McCarthy, Rodgers agreed on aggressive air game before the Super Bowl
DALLAS The first clue came about two hours before kickoff when the inactive list was released for Super Bowl XLV. Packers fullback Quinn Johnson was not on the active 45-man roster for the final game of the 2010 season.
Apparently, bruising blocking backs would not be needed Sunday afternoon. The Packers tied an NFL record held by the Rams with the fewest rush attempts (13) by the winning team.
Coach Mike McCarthy wanted to be aggressive through the air with Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers.
The play-caller and the quarterback are on the same page, McCarthy said Monday. Just the conversation we had in the locker room before the game. It was simply, Let me be aggressive as the play-caller; you have to be the disciplined one and keep us in favorable plays and throw it away if you have a bad look. And he did a great job with that. I think he has the best set of skills in the league as far as his pinpoint accuracy, his athletic ability, and all of his best football is in front of him
He let the play-caller be aggressive and he managed the football game.
The run was an absolute afterthought in the second half. The team had six rushes and two were scrambles by Rodgers. Only four handoffs were called after the break.
Rodgers took over on both second-half scoring drives. He and Jordy Nelson connected for a 38-yard slant on third-and-10, one play after Nelson had a drop. Rodgers found Greg Jennings for an 8-yard touchdown two plays later to go up 28-17.
The quarterback responded again late in the fourth quarter when the Steelers cut the lead to 28-25. Only one run was called as the Packers tried to work the clock down. He completed passes to Nelson, Jennings, James Jones and Tom Crabtree en route to a 23-yard Mason Crosby field goal.
The entire gameplan was to live or die on Rodgers performance.
I felt good about the plan, felt good about the way I practiced, the way I prepared, the way I studied and just knew I was getting a lot of opportunities and expecting to make those plays that were going to be there, Rodgers said.
Bling-bling
One of the favorite postgame topics has been the fact that McCarthy had his team measured for rings Saturday night. The decision seems like an overt show of confidence, but McCarthy downplayed the ploy some.
I wish Id have made a bigger deal out of it, McCarthy said. I just told them that were going to get measured for rings tonight, at snack. I felt it was the right time to do it. I talked to Sean Payton about some of the things he did from a scheduling standpoint. Scheduling is so important during the course of the week, and you want to do certain things at certain times, and I felt that was the appropriate time.
I thought it would be special. I thought it would give us a boost of confidence to do it the night before the game. But thats about as far as I took it.
Rodgers, however, didnt get measured. He was in the shower.
Hopefully, I can still get sized with that, Rodgers said.
Defensive player of the year AWOL
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was named the NFL defensive player of the year last week but was largely ineffective in the biggest game of the year. He finished with three tackles and came into the picture late on two touchdown passes by Rodgers.
Rodgers explained how he was able to dictate the game to Polamalu, not the other way around.
Hes a guy that you have to be aware of him, where hes at all times, Rodgers said. Hes a great player, had a great season, but guys have to respect where my eyes are looking so it was important to me to use good eye control on the field and not stare anybody down because he can cover a lot of ground quickly and when he was down in the box, we made sure he was picked up in the protection schemes.
A couple of times when he came on blitzes, we adjusted the protection to make sure we had him picked up because hes a very talented blitzer and when hes high, a deep safety, you just have to make sure you are good with your eyes.
New wheels
Being named Super Bowl comes with all kinds of perks. Rodgers got a shiny new trophy. He looked into the camera and shouted, Im going to Disneyland! And Rodgers will be a guest on the David Letterman Show on Monday.
He got a car, too. Super Bowl sponsor Chevrolet presented Rodgers a brand new, 426-horsepower Chevy Camero convertible.
Chevrolet Director of Advertising Kevin Mayer announced that Rodgers will get to pick the color.
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