GREEN BAY As the avalanche of sacks have piled up on Aaron Rodgers during the first half of the season an NFL-high 37 and counting entering Sundays game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field weve managed to blame just about everyone associated with the Green Bay Packers.
(Go ahead insert your own maintenance-guy joke here. You know you want to.)
Weve blamed the primary culprits, the offensive line, as the musical chairs have continued (six starting lineup combinations in nine games), disappointing right tackle Allen Barbre has been benched (first for Mark Tauscher, now for T.J. Lang), veteran left tackle Chad Clifton continues to battle a bad ankle (and uneven play when he has been in there) and left guard Daryn Colledge has allowed several back-breaking sacks (including one late in last weeks loss to previously winless Tampa Bay).
Weve blamed Rodgers for holding onto the ball too long on occasion, a valid criticism in several instances but one that seems to have gained more steam than it deserves against a quarterback who despite the constant pressure has completed 63.1% of his passes for 2,255 yards, with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions (103.3 passer rating) while also rushing for 214 yards and two touchdowns making him the teams second-leading rusher behind halfback Ryan Grant.
Weve blamed the running backs especially Grant, who has carried 149 times for 621 yards (4.2-yard average) and four touchdowns for not being more productive on the ground, since a more successful running game would take some of the pressure off the passing game.
Weve blamed the receivers, for dropping passes (22, third-most in the league) and, in the wake of Sundays loss to the Buccaneers, for not getting open against inferior defensive backs, causing Rodgers to hold onto the ball longer, leading to coverage sacks.
But what about the play-calling? How much blame goes to coach Mike McCarthy? Has he strayed from the quick, short passing game that had been the key to an unstoppable offense in 2007, when the team went 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship Game?
Based purely on numbers and counterintuitive as it may seem the Packers have been throwing the ball down the field more this season than they ever have since McCarthy took over as head coach and offensive play-caller in 2006, despite the near-constant pressure Rodgers has been under.
According to STATS LLC, Rodgers has already thrown 45 deep passes defined as throws that travel 21 or more yards in the air in the first eight games season, while Favre threw just 52 such balls in 16 games in 2007.
In 16 games last season, Rodgers threw 65 passes that traveled 21+ yards in the air. This season, hes on pace for 90. And who knows how many of the 37 sacks would have been down-the-field passes?
Shown those statistics late in the week, McCarthy acknowledged what the numbers would seem to indicate.
The conception your making with your numbers is, hey, hes still going high-tide, he doesnt care about those sacks, McCarthy said. And thats not true. Just because the ball goes down the field, that doesnt mean (we dont care about sacks).
So why are the Packers throwing deep if they cant protect their quarterback? The answer is twofold: One, Rodgers strength is the down-the-field throw, and two, opposing defenses have wised up to the Packers use of quick slants and short throws and are adjusting accordingly to take such plays away.
Rodgers said opposing defensive backs now are playing up at the line of scrimmage to challenge receivers Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and James Jones, who in 2007 helped the Packers lead the NFL in yards after the catch. Cornerbacks are now playing more inside leverage, Rodgers said, meaning they line up shaded inside the receiver, toward the middle of the field, making it difficult for the receiver to get open on a slant pattern.
Rodgers said the change has been especially noticeable against the Packers NFC North division opponents, whom they face twice a year.
The defenses adjust. They're smart, Rodgers said. Your common opponents, they don't play you the same way two years in a row, (or even) two games in a row. So we've seen a lot more inside leverage. Which, if you're going to press and play inside leverage to take away our quick slant game, you've got to take shots down the field.
The Packers sack stats seem to bear Rodgers theory out. Even though only half of their games have been against division rivals two against Minnesota, one each against Chicago and Detroit 23 of the 37 takedowns (62.2%) have come against the Vikings (14), Bears (four) and Lions (five).
"I'm all about getting the ball out of my hand as quickly as possible. That's how you win games, Rodgers said, admitting that he has held onto the ball too long at times. You don't want to take sacks. That's how you stay healthy. But when teams are taking away the slant game, you've got to throw the ball down the field. And to throw the ball down the field, you've got to hold it a little longer. The protection's got to hold up, and you've got to sit in there. That's kind of the give-and-take you've got to deal with."
Thats also the danger of having a quarterback who throws the ball downfield so effectively, McCarthy said. But he also said he calls plenty of shorter passes as well because Rodgers throws them just as effectively.
The strength of Aaron Rodgers is the vertical ball. That is what we do with our guy, McCarthy said. But we still call (short passes). Youre going to see a lot of em this week (against Dallas) the drag slant, the look slant, those are in every week. Kangaroo. Denver. Denver is still our No. 1 three-step drop. Its all the same stuff that weve always called, and if anything, weve called it more or as much this year.
Im not trying to be a smart (aleck) here. Thats the way you play the game. Aaron is an exceptional down-the-field thrower. Hell yeah, were going to attack the verticals. (But) thats the juggle. (And) part of the frustration.
Still, McCarthy insisted that hes not leaving Rodgers vulnerable with his play-calling. In fact, he said he has not called a straight seven-step drop since the regular-season opener against Chicago, when Rodgers was sacked four times to set the tone for the rest of the season. While there have been some seven-step drops on play-action passes, McCarthy said hes called more three- and five-step drop plays than ever and used additional pass-protectors far more than the last two years.
McCarthy said the greater issue in protection has been the lack of cohesion on the offensive line. He likened his play-calling approach to the one he took in 2006, when three rookies Colledge, Jason Spitz and Tony Moll started 10 games apiece on the line and McCarthy was forced to call more max-protections and reduce the number of deep drops Favre took.
While offensive coordinator Joe Philbin admitted the downfield passing numbers were kind of a surprising stat to me, he argued that the high sack numbers are more a function of the lines poor play than anything else.
I think the sack issue is fundamentals and execution, Philbin said. I'm not going to sit here and say that sometimes, Aaron hasnt held the ball a couple of times. But the majority are offensive line sacks, and you can point to the fundamentals. I cant remember the last time we took a (straight) seven-step drop. I think we've been cognizant of the situation we're in.
To me, if Aaron had 12 interceptions and 37 sacks, you'd be thinking, 'My God, he must be forcing the ball down to somebody deep, throwing the ball into triple coverage.' We don't have a lot of those plays on film. We have some protection breakdowns."
This guy can throw the ball. He doesn't struggle with any of the routes."
He just needs his offensive line to keep him upright to do so, right?
"Seriously, Philbin replied. His ability to throw the intermediate route, he throws a great crossing route. His best route is probably that 15-yard out that he throws. He has great anticipation on that throw. But he's got plenty of his velocity on his slants. He can squeeze it in there, I don't think he has any problem."
So what do the Packers do about it, besides execute better? Not much, apparently. But whatever they do, it better be soon.
It's priority No. 1, Rodgers said. I keep saying the same thing: I don't feel like I've changed the way I've played. Obviously, when you're dealing with a situation, things change. Things change depending on who you're lining up against on offense, depending on who you're playing against on defense.
I'm confident if we eventually find the right rhythm, the right group up front, guys that are healthy and it's a necessity, said Rodgers, who was sacked 34 times in 16 games last season. I don't know how long I can hold up, 16 games, taking 4.7 sacks per game. That's a lot of pounding.
A closer look at the Packers passing game over the past four years:
