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Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers' season might have been on the line Sunday when they broke the huddle with 3 minutes 45 seconds to go against the Carolina Panthers.
Tie game at 28-28.
First and goal at the Carolina 7-yard line.
A field goal wouldn't cut it. Not with the Packers' special teams and defense combining to surrender 79 points in the last seven-plus quarters.
Nothing short of a touchdown would make anyone feel safe.
After two runs, the ball was on the 1-yard line. Coach Mike McCarthy had two options: Put the ball in the hands of Aaron Rodgers, who had completed 12 straight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown and could make a play with his feet. He led all National Football League quarterbacks with four rushing touchdowns.
Or run the ball again, perhaps with fullback John Kuhn, who had converted all four of his third-and-1 carries to that point and had scored from 1 yard out against the New Orleans Saints.
With the season in the balance, McCarthy decided to hand the ball to Kuhn. He was stopped for no gain and the Packers settled for a field goal that ultimately proved not enough.
From the outside looking in, McCarthy's choice of play-calling suggested that in crunch time, McCarthy does not have ultimate confidence in Rodgers, his first-year starter. McCarthy's revelation on Monday that if he had gone for it on fourth down - something he considered - he would have called another running play seemed to support the notion that Rodgers might not have McCarthy's complete confidence.
On Wednesday, McCarthy revised the possible fourth-down play call. He said the play likely would have been a run-play option for Rodgers, depending on the defense.
But the point remained. McCarthy quickly tossed it aside.
"I don't think that's accurate. I don't think that's fair," McCarthy said. "I mean, look at the play calls . . . look at the two plays called before the first down. One of them was a shock play where we're attacking the end zone. They played coverage and he rolled out of the pocket and scrambled and (Julius) Peppers hit him so we got a first down on that.
"If you go and watch the film and you call my play-calling conservative, I wouldn't agree with that. I mean, we pushed the ball down the field. We're not a conservative offense so I don't even know why we're talking about it. The quarterback threw the ball 45 times in the game. I don't have confidence (in Rodgers)?"
McCarthy said he still didn't have any regrets about the call.
"There's a lot that goes into that decision," he said. "I did not go home kicking myself. Well, I actually stayed and went upstairs and watched it after the game was over because I can't sleep anyways. And when I saw their defense . . . and I saw the film, I'm still comfortable with the call."
McCarthy pointed out that the Panthers' two linebackers were lined up to defend the pass, some 5 yards from the line of scrimmage.
"How many passes do you have (in the playbook) from the 1?" McCarthy said. "I mean, you're better off throwing from the 5. You've got 11 yards (to pass the ball from the 1). From the 1 yard line, what are your options? Spread them out. OK. And what are they going to do? They're either going to go empty or coverage. If they go empty, now you're throwing a fly to who? One of your receivers on their defensive backs. Do you like the matchup? I mean, these are all the things . . . that's what we sit up there all (Saturday) night talking about. There were other options but there was really nothing."
Rodgers, who did not lobby for a pass in the sequence, said he had no doubt McCarthy believes in him in the tightest of spots.
"The way he called that last drive, I think, proves it," said Rodgers, whose 106.8 passer rating on third down is the league's third-best mark behind Drew Brees and Tony Romo, and has the most third-down touchdown passes (11)."Obviously I'd love to have the ball in my hands but I like all three of the calls. I do. I think everybody did."
So McCarthy and Rodgers both insist there is no dearth of confidence. But surely if Brett Favre was still at quarterback, there's little chance McCarthy would not allow him to make a play at a crucial point in the season.
"That had nothing to do with it. Absolutely not," McCarthy said. "(Favre) wants to throw the ball every time you get to goal-line offense because he feels he has all 22 guys compacted in and there's a reason for that.
"Aaron makes all the decisions that Favre ever made here and frankly we've even gone further. You could make the argument (Rodgers) does more."
The statistics back McCarthy.
Favre in 2007 passed more often in goal-to-go plays than Rodgers has this season - 54% to 43.4% - but McCarthy has relied on Rodgers more in the most crucial of circumstances. On third downs in goal-to-go plays, Rodgers has passed on nine of 10 plays. Favre was asked to pass on just four of seven.
That one time Rodgers was not asked to throw on third down? That was on Sunday when Kuhn got the carry.
"I don't hold back from Aaron," McCarthy said.