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Mike Roemer / Associated press
Aaron Rodgers’ eventual return to MVP form has never been in doubt.
OK, perhaps a morbid curiosity to watch the eventual decline of an all-time great after a drama-filled offseason became more than a passing thought after the Green Bay Packers fell flat on their collective faces. in a Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Rodgers put everything in perspective after one of the worst games of the quarterback’s career.
“If we start to panic after a week,” Rodgers told reporters Thursday, “we’re in big trouble.”
The first half of Monday’s game against the Detroit Lions must have made the Packers loyalists feel terribly nervous. Rival Green Bay held a 17-14 lead going into the break only to see Rodgers and Co. roar with the force of a jet taking off the tarmac en route to a 35-17 victory at Lambeau Field.
The problem with the Week 1 loss was the Packers’ poor performance. Unexpected loss is one thing. A punch to the hands of a team in transition–who laid an egg the following weekend– caused a ruckus outside the organization.
Did Rodgers still want to play? Did the quarterback already have a foot out of the door? Will the Packers take a significant step back this fall after two straight appearances in the NFC championship?
To be fair, Rodgers’ performance caused consternation. After missing out on all organized team activities and mandatory minicamps and not playing in the preseason, the 37-year-old signalman seemed almost disinterested. In fact, Rodgers came in dead last with a completion percentage of 53.6 after the sample size of one game. His passes lacked the sharpness and placement that have become synonymous with his career.
Insert the Michael Jordan meme: “And I took it personally.”
A different version of Rodgers appeared for Monday night football. The return of professional football’s first sniper has come to play. Two throws meant that Rodgers’ ring rust had been shaken off and he was back to peak efficiency.
Third and 12th in the Packers’ first practice in the second half, Rodgers threw a perfect 50-yard bomb at wide receiver Davante Adams.
While these types of passes are often referred to as bucket drops, this particular throw could have been dropped into a Dixie cup. Don’t overlook the fact that Rodgers didn’t even have his feet in the right place.
“What makes him different from anyone else would probably be that he’s a bit like quarterback Steph Curry,” Adams explained last week, according to CBS Sports. Jordan Dajani. “It’s like ‘one-timeness’, as I like to call it, where you have an opportunity to make that throw work. It’s not a ‘plant your feet perfectly and throw’, it’s a place. strange and you have to make it happen. ”
Two plays later, the quarterback gave another incredible pass to tight end Robert Tonyan for 22 yards.
Rodgers’ touch on the previous through pass was magnificent. His laser-like precision on the touchdown throw is the type of throw that very few professional quarterbacks would even attempt, much less complete.
No window existed. Rodgers saw the linebacker with his back turned to him with safety playing half a field behind the road. The quarterback could have taken the pass below wide open. Instead, Rodgers made the perfect shot.
The nine-time Pro Bowl selection completed 22 of 27 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns. In doing so, Rodgers passed John Elway for 10th all-time overall in passing distance. In fact, the Packers quarterback didn’t throw an incomplete pass on second or third before the 3:21 mark of the fourth quarter. He was particularly effective in the short passing game. According to Next Generation NFL Stats, Rodgers completed 14 of 15 passes with three touchdowns when he released the ball in under 2.5 seconds.
As Pro Football Focus’ Steve palazzolo Noted, the three-time MVP has enjoyed four games scoring 50 or less since the start of the 2016 campaign. He responded with a four touchdown performance the following week. Everytime.
The performance was not perfect, as Rodgers himself said.
“I missed Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) a few times when I had him,” the quarterback told reporters.
Even the best will miss a few and make mistakes. Football is not a game of perfection. Winning is built around making the plays necessary to place the whole team in the best possible position.
The Packers entered this season as so-called Super Bowl contenders. These longings aroused after tripping out of the door.
“I think we tried to show that we care a little more tonight,” Rodgers noted.
Matt Ludtke / Associated press
Some problems are still present. Defense can’t generate much– really doesn’t matter-pass rush without Za’Darius Smith in the field. Smith, who currently suffers from back pain, is however expected to return in a few weeks after a stint in the short-term injured reserve. Without a consistent passing rush, unnamed defensive backs Jaire Alexander can and will be exposed when asked to cover for extended periods.
A few silver linings also seem to emerge. Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb three times for 26 yards to extend the veteran’s use after just one catch in Week 1. Eventually, All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari will return to the lineup after s’ be recovering from the ripped ACL of last season.
At 1-1, Green Bay is clearly the favorite of the NFC North since the situation of the quarterback of the Chicago Bears remains confused. As long as Rodgers’ Monday performance continues into the coming weeks, the Packers should be able to follow or outrun any other team in the conference. After all, Matt LaFleur’s team dominated the NFL in scorers last season.
A particularly poor performance makes opponents stand out, especially those who sided with the Packers’ organization instead of his quarterback.
“People like to say a lot of b —— t, and it’s nice to come back here after a game like this,” Rodgers told reporters after Monday’s game.
He added, “It’s nice to have a performance like this and get rid of the trolls for a week.”
Maybe when Rodgers says relax everyone should listen.
Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.
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