GREEN BAY Aaron Rodgers had plenty to say to Ed Hochuli. But the Green Bay Packers quarterback went all Forrest Gump when asked about the conversation by reporters after Sundays 23-20 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field.
The play in question, a bone-crunching and, as it turned out, a tooth-chipping hit by Miami defensive tackle Randy Starks on Rodgers 13-yard completion to Jordy Nelson with 7 minutes left in the third quarter, had not resulted in a flag.
And Rodgers, who suffered a concussion last week against Washington on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jeremy Jarmon that cost Jarmon $5,000 but didnt draw a penalty, thought it should have.
I took a shot in the chin and chipped two teeth and no call, Rodgers said. Then, after explaining which play it was, Rodgers stopped.
That's all I have to say about that, he said, channeling Tom Hanks Oscar-winning character.
Rodgers started the week with his 38-game regular-season consecutive starts streak in jeopardy after being diagnosed with the first concussion of his football career, but after passing all the requisite tests during the week, Rodgers was cleared to play against the Dolphins and wound up completing 18 of 33 passes for 313 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings.
But he also threw an interception his seventh of the season, matching last years 16-game total after only six games and was sacked five times, three of them by Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake, who dominated replacement right tackle Bryan Bulaga.
He also directed an offense that converted just 3 of 13 third-down situations, an anemic number that was scarcely better than last weeks 2 for 13 effort.
I thought he was prepared. I thought he seemed normal out there. I thought he threw the ball well. I thought he managed the offense, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said of Rodgers performance. But third-down production is a big part of how we have been successful in the past. Weve been a good third-down team. Were all part of that. Were not doing a good enough job there.
Rodgers is certainly part of that. The NFLs best passer on third down last season -- a 133.5 rating on third down, including an NFL-best 14 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a league-high 1,710 yards Rodgers completed just 4 of 9 passes for 69 yards and an interception (31.5 rating) on third-down plays Sunday. Three of the four completions resulted in the Packers only three third-down conversions, but he was also sacked twice on third-down plays.
The interception came three plays after the hit by Starks.
If I dont know if our units as sharp as were accustomed to seeing it or as wed hoped it would be, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. I dont know that its a one-guy thing. I think overall offensively, were not as sharp or as productive as wed like to be at this stage.
The highlight for Rodgers was his 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to tie the game with 13 seconds left in regulation.
After Rodgers 20-yard completion to Jennings set up first-and-goal from the Dolphins 9, he ran for an 8-yard gain to set up a second-and-goal from the 1. But fullback-turned-halfback John Kuhn was stuffed for no gain on back-to-back plays, leaving the Packers with one last chance to force overtime.
With Kuhn motioning out of the backfield to leave it empty with Rodgers in the shotgun, receivers Andrew Quarless, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and Jennings were also out wide. Rodgers then feigned an audible call as he walked toward center Scott Wells, then got under center and took the snap, scoring from a yard out to knot the game.
According to Philbin, the play is designed to give Rodgers the option of simply taking the shotgun snap and trying to throw for the touchdown or, if he sees a favorable alignment up front from the defense, moving under center and keeping the ball on the sneak. He chose the latter.
Its a built-in thing. He sees a soft spot in the defense and takes it, Philbin said. It was a good decision. It looked like (the Dolphins) had miscommunicated once before, so they were scrambling around and he saw an opening there, saw a soft spot in the defense. It was a good play.
If only there had been more.
They called timeout right before that and we were in the same formation. The line said, Hey, if they line up with nobody over center again, let's just sneak it.' So we talked about it real quick, Rodgers said. They actually lined up with a guy over the center, but the next guy out was, I think, outside the tackle on the left side. So I just told them I was going to act like I was changing something and then just went up there and quick-snapped it and got it in there."
As if that play didnt show Rodgers had all of his normal brain function, he said the concussion wasnt an issue in his play.
"I felt fine. I was prepared. I watched a lot of film when they finally cleared me to do that, he said. They didn't really do anything we weren't ready for. ... When I moved at all, they were all over me."