The Packers don’t have a lot of running back depth, but I’m still not a fan of the move.
People who are a fan of the move tend to point to his one highlight against the Bears. That was a nice play, it really showed off his athleticism and speed. This is the kind of play that makes teams want him. It’s why he’s been signed five times despite only having been in the league for four years.
On the flip side, no one has decided they want to lock him up long-term, either. That probably has more to do with his consistency. Outside of his one big run, most of his plays for the Packers featured him eschewing the hole opened by the offensive line and instead just plowing into the back of one of his blockers. Sometimes, though, he would just cut away from the hole and get bottled up for a loss or no gain. Of course, that only happened when he actually got the ball – on many plays, he ran the wrong way and didn’t even get the handoff, leaving the play in disarray and leaving Aaron Rodgers holding the ball out into the air where Michael was supposed to be, exposing our QB to unnecessary hits.
Taking away Michaels’s one big run, he had 30 carries for 72 yards. That’s 2.4 yards per carry. That’s terrible. Even with his big run, he only had 3.7 yards per carry, which is not good. It’s reminiscent of his five games with Dallas, where he averaged 3.4 yards per carry. The only difference is Dallas had the sense to get rid of him after that.
With Aaron Ripkowski taking a handful of carries a game to complement Ty Montgomery, and Don Jackson still in the fold as an exclusive rights free agent, plus a deep running back class, he might not even make the team coming out of training camp.
That’s what I’m hoping for. As I’ve said previously, he wasn’t that great.