It was a year ago, and I was facing an important division game.
My opponent had Jeff Garcia and Charlie Garner, both of whom were
having fine years, but I said to myself, well, all I need is a good
defensive performance out San Francisco's opponent this week, Oakland,
and he'll be in serious trouble, with his QB and RB splitting the
49ers' offensive production.
Things didn't quite work out that way. Garner ran for a TD, and
Garcia threw for 3 more - one to Garner. The result was 5 TDs
for him from a Niners team that scored 4 total in a win over the
Raiders. I realized then that having a QB and a RB from the same
team can be a beautiful thing.
Monday night, things came full circle for me. I was trailing
my critical division matchup by 22 points, but I had Brett Favre
and Ahman Green going for the Packers. It was déjà
vu for me as the Packers scored 4 TDs and I got 5, since one of
Favre's throws was a little shovel pass - almost a long handoff
- to Green. That one play before halftime got me halfway to making
up the deficit; Green Bay's second half performance took care
of the rest.
Some teammate pairings are no-brainers, but Favre-Green wasn't
on draft day. There was speculation that Green would be sharing
the running back job with Dorsey Levens, and Favre was coming
off a fairly pedestrian, for him, 20 TD season. Nobody needs to
be told that having Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk is a good thing,
but how many other QB-RB pairings are wise? Favre-Green, yes.
Garcia-Garrison Hearst has turned out to be. Aaron Brooks-Ricky
Williams? Less certain; moreso of late. Some might make a case
for Kordell Stewart-Jerome Bettis, shockingly, as both have put
up decent numbers the past month. Anyone else is a stretch. Anyone
want to make a case for Jon Kitna-Corey Dillon? Didn't think so.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what most every
successful QB-RB pairing has in common: they're part of a powerful
offense. And if you've got a pairing in which the RB is apt to
have as many receiving TDs as rushing TDs - both Faulk and Green
qualify here - it's better still.
My draft choices - Green in the 2nd round, Favre in the 4th (yes,
I was damn lucky) - were made easier by being a Packers fan. I
said to myself, there's something to be said for knowing that
when I'm watching my team play on Sundays, I'm going to get points
from virtually every offensive TD the team scores. Since the Packers
have been shutout about as often as Dick Vermeil has hidden his
emotions, it seemed like a solid bet on draft day…and that's
how it's turned out.
What does this mean for you? First there's the obvious: guys
like Warner, Faulk, Favre, and Green are good to have on your
team, alone or in pairs. But you probably knew that already.
Then there's the not so obvious: come draft day, examine the
kinds of pairings that might be beneficial to your team, week
in and week out. This extends to WRs (Garcia and Terrell Owens;
Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison; Rich Gannon and Tim Brown)
and occasionally TEs (Trent Green and Tony Gonzalez; Brian Griese
and Desmond Clark, to a lesser extent). Please note: I'm not encouraging
you to draft a lesser QB over a better one because of the teammate
issue. But some people shy away from such pairings - what if my
team gets shut down? - whereas I feel they should be embraced…if
you have faith in the team's offense.
Think of the old Doublemint commercials. (Yes, the one with the
women on the bike and the kids on the swings.) And even if the
single most favorite double in the world is Doublemint gum, running
a close second, for me this year, is Favre/Green.
:: comments to andy
richardson
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