GREEN BAY, Wis. – One yard. Three feet. Thirty-six inches. It’s nothing in football. It’s a stumble forward. A head-first dive. Maybe even just a lunge.
Except when it’s third down and you’re the Green Bay Packers, one of the worst third-and-1 teams in the NFL this season.
Roll back the video from last Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions and you’ll find another example.
On the game’s opening drive, the Packers faced a third-and-1 at their 38-yard line. Associate head coach Tom Clements called a toss sweep to the left for running back James Starks. Left tackle David Bakhtiari took a lateral step against Detroit’s Ezekiel Ansah and when the 5-technique defensive end got some push against Bakhtiari, it forced Starks to alter his course slightly. When receiver Davante Adams couldn’t sustain his block on linebacker Tahir Whitehead, the play was doomed.
Starks was stuffed for a 1-yard loss that killed the drive.
“Well, that’s a hard yard to get,” Clements said. “For it to be successful, you have to have great execution and effort. If you have great execution and effort, then you have a good chance of getting it.”
So far this season, the Packers have been in third-and-1 situations 22 times. They have converted just 11 of them. Their 50 percent success rate is tied for 30th in the NFL. Only the Dallas Cowboys, who come to Lambeau Field on Sunday, have been worse (at 41.2 percent).
The Packers have run on 15 of those 22 third-and-1 plays and have been successful just eight times. Their 53.3-percent success rate on third-and-1 rushes ranks 28th in the league. Starks is hitting an even 50 percent (3 of 6) and Eddie Lacy is under that mark (3 of 7). Fullback John Kuhn and quarterback Aaron Rodgers each converted their only chances this season.
If you’re thinking, 'Why not just give it to your bowling-ball running back, Lacy?' Consider this: For his career, Lacy is just 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) on third-and-1 rushes. Kuhn has the better success rate for his career (22-of-29, 75.9 percent).
The Packers have never been a strong short-yardage team under coach Mike McCarthy. Since his first season in 2006, they rank 23rd in the NFL in third-and-1 rushing conversions at 66.5 percent, according to ESPN Stats & Information. On all third-and-1 plays in that span, they rank tied for 27th with a 61-percent success rate.
“Obviously, it’s a big down,” said Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett, a former running back. “It is an important down. It’s important for both sides. A big part of it is continuing to move the chains, and short yardage is a big part of that. It’s huge from a momentum standpoint, and you kind of go back and look at some of the things as far as the 'why' part, it goes back to being fundamentally sound and also executing the play. We always talk about winning the one-on-one battles. It’s never just one person. In order for the unit to be successful, each and every guy must do their job.”
It wasn’t always this way for the Packers. In the early 2000s, Ahman Green was practically a sure thing on third-and-1. In 2003 and 2004 combined, he converted 15-of-16 runs on that down and distance. In his four straight Pro Bowl seasons (from 2001-04), he was 34-of-42 (81.0 percent).
As for the Starks play against the Lions, it’s worth wondering whether a power run between the tackles would have been the better option. But if McCarthy indeed has the best offensive line he’s fielded in his 10 years as head coach, as he has said repeatedly during the last two seasons, then it shouldn’t matter what the play call is.
“It’s execution,” Packers center Corey Linsley said. “Taking care of the down guys, running north and south. It’s everybody doing their job. You’re going after the defense’s soft point, knowing where it is. Having a good plan in place and executing the plan. It’s as simple as that.”
Simple? Not for the Packers.