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Numbers don't lie with Rodgers
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6e07daa8-9d70-537e-bb63-16503ba55e12.html
The numbers for Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field are so phenomenal, they defy imagination. Over his last 19 games at home, the Green Bay quarterback has gone 580 passing attempts without throwing an interception.
Not 80. Not 180. We’re talking five hundred eighty. In that span, Rodgers has thrown 48 touchdown passes.
With his mobility, vision, and creativity, he’s anything but a robot. But he plays with robotic-like efficiency. The guy never makes mistakes.
“He doesn’t,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He throws the ball away. And that’s the thing about him. If he gets himself in a third down situation he doesn’t like, he just sails the ball out of bounds and knows he’s going to get another series.’
Rodgers is accurate, decisive, and crafty. If the Rams play their usual off-coverage at cornerback, he’ll be more than happy to pick them apart underneath. That’s the slow death. If they change strategy and get over-aggressive on receivers, his cannon arm will throw it over their heads. That’s the sudden death.
He has one of the best hard-counts in the business, and when he’s draws you offside, he’s not content just to get the five-yard penalty. He’ll try to make you pay by going deep on what amounts to a free play.
If you’re slow getting personnel on and off the field against the Packers’ no-huddle, he’ll get the play off quickly to take advantage.
“What a phenomenal challenge,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “It’s a lot more fun when you play a rookie quarterback and you know the coach is telling him to do this no matter what, and you trick him, and then you steal one from him. You ain’t stealing one from Aaron Rodgers.”
Rodgers caps a daunting trifecta of elite quarterbacks the Rams have faced back-to-back-to-back. First came Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, then Arizona’s Carson Palmer, now Rodgers. Between them, they have nine Pro Bowls and three Super Bowl titles. This season, all three have passer ratings in excess of 100. But there’s no doubt at Rams Park that Rodgers is king of the hill.
“He’s the best in the biz because he is mobile,” Laurinaitis said. “He can run. People kind of sleep on how athletic he is.”
“Guys like him don’t come around too often,” defensive end William Hayes said. “He’s what Peyton Manning used to be. He’s the best right now in the league.”
Such high praise is telling, because NFL players frequently are hesitant to rate players who play the same position. It speaks volumes about the respect the Rams have for Rodgers.
“He definitely gets that engine going,” safety T.J. McDonald said. “He’s a heckuva player. You know he’s a good player, but when you watch the film it just reinforces it that much more.”
“I think the plays that he makes with his feet go unnoticed sometimes and he’s able to throw his receivers open and makes their life a lot easier. . . .All he needs is small window and he can fit it in there.”
Entering Sunday, Rodgers leads the NFL in passer rating (125.9), having thrown 11 touchdowns and no interceptions, with a 72.4 completion percentage.
Rodgers has posted a 100-plus passer rating in 10 consecutive home games, tying an NFL record set by Kurt Warner in 1999-2000. The Rams will be hard-pressed to keep Rodgers from the record.
Obviously, the Rams will try to get after him with one of the league’s best pass rushes. Their 17 sacks are tied for second in the league (with Green Bay), and just one off the pace of league-leading Denver. But getting Rodgers to the ground is easier said than done.
“It’s hard to get your hands on him,” Hayes said. “He’s always got his eyes downfield. You think you’ve got a sack on him and he just knows how to step up in the pocket real well, and he can run.”
Merely staying in your rush lanes and maintaining outside containment, like you might do against a Russell Wilson of Seattle, isn’t always good enough against Rodgers.
“He’s different from Russell from a standpoint that he’s just a little bit taller,” Fisher said. “(Rodgers) can see. So if you keep him in the pocket, he’s gonna hurt you in the pocket. At times, Russell will lose track of what’s going on down the field and take off.”
So the Rams will try to mix coverages and looks up front. Rest assured, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will draw up his share of blitzes. And the Rams must challenge Green Bay receivers as much as possible.
The Rams have thought of everything this week in preparing, with Fisher even blowing an air horn near the line off scrimmage in practice Wednesday in an effort to induce the Rams’ defensive front into jumping offside.
When the teams last met in the regular season, in 2012 in St. Louis, the Rams were penalized three times for either being offside or in the neutral zone. The Rams still have 10 defensive players, including six starters, who played in a 30-20 Packers victory.
“This is probably gonna be one of those weeks where you can’t really focus on ‘get-off’ as much because he’s definitely the best in the league when it comes to drawing you offsides,” Hayes said.
To emphasize the point, Fisher even blew the air horn in defensive meetings Wednesday morning, startling some players — Hayes included.
“We were in there looking at film, and he brings the air horn in,” Hayes said. “I jumped up then. That might not be a good sign for me. I guess that was a sign telling me I need to be a little bit more disciplined.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6e07daa8-9d70-537e-bb63-16503ba55e12.html
The numbers for Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field are so phenomenal, they defy imagination. Over his last 19 games at home, the Green Bay quarterback has gone 580 passing attempts without throwing an interception.
Not 80. Not 180. We’re talking five hundred eighty. In that span, Rodgers has thrown 48 touchdown passes.
With his mobility, vision, and creativity, he’s anything but a robot. But he plays with robotic-like efficiency. The guy never makes mistakes.
“He doesn’t,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He throws the ball away. And that’s the thing about him. If he gets himself in a third down situation he doesn’t like, he just sails the ball out of bounds and knows he’s going to get another series.’
Rodgers is accurate, decisive, and crafty. If the Rams play their usual off-coverage at cornerback, he’ll be more than happy to pick them apart underneath. That’s the slow death. If they change strategy and get over-aggressive on receivers, his cannon arm will throw it over their heads. That’s the sudden death.
He has one of the best hard-counts in the business, and when he’s draws you offside, he’s not content just to get the five-yard penalty. He’ll try to make you pay by going deep on what amounts to a free play.
If you’re slow getting personnel on and off the field against the Packers’ no-huddle, he’ll get the play off quickly to take advantage.
“What a phenomenal challenge,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “It’s a lot more fun when you play a rookie quarterback and you know the coach is telling him to do this no matter what, and you trick him, and then you steal one from him. You ain’t stealing one from Aaron Rodgers.”
Rodgers caps a daunting trifecta of elite quarterbacks the Rams have faced back-to-back-to-back. First came Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, then Arizona’s Carson Palmer, now Rodgers. Between them, they have nine Pro Bowls and three Super Bowl titles. This season, all three have passer ratings in excess of 100. But there’s no doubt at Rams Park that Rodgers is king of the hill.
“He’s the best in the biz because he is mobile,” Laurinaitis said. “He can run. People kind of sleep on how athletic he is.”
“Guys like him don’t come around too often,” defensive end William Hayes said. “He’s what Peyton Manning used to be. He’s the best right now in the league.”
Such high praise is telling, because NFL players frequently are hesitant to rate players who play the same position. It speaks volumes about the respect the Rams have for Rodgers.
“He definitely gets that engine going,” safety T.J. McDonald said. “He’s a heckuva player. You know he’s a good player, but when you watch the film it just reinforces it that much more.”
“I think the plays that he makes with his feet go unnoticed sometimes and he’s able to throw his receivers open and makes their life a lot easier. . . .All he needs is small window and he can fit it in there.”
Entering Sunday, Rodgers leads the NFL in passer rating (125.9), having thrown 11 touchdowns and no interceptions, with a 72.4 completion percentage.
Rodgers has posted a 100-plus passer rating in 10 consecutive home games, tying an NFL record set by Kurt Warner in 1999-2000. The Rams will be hard-pressed to keep Rodgers from the record.
Obviously, the Rams will try to get after him with one of the league’s best pass rushes. Their 17 sacks are tied for second in the league (with Green Bay), and just one off the pace of league-leading Denver. But getting Rodgers to the ground is easier said than done.
“It’s hard to get your hands on him,” Hayes said. “He’s always got his eyes downfield. You think you’ve got a sack on him and he just knows how to step up in the pocket real well, and he can run.”
Merely staying in your rush lanes and maintaining outside containment, like you might do against a Russell Wilson of Seattle, isn’t always good enough against Rodgers.
“He’s different from Russell from a standpoint that he’s just a little bit taller,” Fisher said. “(Rodgers) can see. So if you keep him in the pocket, he’s gonna hurt you in the pocket. At times, Russell will lose track of what’s going on down the field and take off.”
So the Rams will try to mix coverages and looks up front. Rest assured, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will draw up his share of blitzes. And the Rams must challenge Green Bay receivers as much as possible.
The Rams have thought of everything this week in preparing, with Fisher even blowing an air horn near the line off scrimmage in practice Wednesday in an effort to induce the Rams’ defensive front into jumping offside.
When the teams last met in the regular season, in 2012 in St. Louis, the Rams were penalized three times for either being offside or in the neutral zone. The Rams still have 10 defensive players, including six starters, who played in a 30-20 Packers victory.
“This is probably gonna be one of those weeks where you can’t really focus on ‘get-off’ as much because he’s definitely the best in the league when it comes to drawing you offsides,” Hayes said.
To emphasize the point, Fisher even blew the air horn in defensive meetings Wednesday morning, startling some players — Hayes included.
“We were in there looking at film, and he brings the air horn in,” Hayes said. “I jumped up then. That might not be a good sign for me. I guess that was a sign telling me I need to be a little bit more disciplined.”
