The Fox pregame crew was discussing who they would take now to lead their team between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. There was a split, of course, and it mostly centered around the athleticism of Rodgers and the assumption that all of the mental stuff was pretty much a wash. Then Howie Long made a great point that I had never considered. He suggested that Tom Brady was much more willing to have his team run the ball 40 times to win and that Aaron Rodgers was not. I think I agree with this. Rodgers is much happier when he is throwing the ball.
Contrary to that idea, however, is the simple fact that Rodgers throws the ball far less than other top QBs. He is typically in the 8-15 range for pass attempts each year. This is in stark contrast to Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, who pretty routinely throw the ball 40-50 times per game. I think I'm going to do a little bit of research and see if this is due to Rodgers typically high YPA numbers, or due to the Packers running the ball more than I appreciate. However, I do find it interesting that last week was the first time Eddie Lacy carried the ball more than 17 times in a game. Rodgers has complete authority to audible out of runs. Hmmm...
Interesting. Definitely check it out. I also wonder about time of possession for the Packers, and what influence that has on Rodgers's pass attempt numbers. I haven't watched a ton of football this season, but when I've caught parts of Packers games, it seems like the GB offense moves pretty quickly, while the defense allows really methodical drives by the opponents. The link I just found (http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-time-of-possession-statistics/2014/) ranks GB 24th in time of possession...
ReplyDeleteThey have definitely been poor in terms of TOP. The defense is pretty bad, except against very bad teams. They give up a lot of 5-7 yard runs, and they never contain the edges. Funniest thing is that they have been better with Clay Matthews at ILB. Packers fans don't like to admit it, but Clay Matthews is the biggest culprit when it comes to crashing toward the center on a fake dive. He never contains the edge because he is just too damned undisciplined, or maybe too much of a superstar to do what he is supposed to do in terms of his assignment.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to poor run defense, the linebackers couldn't cover Phil Loadholt, who is a RT that runs a 5.5ish 40. It's really pretty sad.