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While the Green Bay Packers' starting halfback was thrilled to tote the ball a career-high 33 times during Sunday's 27-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field - especially given his limited early season work - he would have liked to have been more productive with those carries than the 90 yards he managed.
''It was tough sledding today. For me, I want to get more yardage,'' said Grant, who gained 24 of those yards on his first two carries of the game - 7- and 17-yarders on the Packers' first series - and 66 on his other 31 attempts.
''It's a good thing that we stayed with the run. We controlled the ball, controlled time of possession. But I've got to get better.''
By calling so many runs, coach Mike McCarthy gave the Packers a nearly 15-minute edge in time of possession (37:26 to 22:34).
''The attempts were finally where they needed to be. To have the ability to run the ball 30 times, that's definitely the first step'' toward getting the running game going, McCarthy said. ''Now, it wasn't as clean as we would like. I'm sure when we watch (the film), there'll be things we can correct and get better at. (But) to have the attempts up and play as balanced as we did, I was very pleased with that.''
With backup Brandon Jackson inactive after taking ill overnight and No. 3 Kregg Lumpkin having been placed on season-ending injured reserve with a hamstring injury, the Packers' only two active halfbacks were Grant and practice-squad call-up DeShawn Wynn, who saw limited time as the third-down back.
''I had no idea we ran it that much. But I'm very happy we did it,'' right tackle Mark Tauscher said. ''We didn't get the big chunks that we wanted running the football, but I think we stuck with it and were able to make it effective.''
Health watch
The Packers suffered two more injuries on defense - safety Aaron Rouse suffered a head injury and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett suffered an elbow injury. Neither player returned.
McCarthy said he didn't have an update on the status of Rouse, who was starting in place of Atari Bigby (hamstring) and was replaced by Charlie Peprah. Pickett said he will undergo an MRI today.
''There's a pretty good amount of pain, but I'm not worried it's going to be too serious,'' said Pickett, whose practice time during the week was limited because of knee tendinitis. ''They checked everything and it seemed to be intact.''
Weak-side linebacker A.J. Hawk played despite a groin injury, although he was replaced by Brandon Chillar in most nickel situations.
Shouldering the load
While his injured right (throwing) shoulder clearly bothered him on a few errant throws, quarterback Aaron Rodgers ''played excellent,'' according to McCarthy. Rodgers was 21-for-30 for 208 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions (111.5 rating).
''It definitely felt better than last week,'' said Rodgers, who dislocated the shoulder at Tampa Bay Sept. 28 and saw limited practice snaps again last week. ''It felt like it loosened up as the game wore on, actually. Maybe that hit from (Seahawks defensive end Patrick) Kerney helped out a little bit. But it felt better than last week.''
Rodgers' best throw was a 45-yard deep ball to Greg Jennings which traveled almost 50 yards in the air and was right on the mark.
''Aaron, he's extremely accurate. He has great ball placement,'' said Jennings, who had five catches for 84 yards. ''Exactly where you want it, that's where he puts it. When it's in the air, you know it's all on you from there.''
Picking his brain
Cornerback Charles Woodson's decision to be a homebody on Saturday night at the team's hotel near Pike Place Market paid dividends on his fourth-quarter interception, as it came on a play he saw while reviewing cut-ups on his laptop before curfew.
''It's funny, I was watching some last-minute film, and I saw that formation and saw that they throw it to that guy a lot of the time,'' Woodson said of Charlie Frye's pass, which was intended for tight end John Carlson. ''So I saw it, I recognized it and I just broke on it.''
Extra points
Woodson also had his first sack of the season. ... Rodgers said he knew his 1-yard quarterback sneak would be ruled a touchdown once the replay booth review was called just before halftime. ''I yelled at Jeff (Triplette, the referee), in a nice way. I said, 'I was in.' When they went to a review, I was very confident they would overturn that call,'' Rodgers said. ... Ex-Seattle SuperSonics (and Milwaukee Bucks) guard Gary Payton raised the Qwest Field 12th Man flag. ... Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is now 2-5 against his former team.
