On a team loaded with youngsters, Ahman Green and Robert Ferguson are two of the Packers veterans. They also share an uncertain future with the team -- even for the rest of this season.

Green has missed the last two games with sore hamstrings. Both times he was a game day scratch, much to the surprise of the Packers coaches. Yet the coaching staff continues to talk wistfully about how many more yards Green would have gotten than the guys who are actually playing in games, Noah Herron (106 yards against the Rams) and Vernand Morency (99 yards against the Eagles).

Green's absence from the lineup was predictable. He's 29 (59 in running back years) and was coming off a major quadriceps injury. To think that he was going to be the durable performer of his prime was wishful thinking. It was a flawed premise from the start. Even before he got hurt, Green was not amassing big numbers, although certainly the offensive line had something to do with that.

This is not to make a premature claim that either Herron or Morency is better than a healthy Green or the long-term answer to the Packers running back situation. It's simply acknowledging reality that Green is past the point of being counted on every week. The sooner the Packers offensive coaching staff comes to grips with that, the better off they will be.

Green, brought back to Green Bay on a one-year contract, seems to have a slim chance of returning with the Packers next season. Some fans already are lusting after a high draft choice in hopes of landing Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson.

The immediate future for Green is murky. Assuming Green gets healthy, it's likely that he will share carries with at least one of the other running backs and not be the featured back that Mike McCarthy and Jeff Jagodzinski were hoping for.

In the background of all of this is Green's quest to overtake Jim Taylor's franchise rushing record. Currently, Green needs 890 yards to pass Taylor's career mark of 8,207 yards. With 11 games left, he could average a little over 80 yards per game and get it. There are plenty of old-timers who would prefer to see Taylor keep the record because of Green's nasty fumbling habit.

Ferguson, meanwhile, will miss the next several weeks with a foot injury. Koren Robinson's possible pending suspension will make Ferguson's absence more noticeable. Ferguson was the Packers third receiver, but has never been the consistent playmaker that the Packers envisioned when they drafted him. Brett Favre has never seemed to have ultimate confidence in Ferguson. Still, his injury leaves the Packers paper-thin at the position. This was seen as a pivotal year for Ferguson with the organization and he's been unable to have a breakout season.

Green and Ferguson have been rare familiar faces on this season's Packers roster. It's not hard to imagine neither being in the 2007 team picture.

Post a comment / write a review.

Recent blogs/briefs by Dennis Krause

Johnson chased his dream to the end Feb. 23, 2007 Former NBA star Dennis Johnson died while coaching a team in the NBA Development League. ...

Dungy cements his NFL legacy Feb. 05, 2007 Colts coach Tony Dungy made history Sunday, and history will look upon him as a fine football ...

10 thoughts heading into the Super Bowl Jan. 31, 2007 10 thoughts heading into Super Bowl XLI.