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.

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.

——————