hits the hole without hesitation.Jones came in motion all the way back to the immediate left of Rodgers and got the handoff.Each blocker won their respective battle, and again, Jones picks up 9 yards.Credit both the play design as well as the linemen here; spreading out Washington left open running lanes which means the only thing left to do is execute, and Green Bay did just that.The last play I’ll go over is something that gets me more excited for a competent run game than the other two plays.There’s a lot going on here, so stay patient with me.I’ll show you the play in full to start.Let’s start with the left side.Remember how I got steamed about how Jimmy Graham was being used as a blocker on the LOS? Well, McCarthy must have heard me yelling at him through the TV because he did the right thing this time.Instead of having Graham try and block anybody http://www.packerslockerroom.com/authentic-ray-nitschke-jersey , he sprints to the flat and looks over his shoulder for a pass, and during the handoff, Rogers is looking Graham’s way to sell the possibility of a play-action pass.All of this action caused #53 Zach Brown to misread the play and begin to run with Graham to the outside, as they were in man coverage and Graham was Brown’s man.If Brown didn’t stick with Graham and Rodgers pulled the ball, it’s an easy 6+ yards.Instead, Brown begins to bail, and pulls himself out of the play.Look at his eyes when Jones is already at the LOS:Bakhtiari’s job is pretty easy; as his man doesn’t crash hard inside, all he has to do is stalk-block him and just get in his way a bit.Lane Taylor hops in to his right in order to seal off his man; his job is made even easier as the defensive tackle slants outside at the snap of the ball.Even if his man had gone straight up, Taylor had good positioning to still make the block.Daron Payne, the DT lined up over McCray slants inside but gets picked up by Linsley on a down block; had McCray been responsible for Payne, Payne’s slant makes that block difficult and could easily stop Jones at the LOS.Additionally, if Payne gets penetration off the snap it makes Linsley’s downblock more difficult as Payne might be quick enough to get around the block.Instead, Linsley doesn’t have to worry about the penetration as Payne’s first steps are horizontal towards the center.McCray is responsible for the Will linebacker, Foster, who doesn’t make a quick enough read on the play.The typical read is the backfield triangle; guard, RB, guard.While Foster has B gap responsibility, the steps by Lane Taylor end up looking like a hitch step in order to cutoff backside pursuit.A guard would only do this if the play is intended to go wide outside.Similarly, the block by Linsley on Payne could be read as a combo block coming to the 4 hole, or the spot between McCray and Jason Spriggs.The idea on a combo block is to have both Linsley and McCray block Payne and have Linsley work his hips around to McCray’s spot, sealing Payne off inside, while McCray would pop off and pickup Foster.It’s a very common block in zone schemes.Instead, Foster takes a few steps outside and McCray doesn’t even lay a hand on him Womens Lane Taylor Jersey , as he’s trying to get an idea as to where Foster is going.Mistake.But here’s what got me really excited; it didn’t matter that McCray missed, because Jones had Foster beat! Check out the bend by Jones as soon as he’s in the hole:Jones doesn’t slow down whatsoever, and is able to maintain great body control and leave Foster swiping at a ghost.This play combined the explosiveness that Jamaal Williams doesn’t have and the ability to read the running lane that Ty Montgomery doesn’t possess. Combined with smart scheming on the line, and you end up with 17 yards.All we can do now is hope that McCarthy and company realize that Aaron Jones is the answer at running back and to feed the man the football. If you do, exciting things happen. Look around the league at the top offenses in football and you’re unlikely to find deadweight coaches trudging alongside the innovators. Andy Reid doesn’t employ stragglers. Matt Nagy packed his staff with young offensive minds. Doug Pederson might just have had the best offensive staff in football when the Eagles won the Super Bowl last season. And Sean McVay just had one former coach hired for a head job. Zac Taylor may be next. Hiring Joe Philbin to a major offensive position like coordinator doesn’t represent the way the modern NFL works. For whatever benefit there may have been to having a respected coach already in the room, he’s not the guy to push the offensive forward in a way it so desperately requires. The Green Bay Packers theoretically didn’t hire LaFleur for continuity’s sake. They did it to blow things up on a certain level. That leaves Green Bay in search of an offensive coordinator, someone who the team reportedly would like to have ties to the Shanahan-McVay offense. Remember, for all the plaudits McVay rightly receives for his offense, the bones of it are Shanahan the elder’s, while the younger Shanahan and McVay have developed their own modern wrinkles. Any job coaching Aaron Rodgers will be desirable, but not having the chance to call plays could limit the field of candidates for LaFleur and the Packers. The most obvious choice is a name many fans considered before LaFleur got the job: Rams quarterback coach Zac Taylor. Some suggested a Vic Fangio head coach with Taylor running the offense represented the best option for the Packers offense. But while McVay let LaFleur go to Tennessee because he was going to get to call plays, it appears unlikely he’ll do the same for Taylor — precisely because he won’t. That signals LaFleur will, indeed, call plays for the Packers which may potentially complicate the search. Green Bay could run into the same issue with Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron, who has garnered some head coaching buzz, including reported interest from the Bengals. McVay appears to be a coach who, like McCarthy in Green Bay, wants to see his coaches go off and succeed, but only in the right situations. The playcalling problem once again crops up. But there are two Rams coaches who make sense and could view the Packers OC as a step up for them, assuming McVay agrees to let them leave. The first is Aaron Kromer, a veteran offensive line coach who coached on Sean Payton’s Saints staff as part of their Super Bowl run. He also served as Bears OC and line coach for two seasons. His teams consistently maximize their talent along the offensive line and he would be an excellent coach to make sure the franchise quarterback stays clean. The other possible option is the peripatetic Jedd Fisch who, because he’s moved around so much, has worked for coaches like Steve Spurrier http://www.packerslockerroom.com/authentic-clay-matthews-jersey , Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan, Pete Carroll, and Jim Harbaugh. Still, Fisch is just 42, comes with that diverse background in multiple offenses with college connections, and could be the kind of coach who offers unique suggestions to a coach like LaFleur, who has really only ever coached one type of offense. Another intuitive choice would be Matt’s brother Mike, the 49ers’ receivers coach and passing game coordinator. He checks the requisite boxes in terms of experience and relationship, but according to NBC Sports in the Bay Area, would prefer to remain in San Francisco. Working with your brother is certainly different than working for him, plus it’s not hard to see why a young candidate like the 35-year-old LaFleur the young would view an OC job without playcalling as a lateral move. This speaks to the difficulty the Packers might have filling this void. LaFleur, at 39, has been around myriad quality coaches, but many of them have also graduated to bigger roles. Even though a coach like Gary Kubiak expressed interest in returning to coaching as a coordinator, that kind of move doesn’t fit with Green Bay’s vision moving forward. LaFleur may lack the kind of longstanding relationships with coaches to come in just to be an offensive consigliere. When Mike McCarthy wanted to revamp his offense, he had coaches he could call, including Philbin. While ultimately that turned out to be insufficient, at least he had a cell phone with legitimate names on it. Looking at the Titans staff LaFleur put together, there’s no name that jumps out from the usual places. The quarterbacks coach, Pat O’Hara, spent most of his career coaching in the arena league and before Tennessee was in Houston as an offensive assistant. Receivers coach Rob Moore has only ever filled that role, going back to 2013 with the Bills and Raiders.The most intriguing name on the list of potential candidates is Mike McDaniel Geronimo Allison Jersey , a name to watch in the coming days. A former receiver at Yale, McDaniel has climbed all over the Shanahan tree along with LaFleur. The two coached together for a season on Gary Kubiak’s staff in Houston. Then, while LaFleur coached the QBs in Washington, McDaniel served as an offensive assistant and receivers coach. The two once again reunited in Atlanta for the Matt Ryan renaissance, before LaFleur went to LA and McDaniel to San Francisco with —wait for it — Kyle Shanahan.Experience in the Shanahan offense? Check. Previous coaching connection and relationship with LaFleur? Check. Sharp, up-and-coming coach who won’t be afraid to adjust on the fly? Check. One outside-the-box choice would be Shane Steichen, the Chargers quarterbacks coach. He’s said to be well-respected inside the Packers organization and although he’s not a Shanahan disciple, he worked under Frank Reich and Mike McCoy in San Diego (before the LA move) and survived McCoy’s firing. His experience with Philip Rivers could dovetail nicely with an offense built around Aaron Rodgers as his physical tools inevitably decline as he ages. He was set to be the OC for Josh McDaniels in Indianapolis before the infamous pull-out, which confirms he’s seen as a future OC by at least one smart offensive coach. Ultimately, the Packers must find a coach they see as able to both challenge LaFleur to keep the offense fresh, while working with him to revamp it from the ground up. There likely won’t be the sexy, splash hire like Zac Taylor, but there are quality options available to the Packers. Getting the OC hire right won’t be nearly as important as the DC hire, and the entire organization seems sure that’s been taken care of by keeping Mike Pettine. Still, a first-time head coach has to find someone who can keep the ship steady even if he’s not calling plays, while balancing the desire to innovate and create anew. That mantra is the story of the Packers 2019 offseason, so why should such an important hire be any different?