With medallion and mettle Packers' Ahman Green second only to Rams' Marshall Faulk.
By DARRELL FRY
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 5, 2001
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The ivory medallion hangs from Ahman Green's neck. It's a creature wrapped around a football, a souvenir from a New Zealand tribe that branded the Packers running back as one of its own during a recent trip.
"I've worn it every game and every practice since I got it," said Green, who went through a tribal induction ceremony and has the tribe's sacred war spear at home to prove it. "It's the god of land, fire, earth and wind, and whomever wears it, it protects them from whatever they're doing, whether they're fighting a war or out there playing football."
As if Green needs protecting. More likely, it's opposing defenses that need protection from Green, who is arguably the most dangerous all-purpose running back next to St. Louis' Marshall Faulk.
Going into Green Bay's game Sunday against Tampa Bay, Green leads the league in rushing with 326 yards and has more combined rushing and receiving yards (451) than anyone except Faulk (464).
"Ahman is a talented back with a combination of speed and power, and they utilize him in a way that uses all his skills," Bucs safety John Lynch said. "He's a big part of their offense, and a big part of our success is going to be how well we control him."
In just his fourth season out of Nebraska, Green is one of those lesser-known players whose greatest admirers are either Green Bay fans or fantasy football fanatics.
He never has played in a Pro Bowl or led the league in anything. He hasn't so much as taken a handoff in a playoff game.
Yet, few people around the league have gained more respect among insiders within the past year than Green, who rushed for 1,175 yards last season, starting 11 games in place of an injured Dorsey Levens.
He has only gotten better this season while still subbing for Levens, who is nursing a sore back. He ran for 157 yards in the season opener against Detroit and piled up 116 more against Washington.
He was held to 53 yards Sunday against Carolina, but posted his best receiving day of the season, catching six passes for 75 yards for his third straight game of 100-plus yards from scrimmage.
"He's just a natural running back," Packers quarterback Brett Favre said of Green, an academic All-Big 12 honorable mention who now runs his own Web site (ahman30.com). "He sees holes and he hits them. He breaks tackles. He has great vision. ... If you give him the football enough times, he's going to make something happen."
That is surprising praise for a guy who, generously listed at 6 feet and 217 pounds, always has been small in comparison to those around him. He was the runt who always wanted to play with the older kids, the collegiate running back who everyone thought would take a pounding at the next level.
And he was always just a runner. He had 35 catches in his three seasons at Nebraska where he is second all-time in rushing yards, and three receptions in two seasons with the Seahawks where he played almost exclusively on special teams.
But Green Bay, which made the deal of the century in trading unheralded cornerback Fred Vinson and a late-round draft pick to Seattle for Green and a draft pick, has tapped into Green's latent talents: his deceptive speed, which has been clocked at 4.22 seconds in the 40-yard dash; and his concealed power, particularly in his lower body.
The Packers repeatedly circle him out of the backfield and get him in the open field with screens where he can dart his way to daylight. Last season, he had a team-high 73 catches, making him the first Packer since Barty Smith in 1977 to lead the squad in rushing yards and receptions. This season, he has 15 catches for 125 yards, numbers surpassed only by Faulk (22 for 199 yards) and Buffalo's Larry Centers (16 for 128 yards).
The Packers also run Green, 24, inside where he's effective at breaking tackles and bulldozing his way in short-yardage situations. Last season, he converted 12 of 13 third-and-1 situations to lead all running backs. This season, he is averaging 10.8 yards a carry on third down, converting 4 of 5 for first downs.
"That's what's weird about him. If you've been watching the last couple of games, you'd think this guy must be like 245 pounds and coming downhill, but that's not his deal," Bucs linebacker Jeff Gooch said. "Some people just have a knack to run the ball, whether they're big or small. And that's him."
The Bucs figure to get a huge dose of Green as a runner and a receiver even though Levens, listed as probable, may see action. Green scored the Packers' only two touchdowns last season in Green Bay's 17-14 regular-season overtime finale win against the Bucs at Lambeau Field, and tied a career-high for receptions (nine) in their meeting at Raymond James Stadium.
Since then, he has become completely versed in the Packers' intricate West Coast offense and has a rejuvenated and healthy Favre at his flank. And if that's not enough, there's also that New Zealand tribal medallion working for him.
How the Bucs can counter that is anyone's guess.
"With this guy, you have to be on all parts of your game," Gooch said. "He's a tough runner and he's running behind his pads. He'll bring it to you if you don't bring it to him."