MintBaconDrivel
12 years ago

GREEN BAY — Even the guy who is arguably the best player in the game has room for improvement. And that guy — Aaron Rodgers — even knows that.

Although the Green Bay Packers quarterback bristles at the suggestion of one area where he can improve  — absorbing fewer sacks — he also knows that as he goes, so go the Packers, who can ill afford to lose him if they fancy themselves Super Bowl contenders.

That's why both quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo and offensive coordinator Tom Clements would like to see Rodgers cut the number of sacks he was responsible for in 2012 in half. Rodgers was sacked a league-high 51 times last season, and according to ProFootballFocus.com, 10 of those were subjectively his fault.

"We've always said it's a fine line between 'Should I throw it away or should I try to scramble?' Sometimes a scramble gets you a big play, sometimes a scramble gets you a sack. So we're never going to give that up," Clements explained. "We just want to avoid the big hits and avoid the sacks that are very avoidable. If we can do that, we think it'll help us."

After suffering through injuries during his time as a backup — a broken foot that ended his 2006 season and a torn hamstring that sidelined him for much of the second half of the 2007 season — Rodgers has been durable since taking over as the starter in 2008. He played through a painful injury to his right (throwing) shoulder early in 2008, then suffered two concussions during the 2010 season, the second of which caused him to miss a December game at New England. All told, Rodgers has started 86 of 88 possible games (including playoffs), and the only other start he missed was the meaningless 2011 regular-season finale, when he was a healthy scratch after the Packers had wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Rodgers, who became the league's highest-paid player with a five-year, $110 million extension in April, said he altered his offseason workouts in hopes of extending his career and his durability streak.

"This is really the first year where I've felt like I had to do a little bit more to get myself into the same I wanted to get in," said Rodgers, who turns 30 in December. "And that's because it's not only my ninth season, but I know the most important thing for me to be able to play to the end of this contract is going to be to make sure my legs stay strong and I'm able to do the things I like to do on the field: Be athletic out of the pocket, make some plays with my feet, and be able to have that balance to throw in the pocket with my legs underneath me. So it's going to be all about getting myself in the best, tip-top physical shape I can, and getting ready to have a good season."

In terms of his game, Rodgers appears to be at the height of his powers, even though his numbers did dip last season from his MVP totals of 2011. While his quarterback rating was still the NFL's best (108.0), it did drop from his NFL-record 122.5 rating the year before. His touchdown passes dropped by six in one more regular-season start (39, down from 45) and his interception total went up (eight, from six). He still finished with more than 4,000 yards passing (4,295, eighth in the NFL), but the most telling statistic was his yards per attempt, which plummeted from an NFL-high 9.25 yards last season to only 7.78 this year.

According to coach Mike McCarthy, where Rodgers can improve the most isn't statistically, but in furthering his leadership role in the locker room. Throughout the offseason, that's just what McCarthy saw.

"Aaron Rodgers has the opportunity to grow like anybody else. It's not the level of play, per se, but his ability to raise the level of play from the people around him," McCarthy said. "He does an excellent job of that. His interaction in the meeting rooms, with the quarterbacks, with the perimeter group, is higher than it's ever been.

"It is very important for a veteran, established player to do that; our veterans do that as a whole. I think Aaron's exceptional at it. He's done a really good job of helping the younger quarterbacks and helping everybody. It's important to create that environment for growth. For Aaron, it is definitely a strength of his. He's just like everybody else, he's hit the fundamentals hard this year. He's had some little things we're working on. And I look forward to it carrying over on to the field. Just make sure he has the tools and the resources to do what he does. And that's play great football."

That's not to say Rodgers doesn't see room to improve his game, however. He said both Clements and McAdoo have been good about coaching him hard and making sure he keeps his edge.

"We watch a lot of film, so you have to be really critical of yourself from year to year and look for things you can improve on," Rodgers said. "Having a new quarterback coach helps, second year with Ben McAdoo, he's always trying to find new ways to challenge me and get me to work on different things. And having Tom in the room also helps because he's just that steady voice and we've had a lot of time together. Always working on things, trying to get better.

"I see my role kind of changing as I get older. I've taken so many (practice) reps. When I'm in there, (it's about) making sure I feel comfortable with the reps I'm taking. And when I'm out of there, especially in like a walkthrough setting, making sure I'm doing as much as I can to help the young guys out because getting those guys ready to play preseason football, I know what that's like; three years as a backup. There's a lot of moving pieces and different calls and you have to make sure everyone is on the same page. I'm trying to help out those young linemen because if those guys are more confident, the quarterback can have more time and they can look better in the preseason."

Jason Wilde  wrote:


Delivering the latest and most important updates on the Green Bay Packers for your convenience.
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Pack93z
12 years ago
How freaking predictable.. prop up the glory boy as the #1 player... typical media brown nosing. [grin1]
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
steveishere
12 years ago
Greg Jennings won't be happy about this.
nerdmann
12 years ago
Jersey Al 

I’ll quickly dismiss Jennings’ assertion that Rodgers thinks he is perfect and not about the team as “bitter pill syndrome”. As I have said before, I think Jennings is still feeling the sting of not getting a new contract to stay in Green Bay. Back in 2011 when receiver James Jones was a free agent, Rodgers lobbied the team to keep Jones and while the Packer did let Jones test the free agent market, they ultimately brought him back on a three-year deal. Jennings probably felt he was worth similar, or more, public support from Rodgers. While Rodgers didn’t say much about bringing Jennings back prior to his signing with the Vikings, he did drape constant praise over the Jennings during their time together in Green Bay. Rodgers is also and very likely disappointed in Jennings’ take on his dedication to the Packers.

Rodgers signed his mega-deal contract extension earlier during the offseason and perhaps Jennings feels that one of the reasons Rodgers didn’t go to bat for him was because he wanted the team to focus their financial efforts on his own contract. Purely speculation on my part. But when one player gets a new deal or a contract extension, teammates who are also waiting for their new deals are often found feeling passed over. In this case, it’s no comparison between the team deciding to lock up one of the league’s best quarterbacks during the prime of his career, and a wide receiver who missed significant time and is approaching age 30.



Interesting take.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
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Zero2Cool (41m) : That is fair by me.
buckeyepackfan (42m) : Kenny Clark is the player, 2 1st rnd picks
Zero2Cool (48m) : umm... what?
wpr (1h) : I am stunned
Mucky Tundra (1h) : RICKEY SCOOPS WAS RIGHT AGAIN!!!
Mucky Tundra (1h) : ITS HAPPENING
buckeyepackfan (1h) : DEAL IS DONE
buckeyepackfan (1h) : MICAH IS COMING TO GREEN BAY!!!!!!!!!
wpr (7h) : Me do-ed it gooderly,
Zero2Cool (22h) : Bahah, I was like WTF why isn't anyone posting on PP.com ... oops no one has permissions
dfosterf (23h) : tell her I reckon
dfosterf (23h) : Micah Robinson cut. Probable PS player tomorrow. Has to call mom back and t
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : New site so much better. Might make switch and deal with it.
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Mecole Hardman to our practice squad
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Nick Nieman from Texans our 5th linebacker. Special teams signing
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Looks like we signed Clayton Tune as QB3
wpr (27-Aug) : TKT people lose their minds over QB3. Point is almost none of them are ready that's why they are on the PS and other teams don't take them.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Unfortunately he doesn't seem ready to be an emergency QB.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : As a Canadian and a follower of Canadian University football. I am rooting for him
dfosterf (27-Aug) : I bet a lot of us will follow the Taylor Elgersma journey with interest. Personally, got a Kurt Warner vibe goin' on. I like him
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Not sure if either will be claimed though.
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Tune or Hooker would make sense
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Clayton Tune cut by the Cards? Don't know if that's the guy, we shall see
TheKanataThrilla (27-Aug) : Per Bill Huber, the Packers will not be bringing back Taylor Elgersma or Sean Clifford on the practice squad, so a new third quarterback
Mucky Tundra (27-Aug) : Schefter must have deleted his tweet
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Hopefully Jerry reaches under the seat cushions and ashtrays of his jet and scrapes up the 45 million apr and spares us further nonsense
dfosterf (27-Aug) : Have to admit the PO'd Cowboy fan videos would be fun to watch. Problem with draft picks is half their fanbase barely knows what that is
beast (27-Aug) : I think Cowboys fans are ready to get their pitch forks and burning sticks if Jerry were to trade Micah
dfosterf (27-Aug) : If Jerry traded Micah to GB, here in northern Va. they would have to quick build yet another data center to handle the internet hate traffic
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : its signing and trades that you don't hear about, other then announced
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : If you hear rumors about Packers sign or trade, won't happen. Not how they work
dfosterf (27-Aug) : 19 players in a contract year. Jones called loss to us worst loss in Cowboy history. Forget Parsons trade. Not happenin' Cap'n
packerfanoutwest (27-Aug) : The Packers, meanwhile, are the youngest team in the league for the third consecutive year.
dfosterf (27-Aug) : That it was darkest before the dawn in Bengals and Commanders before they got deals done
Zero2Cool (27-Aug) : what is Schefter saying?
dfosterf (27-Aug) : He was getting Dorito infusion therapy
dfosterf (27-Aug) : He's outta shape. Why, just the other day I saw him splayed out on the trainers table
Mucky Tundra (27-Aug) : Parsons has followed Rasheed Walker on Twitter. Quite the choice
Mucky Tundra (27-Aug) : Kuhn is a former player who works for the team, if somethings going down, he would be close to it
Mucky Tundra (27-Aug) : @kuhnj30 Micah Freaking Parsons
Mucky Tundra (27-Aug) : A LOT of buzz on the Bird App regarding Parsons; even Schefter is saying it's serious
dfosterf (26-Aug) : *Orzech*
dfosterf (26-Aug) : Orzich long snapper 3 yr extension
Zero2Cool (26-Aug) : Packers signed someone for three year deal
Zero2Cool (26-Aug) : lol i know it's insane ... sign up for the waiver wire then you'll know
wpr (26-Aug) : YES!!!!!!
Mucky Tundra (26-Aug) : WE WANT THE LIST! WE WANT THE LIST!
Zero2Cool (26-Aug) : @JJLahey · 2m Holy crap, Packers, where the heck is the list?
Zero2Cool (26-Aug) : haha folks on Tweeter every year this time ... 'where is list Packers!!" hahaha
wpr (26-Aug) : He played pretty good.
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