You name a part of the Green Bay Packers offense and you’ve named something that isn’t working at the moment. Poor offensive line play, Rodgers missing open receivers, Lacy’s running woes, a lack of speed in the receiving corps, etc. It’s all been mentioned across the Packers blogosphere for the past month or so. One thing that hasn’t received quite as much attention, however, is how off the communication between Rodgers and his receivers seems to be.
In the clip below, I’ve highlighted 8 incompletions that (with perhaps one exception) are obviously attributable to quarterback and receiver just being on different pages.
Rodgers and receivers clearly not on the same page. pic.twitter.com/Kh0lYin8B3
— Taylor O'Neill (@TaylorONeill87) November 13, 2015
These sorts of plays happen once or maybe twice during a game, but 7 or 8 times is completely uncharacteristic for a McCarthy-led and Rodgers-run offense. What is even more baffling is that we’re looking at veteran receivers. Adams is in his second year, while James Jones and Randall Cobb have a combined 14 years of NFL experience, all but one of which has been in this offense.
Simply put, the offense can’t afford this many wasted plays, especially with rhythm and consistency coming at a premium. While there’s no way of telling what’s actually going on, like the entire offense, I’m sure that there are multiple factors. Rodgers certainly appears to be unsettled from the constant blitzkrieg he’s facing from opposing defensive lines. The receivers have had relatively few connections with Rodgers in-game, perhaps affecting their rapport with him.
Whatever the case may be, it’s up to Rodgers and McCarthy to keep everything together. The Lions should provide some alleviation for what ails this offense, but none of that will matter if the moving parts of the offense cannot fall in with one another and move the ball as a unit.
——————Taylor O\'Neill is a Packer fan born and raised in Oshkosh, WI. He currently lives in Florida and is pursuing his PhD. Taylor is a writer with PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @TaylorONeill87 for more Packer news.
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5 responses to “Rodgers and Receivers Not On the Same Page”
Completely on point. Almost all of those misses are the sorts of thing where the route has two options, and the decision for by WR is made based on the coverage. AR assumes the WR is going somewhere different than where he actually goes.
And have you noticed that even when the WR does get open, the throws are just a hair off? The WR has to reach back to get a ball he should be catching in stride, or the back-shoulder throw is not quite back-shoulder enough. Weird.
We probably should admit that our group angst is what comes from assuming that playing QB is as easy as Rodgers has always made it look. We have been terribly spoiled!
Maybe designed play action roll outs, the kind that Rodgers is famous for, could free up his receivers and open things down field? That was followed by a question mark because it seems to me that these days whenever Rodgers fakes the pitch and turns to roll out, there is always a tackle or linebacker in his face. This play always worked before, but have defenses figured it out? Maybe a few good plays where Aaron pitches the ball and carries out the fake, I mean really makes it look like he still has it, could be beneficial.
In an article that I wrote last week I actually talked about how the offense should start utilizing more PA roll outs, and, much to my surprise, they did! The pass to Ripkowski was one such play. Other than that, however, the plays didn’t amount to much, likely due to the lack of consistency in the run game.
In an article that I wrote last week I actually talked about how the offense should start utilizing more PA roll outs, and, much to my surprise, they did! The pass to Ripkowski was one such play. Other than that, however, the plays didn’t amount to much, likely due to the lack of consistency in the run game.
In an article that I wrote last week I actually talked about how the offense should start utilizing more PA roll outs, and, much to my surprise, they did! The pass to Ripkowski was one such play. Other than that, however, the plays didn’t amount to much, likely due to the lack of consistency in the run game.