World’s Best Preview: Sacks Show Rodgers’ Increasing Comfort
For years, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the NFL’s ultimate creator. His ability to move around the pocket and throw darts to any quadrant of the field, coupled with a superior core of receivers, made Rodgers a two-time MVP and Mike McCarthy one of the most successful coaches of the era. The scramble play was arguably the best play in the NFL because, eventually, one of the receivers would get open and Rodgers would deliver the strike.
As the talent at receiver began to erode, Green Bay’s offense began to unravel and Rodgers lost some of his mythic brilliance. Last year, the quarterback with the highest passer rating in NFL history finished just 13th in that category, McCarthy lost his job and the Packers finished out of the playoffs again with a 6-9-1 record.
Enter Matt LaFleur as coach. The Packers’ receiver corps isn’t any better than it was last year – in fact, due to injuries, it will be far worse on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders – but Green Bay is 5-1 and Rodgers is rounding into form as he gains comfort in a scheme that is centered on him but not wholly dependent upon him.
One area where Rodgers’ comfort can be measured is sacks. In Monday night’s come-from-behind victory over Detroit, he was sacked only once. For the first time since Rodgers took over as quarterback in 2008, the Packers have allowed two or fewer sacks in five consecutive games. Since allowing five sacks in Week 1 at Chicago, the Packers have given up just six sacks the past five weeks.
“I think the scheme has definitely allowed for some quick answers,” Rodgers said.
LaFleur deflected the credit, choosing to salute the players rather than the playbook. First, as Rodgers did, he spread the praise around to the offensive line. “Adam Stenavich does a really good with those guys.” Then, he credited the receivers for “getting open within the timing of the play.” Next, he praised Rodgers for his ability to “manipulate the pocket” and avoid sacks when there are breakdowns in protection or routes.
“I think he just has a great feel,” LaFleur said. “He sees it when it’s there and he knows when it’s not there that he’s trying to create and extend the play. I think that’s more of a credit to him and his ability.”
The comparisons to McCarthy are obvious – it’s the point of this story, after all – but LaFleur had no interest in comparing his scheme to that of his predecessor.
“Yeah, I’m not going there with that,” LaFleur said. “I don’t know. I didn’t have an intricate knowledge base of what they were asking him to do in the past. I’m not going to go down that road.”
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said the quarterback playing in rhythm is part of the “foundation” of the offensive system. The idea was to merge those desires while allowing Rodgers to “put his spin” on the offense with his uncanny ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing.
There were times early in the season when Rodgers’ spin on things had the offense spinning its wheels. After playing one way for years, it’s no surprise that there were some awkward moments. However, as the season has progressed, it appears Rodgers has found comfort in the middle ground. In the last three games, Rodgers had 11 throwaways and would have completed 63.8 percent of his passes had there not been any drops. In the last three games, Rodgers had seven throwaways and a drop-free completion rate of 69.8 percent. Scoring is up from 58 points to 84, and first downs are up from 49 to 77.
“I think he’s getting more comfortable,” Hackett said. “I think any time you’ve been in any system for as long as he has and now to go and speak a play with conviction, it’s not an easy thing to do, especially as a quarterback. And I think he’s done a really good job and he really prides himself on understanding it and being able to communicate it to the guys. As that becomes more natural, now he can start playing and seeing and living those plays. I think that’s what we’re seeing.”
That increasing comfort level has been noticed by the guys charged with keeping his jersey clean.
“I feel like he’s getting into a rhythm,” right tackle Bryan Bulaga said. “From Week 1 to now, I feel like he’s slowly but surely settling into everything. And, from a protection standpoint, we’re starting to understand where he’s going to be. Whether that’s play-action, dropback, we have a good idea. He’s still going to do what he does. He’s going to freelance and move around as he sees fit but he’s finding a good rhythm right now.”
From 2012 through 2018, Rodgers was sacked 252 times – the third-most in the league even while missing big chunks of the 2013 and 2017 seasons with broken collarbones. Last season, Rodgers was sacked 49 times and Green Bay finished 22nd in the NFL with a sack rate allowed of 8.28 percent. Through Week 6, that number is down to an 11th-ranked 5.02 percent. That’s the lowest of the Rodgers era; the only times it was less than 6 percent were the 2014 and 2016 seasons – both of which ended in NFC Championship Game appearances.
“Sacks can be attributed to multiple things,” Bulaga said. “You can’t just blame the quarterback, you can’t just blame the offensive line. Now, one holds the ball, one protects the guy that holds the ball – I understand that – but there’s more that goes into sacks besides a guy getting beat. If you look at it as a whole, the run game’s working really well. I feel like Aaron is finding his reads and getting rid of the football. He’s still going to have his times where he holds the ball and he make something happen. Hey, man, it is what it is. You have to understand that that’s the way it’s going to be. And I think we’re playing pretty decent football up front. I think we’re doing a lot of good things but there’s a lot of things we can clean up in protection.”
That’s the encouraging sign heading into Sunday. Rodgers appears to be playing more at ease, the protection has been excellent and the running game has churned out 290 yards the last two weeks. Does that mean, for all the talk during the offseason and training camp about how long it would take each position group to get comfortable with the schematic changes, that the offense has found a comfort level and chemistry?
“I hope so,” said center Corey Linsley, who took the blame for the only sack allowed last week. “You know, it’s a one-week season. I feel like our trajectory is definitely up and I feel like we’re starting to click. Last week, there was still a lot that we could have done better. Guys played their butts off. We had some drops but, overall, I think our trajectory is good. Now, it’s on us to keep it going. Obviously, since we’re doing things well in areas, teams are going to prep for those areas, so it’s our job to keep those areas up and then we have to be great at [the other areas], too.”
