Cheese Curds, 9/19: Aaron Jones is emerging, but Matt LaFleur wants to reduce his workload

It’s great when two players who play the same position for the same team and who came out of the same draft class seem to genuinely enjoy each other and seeing the other player succeed. It’s not a rivalry, but rather a competition that helps push both players forward to bigger and better things.

That seems to be the case with the Green Bay Packers’ running backs, as Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams have entrenched themselves as the team’s top options in the backfield. They have done it in very different ways — Williams emerged early as a good blocker and receiver, while Jones showed his explosiveness as a runner — but Jones has understandably taken the reins as the number one back by improving the other facets of his game.

The two backs are the subject of much of today’s curds, as head coach Matt LaFleur made some waves on Wednesday by addressing the players’ workloads and his desire to spread out the touches between the two players a bit more.

Aaron Jones offers Packers more than one way to cure offensive blahs - ESPN
If the Broncos' pass rush does start to become a problem on Sunday, Jones will be a key factor in helping to overcome that. He's developing as a receiver and he had a magnificent block on blitzing safety Harrison Smith last week against the Vikings, showing that he can be trusted in all situations.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur wants to ‘even out touches’ between Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams | Packers Wire
So with Jones emerging as a receiver and blocker and clearly showing that he is the more dynamic player, why does Matt LaFleur want to give Jamaal Williams more touches? Jones had 27 last week (23 carries and four receptions) compared to Williams' 12. Personally, a 2-to-1 ratio for Jones-to-Williams seems ideal to me.

Packers aren’t looking at the stats | Packers.com
Somehow, the Denver Broncos have not registered a sack yet this season, despite having an All-Pro in Von Miller on one side and a great second-year player who had 12 sacks a year ago in Bradley Chubb. Green Bay is certainly expecting those two to be a more noticeable force in week three compared to their impacts on the stat sheet through two games.

Will Redmond, Josh Jackson 'prepared for the moment' in secondary | Packersnews.com
Who would have expected that Redmond would probably be the first of these two players to get significant reps this season? He will likely slide into the role vacated by Raven Greene's injury as the cover dime linebacker, while Jackson continues to focus on special teams and being the Packers' fourth corner.

Why Blockbuster Trades Are Suddenly a Thing in the NFL | SI.com
There have been seven trades since the 2018 NFL Draft that involved a team trading away a player and receiving a first-round pick or more in return. Why is it so prevalent in the last year and a half? Perhaps it's analytics, or the financial situation under the current CBA. Or maybe a host of younger GMs are more willing to make splash moves.

Finally, we have a fascinating and perhaps terrifying discovery from underneath the ice in Antarctica: