New York Jets Ground 'N Pound: Can Shonn Greene Be a Feature Back?

Shonn Greene, drafted by the New York Jets in the 2009 NFL Draft in the third-round, from the University of Iowa, looked to be a promising pick up.  Shonn had a great season his junior year in 2008, with the Iowa Hawkeyes, putting up some impressive numbers: He had 307 carries for 1,850 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns.  Greene became one of the top running-backs in the Big-Ten, running for over 100-yards in 13 consecutive games.

Well, Shonn Greene's production in the NFL so far has been 334 rushes for 1440 yards and five touchdowns (not including the playoffs).  Not too bad for a season, right?  The only thing is, is that those are his total numbers since 2009.  Uh-oh.

After playing his rookie year splitting carries with then starting RB Thomas Jones—and having a decent start behind Jones, with 540 yards on 108 rushes, he was averaging five yards per carry, and showed flashes of stardom in the playoffs—Greene would definitely have a breakout year in 2010 now that he would become the feature-back, right?  Nope. 

The Jets had picked up a running back you may have heard of, a back that was written off and "washed-up," LaDainian Tomlinson.  Only Tomlinson wasn't done.  Tomlinson, who quieted the doubters with his effectiveness and production early on, won the starting job over Greene.  Although he split carries with feature-back Tomlinson, Greene did have a decent season: He gained 766 yards on 185 rushes with two touchdowns, gaining 4.1 yards per carry.  He also, again, showed some spark in the playoffs.

Enter the NFL 2011 season.  New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer announced that Shonn Greene will be the starting running back and Tomlinson will be taking a third-down role.  This season is surely going to be Greene's breakout season, right?  So far, no.  Three games into the 2011 season, Shonn Greene has 41 carries for 134 yards and one touchdown, his yards per carry declining again, this time to 3.3 per carry.  This against defenses that haven't really stacked the box against the run so far. 

It may be due to Schottenheimer's play calling, it may be the offensive line problems, it may be because the Jets seem to be changing their philosophy from ground and pound to "airing it out."  The Jets have more pass attempts than rushing attempts in three games.

Shonn is only in his third year but he needs to prove he can be the feature back that Rex thinks he can be; be the star RB fans hope he can be. If he doesn't, he may be in trouble of being replaced by Tomlinson again, this season.  

Can Shonn Greene carry the load and be a feature back?  It's still early in the season, but he needs to step it up, starting with the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday.  And that is no easy task.