Taking advantage of an extended workload and Oakland’s pathetic defense, Greene rushed for 144 yards on 19 carries, and added two touchdowns to pad New York’s lead in the eventual 38-0 rout. The 24-year-old rookie had just seven carries for 30 yards in the first six games of the season, since Washington’s pass-catching skills made him the ideal complement to workhorse starter Thomas Jones and left little room for Greene in the offense.
Now, however, with Washington likely out for the season, his 15 touches per game are up for grabs. And while Jones — who picked up 121 yards on 26 tries on Sunday — figures to pick up a few of them, Greene is in line for an uptick in action as well.
A third-round selection out of Iowa — the Jets’ second pick of the 2009 draft because they traded up to get Mark Sanchez — Greene stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 226 pounds. He doesn’t have Washington’s receiving skills, nor is he as shifty, but Greene does have superior tackle-breaking ability and could earn a significant share of goal-line and short-yardage carries going forward.
Greene doesn’t have the moves to maintain the 7.6 yards per carry average he logged against the porous Raiders defense, which the Jets torched for a ridiculous 316 total yards on the ground, but he is excited about the new opportunity. The rookie was also quick to credit his teammates for opening up holes and giving him a chance to make a great first impression on head coach Rex Ryan.
"The offensive line made it easy," Greene told the Star-Ledger. "They did a great job. I just followed them the whole way. It was hard seeing Leon go down the way he did. When I saw that, I wanted to do it for Leon."
In putting the icing on the cake of the Jets’ shutout victory, and helping Gang Green snap a painful three-game losing streak, Greene certainly picked up the slack for his injured teammate.
The Jets’ next game against the Dolphins, who have the NFL’s eighth-ranked run defense, should provide a truer measure of his ability.
