PASS OFFENSE (A)
At midseason, Aaron Rodgers was idling along ranked 16th in passer rating at 85.3 before he and the passing attack exploded. Over the remainder of the regular season, his play was so extraordinary (122.1 rating, 71.4% completion rate) that he vaulted to third at 101.2, trailing only Tom Brady (111.0) and Philip Rivers (101.8). Coupled with his postseason mark of 109.8, Rodgers' 19-game rating was 103.1. The Packers were fifth in passing yards (257.8) before averaging 260.3 in the playoffs. Green Bay wasn't a prolific deep-ball team, evidenced by the average distance of its TD passes (19.5) compared with 24.0 in '09 as well as its total of 17 completions for more than 35 yards, down from 24 in '09, 19 in '08 and 23 in '07. Certainly, Rodgers often looked to throw down the field, but the main thrust was spreading the ball around in short to intermediate zones. When cornerbacks played soft, Rodgers turned 30 called runs into one-step hitches with easy 5- to 8-yard gains. In the first four games, TE Jermichael Finley averaged 75.3 yards and played 25 more snaps (196) than any of the wide receivers. In Finley's five games, Greg Jennings averaged 36.6. Following Finley's exit with a blown knee, Jennings averaged 92.3 yards and had his greatest impact. There were 46 dropped passes, down from 50 in '09 but still too many. James Jones and Jordy Nelson each dropped 10. Jones led the team in average gain after the catch (5.16 yards). The Packers ranked 20th in percentage of sacks allowed. Rodgers was charged with 13 sacks, down three from '09, Chad Clifton was responsible for 8 and Bryan Bulaga for 6.