Aaron Rodgers should have played it safe for the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers came into Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with one of the highest passing efficiency ratings in the entire NFL.

One of the biggest reasons for Rodgers' high efficiency rating was his refusal to turn the ball over. Before the Buccaneers game, he only had two interceptions in the first seven games of the season.

A criticism of Rodgers is that he plays it safe instead of taking chances and making plays, which definitely sets him apart from his predecessor as quarterback for the Packers in Brett Favre. It could be argued that in the Packers three losses to the Vikings and Bengals this season (two of the upper echelon teams in the NFL), Rodgers' conservativism held the team back.

At the same time, Rodgers hasn't been losing games for the Packers by turning the ball over, but he's also not directing game winning drives either. Arguments can be made his style of play from either point of view.

However, in the loss to the Buccaneers, a safe and conservative passing game would have been enough to escape Tampa Bay with a win.

Rodgers exceeded his entire season's interception total of two in one game when he three threw three in the Packers' most recent loss. Throwing into double, triple and even quadruple coverage, Rodgers tried to thread the needle to his talented group of receivers but ended up turning the ball over too much.

With the running game having a modicum of success and Ahman Green able to turn short passes such as screens into decent games, smart and safe passes could have led to a Packers win.

 

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November 8, 2009 8:37 PM
 

jeremiah said:

"With the running game having a modicum of success and Ahman Green able to turn short passes such as screens into decent games, smart and safe passes could have led to a Packers win. " things a capable head coach could relay to rodgers DURING THE GAME! mccarthy fails time and time again to make the right play calls. it's so damn sad. he is running and non-coaching this team into the ground.
November 8, 2009 9:58 PM
 

ted isagod said:

You know what Rodgers should have done? Kick the special teams' asses.

November 9, 2009 2:12 AM
 

Erik said:

While Rodgers did have a subpar game on the stat sheet, those numbers can be really deceiving. Two of those interceptions came off the hands of one of this recievers. In the case of the first one, Greg Jennings had the ball in his hand, and six points on the board, but instead the ball bounced off like his mitts were filled with stone. One lucky pop latter it's in the air and intercepted. In the second out, again James Jones had his hands on the ball and it went right through and into the safety behind him. Both were tough passes into dangerous areas to be certain, but that's where great quarterbacks set themselves apart, hitting those small windows and allowing their recievers to make great plays. In both cases he did was a great quarterback should do, find the window in the tight coverage and put it in this recievers hands. They failed to make the play and then Tampa Bay's totally decent secondary made two great plays. Now that first interception is all on Rodgers, he failed to account for the safety and his eyes lead him straight to the interception. This game rests on a defense that only bends, but breaks, while dealing with awfully short field due to horrible special teams play.
November 9, 2009 7:35 AM
 

tstein said:

No slants, no screens, no throws to the backs or tight end. Everything seems to be 25-30 yards down field. Are there no check down routes or does the statue we have at QB not see them? Why can't the coaches see what we, the fans, can see so easily. Aaron Kampman cannot play LB, the biltzes never get home, the o-line cannot protect for more than three step drops... All this and the knucklehead GM does nothing to try and find personnel to assist.
November 9, 2009 9:21 AM
 

TNizzle said:

Everyone would be singing Rodgers' praises if Jennings catches that ball that hits him in that hands but instead pops up into the hands of the defense. Despite being in triple coverage, the pass was perfect and should have gone for a big reception.
November 9, 2009 10:47 AM
 

Katie G said:

Rodgers is not good at reading the defense or managing the game. He has a great arm but being a great QB involves more than that. Maybe more experience will make him better, he needs a good QB coach.
November 9, 2009 11:48 AM
 

Terry R. said:

There were many things about this game that cause me to pause.  First, the announcers noted at least twice that McCarthy spoke earlier in the week that this was a dangerous (read that "trap") game.  If that was the case, it is his job to have the team fired up and ready to go at the opening kick-off.  It has become a very obvious (to me) pattern of this team coming out of the locker room not mentally ready to play.  Special teams, which had been playing ok for the most part this year, let us down with the blocked punt and long kick returns.  The defense must find a way to get pressure on the QB.  Fritz Shurmer once said that he wanted to get pressure using only the front four.  If they weren't effective, he brings five.  If five don't get home, he brings six....seven....even eight.  If he can't get there with eight, he rushes three and plays eight in coverage.  I don't see Caper's bringing the extra rusher often enough to get consistent pressure.  We did have some pressure, especially early, but then we have to finish the play and tackle the QB, especially a rookie QB.  However, I think many are missing the biggest problem that kept the Packers from winning this game.  Late in the second quarter or early in the third, Mark Tauscher went out with a knee injure and Barbre returned to right tackle.  About that same time, I noticed that Lang had replaced Clifton in the game.  Care to guess what started happening next?  If I have this right, the Bucs had 6 sacks in the game, one in the first half (when Tauscher & Clifton were playing) and FIVE in the second half.  Tauscher never returned to the game and Clifton seemed to rotate in and out with Lang for a while.  Then, in the second half, Clifton had a lot of trouble with bull rushes.  He didn't seem to be able to push back against the bull rush....maybe he tweaked his ankle again?  Or, it was still weak from the previous injury?  In any case, the Packer offense moved pretty well in the first half.  The Bucs were kept in the game by the blocked punt and the pick returned inside the 10 yard line.  Otherwise, Green Bay goes in at the half up 21 to 3.  In the second half we were not able to consistently move the ball through the air, Rodgers was under pressure every time he dropped back and we then became a one-dimension running team.  If we don't find a consistent solution to our o-line play, either by better performance or a game plan that includes only short drops/quick passes, then this will be a very long season.  I've been a McCarthy supporter but now, I'm seeing some things that are consistent breakdowns that never get corrected.  If it doesn't improve by the end of the season, it will be time for a change.  There are a lot of coaches who would love to come to a team with an established, young QB like Rodgers (can anyone say, Jon Gruden?).  I think that Thompson has given McCarthy the players to win consistently but it just hasn't happened.  I don't see Thompson as the problem and I would think that Mark Murphy wouldn't want to shake up the whole organization by replacing both.  Anyway, those are my thoughts.

November 9, 2009 1:59 PM
 

ted isagod said:

Pardon my English, but sh*t flows downhill. That's true in any business, especially professional sports. Thompson is not going anywhere. It's hard to prove that he has not done his job acquiring talent for this team. However, you can make a better case that Fat McCarthy hasn't been coaching the team at a high-quality level at all. McCarthy and coordinators will fall before Ted--done.
November 9, 2009 4:58 PM
 

PhillyBadger said:

MMurphy, TThompson and MMcCarthy all should be fired -- to remove the stench that BHarlan left.  What a longstanding mess, which began when BHarlan let MHolmgren go to Seattle, only to learn later that RWolf would be retiring a year later.  This executive management has been a disaster for the team and its fans.

November 9, 2009 9:05 PM

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