I believe this was mentioned during the telecast Sunday, but I recently read something about it as well and wanted to make sure to post something on it. Aaron Rodgers is the only QB in NFL history, yes, the only QB, to pass for 4000 yards in his first two seasons starting. That’s impressive. Sure, McCarthy’s pass-happy offense contributes to this, but so does Rodgers’ massive talent for completing lots of passes – and especially completing lots of passes of 20+ yards. It’s not surprising he made the Pro Bowl – we’ve got a really really good QB.
The more I watch Rodgers, the more I understand why TT and MM had such unwavering faith in the guy even before he’d started one NFL game. I credit them both for their talent assessment of Aaron Rodgers. I think it’s significant that there is almost a 100% chance Aaron Rodgers will finish this season with the highest QB rating from a Green Bay QB in the last 20+ years. (Not sure if it’s the highest in Packer history – anyone know the previous high rating?). Again, we have a really really good QB.
packergeeks 
December 31, 2009 at 9:04 am |
Rodgers has done all of this with a piss poor offensive line for the first 9 games of the season. I saw a stat on NFL channels ‘Playbook’ last night that showed the sack total for the first 9 games compared to the last 6. It was amazing. Rodgers was sacked ~41 times in the first 9 games and only ~9 times in the last 6 games.
If they can protect Rodgers against some pretty good playoff defensive fronts they could do some damage. Play calling and scheme design help but if the Packers want to win a few games in the playoffs they need to continue to pass protect.
In watching the Vikings the last four weeks I think their problems on offense come down to pass protection also. Their tackles have been exposed in their three loses in December. AZ was all over Favre and rushed four all night. Favre under duress had trouble throwing into 7 man coverage. Peppers dominated that game in Carolina. Chicago’s DE’s ate them up in the first half last week. I’m not sure that Chilly can adjust and I think that is why Favre is frustrated.
The Viking defense also plays a bunch better at home aided by the crowd noise and turf. Allen is a beast at home and just average on the road. Teams have also figured out if you chip Allen with a back/Te he disappears and he hasn’t adjusted to that tactic. Without a quick pass rush good QB’s can expose that below average secondary.
December 31, 2009 at 12:30 pm |
Watching the Neb-Az bowl game with some friends (who are not Packer fans) last night and when the subject of Rodgers came up it was pretty cool how respected he is already. In many ways Rodgers is the perfect fit for this system- strong arm, very accurate, mobile and doesn’t force the ball.
by the by, any way we can acquire Nebraska’s kicking game right now and get them on the roster before the playoffs? The placekicker drilled kicks of 47 and 50 in the 1st half and the punter routinely dropped balls inside the 10 all year . . . The reciever/returner Niles Paul would look good in green&gold too . . .
December 31, 2009 at 4:06 pm |
Ray, yep and throw in one of their lesser known D linemen.
Isn’t it great having Rodgers and his long career potential to look forward to instead of the alternative? A good off-season is predicated on getting two O linemen who can step into the starting mix quickly. Wells, Clifton and Taucsher are on the downward slope. Sitton is a possible successful RG and Lang maybe a RT. Free Agency and the draft priority should be O line. It was Clifton Wells and the addition of Tauscher that made the difference this year. But even wi9th the weak O line performance early, Rodgers had the Packers in every game.
December 31, 2009 at 8:08 pm |
As it stands, there are a few things we need to dress this off season either through the draft or free agency. We need to be smart, but we also need to make moves and not sit around.
First and foremost, we need to take a big approach to the Offensive Line. We have Sitton and Lang who I feel can do a fairly good job, but the others are aging or not at the level we need them. We must handle this issue as a priority and really make a big change.
Second thing to address is the Cornerbacks. Woodson is a lock of course, and hopefully he can still produce like this, and even if he loses abit in the next few years, he’s OUTSTANDING now, and would still be dominate. But Harris has back to back season ending injuries, and age is catching up. Still a good player, but we need to start bringing up someone to replace him. And currently while we still got Woodson and Harris, it also helps in teaching the rookies some great information. Regardless if we got in 2 CB’s that would be very useful if we can pull that off.l
Running back, as much as I hate to say, I think is ok. Grant kind of lost a step this year, but I think so would most backs playing with a line like ours. And he did get 1200 yards again this year. Lets give him a chance, to be healthy and play in behind a solid front, especially with Rodgers being so good.
QB is a lock for years, and Flynn might actually serve as a decent backup. He’s looking good, and hopefully continues to improve.
Def. Line, looks to be fairly good as well. Jolly looks good (hopefully his legal distractions don’t screw things up), Pickett, and Raji who will continue to improve. I think thats a solid group right there, obviously we could use a wrecking force but maybe wait a year to address more important issues.
Linebackers I like. To a point. Matthews is ridiculous and I’m looking forward to the next few years. Hawk’s slow, he bothers me, Barnett is kind of getting back to his old self, Brady Pop should just not play, Kampman, if he even returns, Brad Jones is someone who in the next few years may be really good. Also we still have Bishop. I’m rooting for Bishop. So I’m fairly content with Linebackers, and we should be able to get by a year, and than address it the following.
Safety Nick Collins is no issues. Bigby is manageable.
TE is excellent. Finley is a monster, I saw that when we drafted him. I also knew Jennings would be special when drafting him. It took Finley a year to get on track, and now it looks promising as he is looking like a beast.
WR are fine, Jennings, Driver, James Jones, Nelson are all reliable.
Special teams need to be addressed, and a dynamic returner would be great. We need to figure out who we can use for covering kicks though.
Kicking is an issue. Unless that 50 yarder Mason hit last week is the turning point to getting him back on track. Kapino’s is also a shaky bridge to walk on, and honestly I don’t feel too confident and can pretty much see myself falling in that huge lake.
So areas of needs or to look at: Oline, CB, K/P, Returner, help in special team coverage.
The following year (2011) should consist of the LB’s, D Line, Possibly RB, Possibly replace Bigby.
This looks like a manageable process that we could be able to do, and provide us with plenty of success in the upcoming seasons.
Thoughts?