2009 Draft: Jets Third Round Pick - Shonn Greene Photos
There's been much talk about the Jets' running back picture these days, what with Thomas Jones departing, LaDainian Tomlinson arriving and Leon Washington rehabbing.
In the middle of it all is now-second-year back Shonn Greene. And just like Tomlinson on his conference call earlier this week, Greene said whatever role is carved out for him in the Jets' 2010 offense is good by him, as long as it's good by the team.
"Absolutely, I think I'm ready," said Greene, who moved into his prominent role carrying the ball once Washington was injured at Oakland last season. "Ever since I got here, I prepare like I'm the No. 1 guy, which I think is a big part of my success. However it may go, I'm still going to prepare how I prepare and do what I do to help the team out. I'm not really concerned about who's going to get the bulk of the load and stuff like that."
In that regard, SG sounded a lot like LT, who said that after nine seasons as the featured back and future Hall of Famer for the Chargers, he's ready to do whatever is required to reach the NFL's biggest game.
"We're all in this thing for one goal and that's to win the Super Bowl," Greene told newyorkjets.com. "So all that back-and-forth, who's getting this and that, that's just extra stuff we don't need. I think we're all going to come together and just help the team out."
How much did Greene helped out the Jets last year? In the past five regular-seasons, 30 rookies had 100-plus carries and Greene's 5.0 average was the fourth-best on the list. Here are the top five from 2005-09:
| Back, Team | Year | Atts | Yards | Avg |
| Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX | 2006 | 166 | 941 | 5.7 |
| Adrian Peterson, MIN | 2007 | 238 | 1,341 | 5.6 |
| Selvin Young, DEN | 2007 | 140 | 729 | 5.2 |
| Shonn Greene, NYJ | 2009 | 108 | 540 | 5.0 |
| Chris Johnson, TEN | 2008 | 251 | 1,228 | 4.9 |
And Greene went on from there, averaging a robust 5.6 yards per carry in his three playoff games, giving him a 5.2 average in all regular- and postseason games.
"Me as well as the whole team, we just felt like we were getting better as the games went on," he said. "We were learning about each other, we knew what to do in certain situations, where at the beginning of the season we didn't. I think we just kept getting better with time."
The AFC Championship Game ended painfully for Greene with a rib injury suffered early in the second half. But Shonn said this week he's "100 percent right now" and ready to pull the sled for a full 16 games as the lead back, if that's his role.
Of course, he'll be doing it without Jones, one of his mentors last season who was released at the start of the free agency signing period and joined the Chiefs.
"I was a little shocked, but that's how this business works," Greene said. "I've learned a lot from him. He's taught me everything I know so far in this league, just him being a leader and a vocal person in the locker room. But he's moved on and I'm sure he's going to do well."
And Greene is ready to soak up some more knowledge from Tomlinson. You can read about how he and LT might mesh this season **in a companion Radar entry here**.
