World’s Best Preview: Backs Catching On To LaFleur’s Scheme
On Sunday against Oakland, Aaron Rodgers did something he hadn’t done in his entire career.
No, we’re not talking about his 158.3 passer rating. Instead, it was the first time he had three completions of 20-plus yards to running backs.
Under coach Matt LaFleur, the running backs have become a bigger part of the Green Bay Packers’ passing attack than they’ve been at any point in Rodgers’ tenure. Entering this week’s games, the Packers were fourth in the league in running back receptions (50), fourth in yards (411) and second in touchdowns (four). On Sunday, Rodgers overcame a beat-up receiver corps to post a max passer rating due in part to going 10-of-11 for 102 yards and two touchdowns on passes to running backs. Fullback Danny Vitale had catches of 22 and 21 yards, running back Aaron Jones had a 21-yard touchdown and Jamaal Williams had his third receiving touchdown of the season.
“I think it’s trending around the league, some of the stuff that you’ve seen us hit to Aaron,” Rodgers said this week. “It’s stressing matchups. If teams want to play match coverage or man coverage, we like the matchup whether it’s Jonesy, Vitale or Jamaal. They’re all very talented guys out of the backfield. You saw the different abilities that they each have on Sunday.”
Only once in the Rodgers era had the Packers even had two catches of 20-plus yards from their backs. James Starks had two against Carolina in 2015 and Ty Montgomery had two against Atlanta in 2017 with Matt Flynn at quarterback. Never had the Packers had three catches from their backs, nor had they had 20-yard receptions from two backs.
Throughout Mike McCarthy’s tenure as coach, the running backs mostly were mostly checkdown and screen options. Few and far between were plays like Williams’ 30-yard touchdown at Pittsburgh with Brett Hundley at quarterback in 2017. Under LaFleur, the backs have become viable threats.
Here are four noteworthy plays from this season.
Week 3: Rodgers to Vitale for 29 yards vs. Denver
The Packers lined up in an I formation. To Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell, it looked like a power run to Jones with Vitale as the lead blocker. Instead, Vitale ran past Jewell, Jewell tried a desperation grab and Rodgers hit Vitale for a big play that was almost a touchdown.
“That was one of the wrinkles we put in,” Vitale said. “We had similar plays the last couple weeks and had been setting it up and finally got a chance to run it.”
One of the keys to the play was tight end Marcedes Lewis and receiver Allen Lazard, of all people, stopping the Broncos’ star pass rusher, Von Miller.
“That might have been the first official time” as a pass blocker, Lazard said. “There might have been a time or two before but that’s the one I’ll remember.” He gave his effort a 10 out of 10. “Well, 9.9, because Danny’s got to score on that.”
Week 6: Rodgers near-miss touchdown to Jones
The jet-sweep action to receiver Darrius Shepherd allowed Jones to get inside of the linebacker. From there, he turned on the jets for what should have been a 33-yard touchdown.
“I think anytime you have a lot of the sweep motions that you’re seeing that are showing up across the league, there’s just a lot of change the defense has to do,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “It’s a lot of communication that they have to do quickly. You’re overloading zones and they have to push through things and, at the same time, fit the runs. It just causes a little distress on them. Sometimes you get a guy to slip open like that. I think that’s why you see so much of the misdirections and motions because you’re trying to confuse the defense as much as possible.”
Week 7: Rodgers to Jones for a 21-yard touchdown vs. Oakland
There was nothing fancy schematically on this one. Jones simply ran past the flat-footed Oakland linebacker.
“I would say simply that the expectation is usually for a route that doesn’t go past 5 yards,” Rodgers said. “I think most linebacker are expecting an in-cut, an out-cut or a stop on those type of routes. So, they’re really playing low shoulder after about 5 yards. And we’ve been able to get on top.”
As soon as the ball was thrown, tight end Jimmy Graham signaled touchdown.
“I saw where the linebacker was playing me and I knew if I kept a distance away from him and not allow him to get his hands on me, I’d be in decent shape,” Jones said. “I saw him pause his feet and I knew I was going to run right by him.”
From there, Jones made a nice adjustment on the ball for the score and some redemption following his drop vs. Detroit.
“It was a tough one – definitely a tough one,” Jones said. “It was definitely a special play. I made the tougher one. Definitely made the tougher one.”
What was special about it?
“It’s a breath of fresh air. ‘Hey, I can catch.’ Everybody makes mistakes. I feel like it shows what kind of person you are after you make a mistake and how you respond from it.”
Week 7: Rodgers to Vitale for 22 yards vs. Oakland
As was the case against Denver, the Packers lined up in an I formation for what appeared to be a downhill run. Instead, Vitale ran right past the blitzing safety and was wide open. This play shows why it’s important to run the football.
“It’s the way the defense has been trying to play us by trying to stop the run and stacking the box,” Jones said. “We sell the run and they bite up – and they’re already up in the box, so they bite up even more, so there’s nobody behind them. The safety steps up when he sees Danny and thinks Danny’s going to block and he just slips right behind them. It’s a thing of beauty.”
The catch was an easy one for Vitale, who caught 135 passes at Northwestern. The key was Jones’ block of the blitzer.
“As soon as I saw him coming, I ran right by him,” Vitale said. “I knew that’s where Aaron is typically going to go with the ball. Aaron Jones did a great job on pass protection on that one, which kind of goes unnoticed until you go back and look at the film. If he doesn’t get that block, that play doesn’t happen.”
On Sunday night against Kansas City, the Packers will face a Chiefs team that also likes to throw the ball to running backs. They’re seventh in the league with 43 receptions, including five plays of 20-plus yards.
If star receiver Davante Adams is out again, the running backs once again could take center stage in Green Bay’s passing game. Green Bay is on pace to get 114 receptions from its backfield. It hasn’t even had 90 since 2006, when it had 113.
“It starts with the preparation,” Rodgers said. “I know I’ve highlighted (position coach) Ben Sirmans before but I think Ben does a great job of getting those guys ready to play, and they are dialed in from a preparation standpoint. I think that frees them up to play loose and confident and very reactive.”
Team Running Back Receptions (Through Week 7)
L.A. Chargers: 69-581-6
New England: 68-567-2
New Orleans: 51-401-1
Green Bay: 50-411-4
Denver: 47-350-0
Chicago: 46-249-1
Kansas City: 43-386-2
Atlanta: 42-314-3
Arizona: 40-415-4
Pittsburgh: 40-327-2
Washington: 39-359-0
Carolina: 37-311-2
Seattle: 35-269-2
N.Y. Jets: 35-207-1
Miami: 34-261-0
Minnesota: 33-256-1
Dallas: 33-203-0
Indianapolis: 32-208-0
Detroit: 31-266-1
Cleveland: 31-257-0
Cincinnati: 31-211-2
Jacksonville: 30-217-1
Philadelphia: 30-309-2
San Francisco: 29-268-2
N.Y. Giants: 28-171-1
Tampa Bay: 27-257-0
Buffalo: 26-215-0
Oakland: 26-192-0
Baltimore: 22-144-0
Tennessee: 21-181-1
Houston: 19-149-1
L.A. Rams: 18-108-1
Packers RB Receptions (Rodgers Era)
2019 (projection): 114-939-9
2018: 72-601-1
2017: 68-499-3
2016: 80-571-3
2015: 70-654-5
2014: 65-601-4
2013: 62-457-1
2012: 54-452-0
2011: 74-636-3
2010: 67-519-3
2009: 65-513-3
2008: 65-414-4
