Despite odds, RB Tyrell Sutton in the running for backup job
By Rob Demovsky ?
[email protected] ? August 17, 2009
No one around the Green Bay Packers was surprised to see the diminutive Tyrell Sutton run wild in the late stages of Saturday's preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns.
Not offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. "He's shown well in practice," Philbin said after the game. "He's done some of that already. If you've been at our practices, you've noticed Sutton running the ball effectively, and he did it again tonight."
Not General Manager Ted Thompson. "I think he's the same guy I saw at Northwestern and the same guy I've seen all spring and summer," Thompson said Sunday after viewing the tape of the Packers 17-0 victory. "He's a very instinctive, very quick, good running back."
And certainly not Sutton, himself. "It was fun going out there living the dream I've had since I was 6 or 7 years old," Sutton said. "Having your number called is a great feeling."
Seemingly a long shot when the Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent this spring, Sutton has suddenly thrown himself into the mix for one of the backup running back positions behind Ryan Grant.
If the Packers go with Brandon Jackson as their No. 2 back again, that would leave one more spot for Sutton to fight for along with DeShawn Wynn and Kregg Lumpkin. Wynn was off to a strong start in camp until a knee injury briefly sidelined him. Lumpkin, who made the team last season as an undrafted free agent, also played well on Saturday, rushing for 48 yards on eight carries (a 6.0-yard average).
But it was Sutton, all 5-foot-8 and 213 pounds of him, who stole the show on Saturday. He carried 18 times for 91 yards (a 5.7-yard average) ? all in the second half ? and had gains of 12 and 17 yards plus a pair of 8- and 9-yard runs.
Granted, it came against second- and third-stringers from Cleveland, which last season ranked 28th out of 32 NFL teams against the run. In all, the Packers gained 230 yards on 47 carries (a 4.9-yard average).
Still, it was a significant step for Sutton, who was behind when camp started because he missed most of the organized team activity sessions in May and June because classes still were in session at Northwestern.
Though he played in a zone-blocking scheme in college, it was done largely out of the shotgun and in a spread offense.
"The only thing I really had to get acclimated to was running behind a fullback," Sutton said. "In the shotgun, you really don't have a fullback, so this is all about learning how to be patient."
Sutton had the double whammy of being small and running a slow 40-yard dash (in the 4.7s at the scouting combine), both of which scared away NFL teams on draft weekend. Chicago, Tampa Bay and the New York Giants also tried to sign him shortly after the draft, but he picked the Packers.
He's not defensive about his size in fact, he embraces it, saying "it's been driving me since I was a little guy, well I'm still a little guy."
"Being a smaller type of guy, this scheme fits me perfectly with a bigger fullback and a bigger offensive line," Sutton said. "I can kind of duck and hide behind those guys."
He may be short, but Thompson cautioned that Sutton?s not small.
"He's not particularly tall, obviously, but he?s got a muscular structure," Thompson said. "He's got an extremely strong lower body, so I think that's the reason he's able to be successful."
But Sutton is defensive about his perceived lack of speed.
"Emmitt Smith wasn't fast; he was a 4.6 guy," Sutton said. "It's all about being able to play in the system you're in. It's just something I keep in the back of my mind and make sure the people who say good things about me, I go out there and prove them right, and the people who say bad things about me, I prove them wrong. It's all having the self confidence to go out there and make sure I do the right things."
If nothing else, Sutton's performance during the first two weeks of training camp and in the exhibition opener makes him a strong candidate for the practice squad if the Packers opt to go with the experience of Wynn or Lumpkin for their third halfback.
