QB's ability to escape the rush no longer is a surprise to opponents

[img_r]http://cmsimg.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20080926&Category=PKR01&ArtNo=809270392&Ref=AR&Profile=1058&MaxW=318&Border=0[/img_r]After the Dallas Cowboys sacked Aaron Rodgers five times and harassed him into 17 incompletions in 39 attempts Sunday night, coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged a truism that every starting quarterback in the NFL faces early in their careers.

"You only get to do certain things so long in this league and people now have more information on you," McCarthy said minutes after the Green Bay Packers' 27-16 loss to the Cowboys.

In Rodgers' case, it was his ability to escape the rush and either make accurate throws on the run or scramble for first downs.

That appeared to surprise the Packers' first two opponents, Minnesota and Detroit, but not so with Dallas, which studied the videotape from those two games and also saw Rodgers firsthand last year in almost three quarters of play against them.

That doesn't mean Rodgers' scrambling no longer will be a major factor, because acknowledging a quarterback's mobility and doing something about it are two different things. Not to mention Dallas probably has better personnel along its defensive front seven than most teams.

But it does mean upcoming Packers opponents will do more to limit Rodgers' scrambling, either by using a more controlled rush or by trying a blitz-oriented game plan to challenge the reactions of a first-year starting quarterback.

Teams have seen Rodgers beat opponents with plays outside the pocket, so now they'll want to see him do it from in the pocket, or while under more duress.

"It's not like we haven't gotten any blitz, because certainly we have," said Joe Philbin, the Packers' offensive coordinator.

"But someone really turns up the volume, those days are going to come, you know that."

Dallas put more heat on Rodgers than either the Vikings or Lions in part by playing predominantly a five-man front three defensive linemen and two outside linebackers who functioned mainly as defensive ends. The Cowboys were able to go with that front in part because the Packers had to play almost the entire second half with only three receivers available after James Jones aggravated a knee injury. That meant the Packers couldn't use four-receiver sets, which in turn meant the Cowboys didn't have to abandon the five-man front to go to dime personnel (six defensive backs).

The Cowboys appeared bent on not letting Rodgers beat them from outside the pocket.

"I think their plan was, 'We're going to be firm up the middle, so he can't escape up the middle, and then quick off the edge,' " Rodgers said this week. "A four-man line, there's obviously going to be bigger holes when the play breaks down than when you have five, because you have three guys up the gut and two wide rushers. The containment of me in the pocket had to be an emphasis."

That figures to be a priority for Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin on Sunday as well. The Buccaneers play a more conventional four-lineman, three-linebacker defense, not like Dallas' 3-4, but Kiffin will have seen the damage Rodgers did the first two games outside the pocket and try to prevent it.

Kiffin traditionally hasn't been a big blitzer, but scouts this week said he's blitzed far more this season than in the past. He also has two solid outside rushers in defensive ends Gaines Adams, a second-year pro, and Greg White.

"When you have a guy that can move around," said Tom Clements, the Packers' quarterbacks coach, "generally (defensive coaches) tell the front guys if it's only a four-man rush, stay in your rush lanes and not to give him anywhere to go, keep contain on him. Sometimes they'll blitz. And then you tell the secondary they're going to hang on their receivers. But that's (all) easier said than done."

Against teams that often send an extra player in a relatively controlled rush like Dallas did, Rodgers will have to walk the fine line between waiting in the pocket and not holding the ball too long.

"In a game like that, maybe you have to hang in there a tick longer and take some of those big shots and deliver the ball," Rodgers said. "That's what I take away from that game. A couple times, I probably could have hung in there a little longer and taken a big shot but had a chance to complete a ball down the field."

In the next few weeks, the Packers probably will see more extensive blitz packages, which will force the blocking unit to be sharp on its reads and challenge Rodgers' ability to make quick reads and deliveries.

Rodgers learned a valuable lesson in the Packers' second preseason game, at San Francisco, when he was sacked four times in one half. He held the ball too long several times, but since has been quick making decisions. The Packers think he has the quick-twitch physical ability plus the study habits to make teams pay a price for heavy blitzing, something the Cowboys' Tony Romo has done this season with his array of big-play weapons.

"(Rodgers) gets the ball out fast. His release is good," Philbin said. "His understanding of protections is good. We hope he's going to handle the pressure well."