The deceptive play call has not carried the same level of success for Green Bay over the past three seasons, even with Aaron Rodgers under center. Play action plays like the ones compiled below used to be a staple of a productive Green Bay Packers  offense. Unfortunately, that component of the offense has fallen on hard times in recent seasons.

According to Football Outsiders, the Packers ranked 16th in the league in the percentage of pass plays that began with a play-action fake to the running back in 2017. Granted, this statistic took snaps with both Aaron Rodgers  and Brett Hundley  into account and one quarterback was certainly more effective than the other. But as APC’s Paul Noonan pointed out in February,  the Packers only averaged 5.8 yards per play action pass, a mark only one other NFL team failed to surpass (Oakland, 4.4). Paul pointed out some legitimate reasons behind Green Bay’s low figure in that article.
However, some new stats released by FO in its 2018 Almanac  reveal an even more startling notion: that the success of the play action pass with Aaron Rodgers has rapidly faded since 2014.
In what FO described as the “peak Rodgers” years from 2009-2014, Aaron averaged 10.8 yards per play action attempt. That number not only ranked Rodgers first in the league in that category, but was well above the league average of 8.68 yards in that timeframe.
But from 2015-2017, the numbers painted a polar opposite trend. Rodgers’ average dipped to just 6.41 yards per play action attempt in comparison to the league average of 8.75 yards. That number ranked a jaw-dropping 40th in the NFL and placed Rodgers above just one other quarterback: his new backup DeShone Kizer .
Surely, the Packers need to improve upon those numbers in 2018. The question is how do they reverse them?
Well, for starters, a jump-started running game should make defenses second-guess an offense that has been predominantly pass-first oriented. Though FO stated that it has “never found a link between rushing success and play-action success,” Jamaal Williams  and Aaron Jones  should give defenses reason to believe the Packers may hand the ball off. The two backs also figure to help as capable check-down receivers on plays that may have otherwise resulted in incompletions. Having limited experience with the young stable of backs before injury, Rodgers should benefit greatly from a season with them at his disposal to aid the play action as both runners and receivers.
Losing Jordy Nelson, one of Rodgers’ main targets in the downfield play action game, may be a knock for the Packers. But adding rookie receivers with especially gifted size-speed combinations could make the vertical passing game dangerous as the season wears on if one of them emerges. In addition, Rodgers and Davante Adams  were an intriguing pass-catch duo last year until that tragic day in Minnesota. A fully healthy season from two players with chemistry could raise the Packers’ play action numbers, as history has shown the ability for them to connect on a long ball with frequency. Of course, Jimmy Graham  was signed in part to stretch the field from the tight end position and could contribute to a revitalization of the play action attack.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy and the Packers wanted to conduct a full-scale analysis of the offense in the offseason and there is little doubt that maximizing the often-deceptive play action pass was a part of that probe. The return of Joe Philbin, who was a part of three of Rodgers’ so-called peak seasons from 2009-2011 as Offensive Coordinator, may also be factor in the team’s success by getting back to the basics of what once made Green Bay so effective in that area. Philbin’s goal was to make McCarthy look like one of the NFL’s best playcallers and mixing up play action routes that have become fairly predictable could help in its own right.
Another category in which the Rodgers-led offense has slipped significantly since 2014 is passing plays of 16 or more yards. If the Packers can restore their potency from the play action, they should reap the benefits in this aspect and deepen the playbook in 2018.


Continue Reading @ Shawn Wagner 

Shawn Wagner wrote:

Having a decent running game has to help the play action pass. He's to a better year running the ball.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

If they can put some fear into the defense that
a) a run play might actually be run more than 40% of the time
b) a RB can burst through their 2nd level and get more than 10 yards

Otherwise they're going to keep focusing on Rodgers, and probably rightfully so.

Originally Posted by: beast 

The short yardage run game has been pretty weak the last 5 years. Coincident with that weakness is the lack of a strong all around tight end. I had hoped Bennett would have been the answer there, but alas....

The bigger issue is the lack of OL push. Unless the offensive line, particularly the middle 3, establish an ability to be road graders, I don't think you will see an improvement. Our tackles simply aren't great run blockers, especially in regard to their ability to push the opposing DL back. As a consequence, opposing LB's and safeties can cheat a step or two.

Another factor is that most of our opposition justifiably feel that in the clutch, we are going to rely on AROD...and we probably should.

Unless and until we establish a proven ability to run the ball consistently well on 3rd down, don't expect much of an improvement here.

Originally Posted by: KRK 

Patrick from Ashland, WI
Help me with my obviously poor offensive line observation skills. The Packers certainly have had some troubles on short to go. Maybe all teams have. Do you think zone blocking isn't effective on short? If it isn't, can an offensive line just switch to drive blocking all of a sudden?

(VIC) Zone blocking is about moving laterally. In my opinion, zone blocking lines play too high to be effective drive blockers. They don't know how to drop their pads, sink their hips and drive. Height is an aid to the walling up technique in the zone-blocking scheme, but height is the enemy of low pad level. I find it interesting that as offensive lines have gotten taller, defensive lines have gotten shorter. Aaron Donald is a shade over six foot and he's the best defensive lineman in the game. Mike Daniels is six foot and he's the Packers' best defensive lineman. Zone blocking is an effective scheme for finding a way to run the ball and still concentrate on pass blocking, but it is not an effective means for moving the line of scrimmage and converting third and one. If I was the coach of a zone blocking team, I'd be looking for a Sam Cunningham back to go up over the top on third and one.

I thought Vic's recent post  did a very good job of explaining this.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

Pad level!

Originally Posted by: Porforis