What does it mean to play defense against Aaron Rodgers? & # 39; No. 12 is a different species.

The worst thing in the game against Aaron Rodgers is fear. Opponents are forever wondering how the quarterback Green Packers will beat them this time. Will it be a fleeing pass? A lob on the line of the linebacker? A Hail Mary raised up in the sky?

Redskins linebacker Mason Foster has a story. In 2011, his Tampa Bay Buccaneers went to Green Bay to face the Packers, who were 10-0 at the time. For three quarters, the Bucs held on, followed only 21-19. They thought that they could win.

"Then on a reader, [Rodgers] "I've just taken something into consideration, set the pace and go crazy for the rest of the game," Foster said. field on us. "

Tampa Bay lost 35-26.

But here's the thing about this game: Foster remembers the Bucs got up 21-0 when Rodgers tore them up. In fact, he is sure of it.

But who can blame Foster for thinking that Rodgers led the Packers with three touchdowns that day? Rodgers has led so many returns and crushed so many dreams that they have become part of the memories of his opponents, making players believe that this has also happened to them. Two weeks ago, he was struck by a knee injury caused by a knee injury that forced him to go to the locker room before falling back into the second half with Green Bay and leading the Packers to 24. -23 victory. It was the 13th fourth quarter of his career.

On Sunday, the Redskins will face Rodgers and the Packers at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. For a team that lost last week after giving the Colts and quarterback Andrew Luck three touchdown passes of 75 yards, the idea of ​​playing Rodgers can not be good.

"There are so many things that have not been written," said former Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, now an analyst for the NFL on CBS.

There is no real way to prepare for Rodgers. Meticulously designed schemes become useless because he ends up understanding them. Before each slam, he stands behind his line, scanning the defense for clues as to what might happen. Those who play against him have learned to reveal nothing of their intention, disguising formations as long as they could, all in the desperate hope of deceiving him.

"If you show in the beginning that you're coming with the blitz, you're dead," said former Redskins linebacker, London Fletcher, who, like Arians, is an analyst for the NFL on CBS.

Even if Rodgers does not recognize the defense, he can beat her with his voice. Opposing players say his pace is impossible to judge. He might not wave his arms or shout "Omaha!" like Peyton Manning, but small jerks of the head and strange vocal inflections are impossible to interpret.

Because most participants agree that the best way to beat Rodgers is to send an aggressive pass in the middle of the field, big defenders and defensive linemen are particularly eager to jump. Rodgers plays their impatience, changing the sound of his voice with what appears to be every snap. Decrypting his difficult account is almost impossible. Sooner or later, someone will jump.

"He'll go" huthut! "And it's" oh, shoot, "said Fletcher laughing.

According to Fletcher, the best thing to do is to keep coming and be absolutely sure to tackle it. There is nothing that a quarter of the Packers likes to do more than attract offensive defenses, draw a penalty and essentially win a free game. Almost always, he will throw in depth, realizing that there is no loss to target the goal area. If he completes the pass, Green Bay may refuse the penalty. If it is incomplete or intercepted, Packers can take the call and keep moving forward.

"He has all the tips in the book," says Foster.

Once the ball is broken, we do not know what Rodgers could do. Arians says that even if Rodgers is not a runner, teams must treat as one because he is so elusive inside and out of the pocket. Players like this are particularly difficult to challenge because they interfere with the rushes, making it harder to hit bags or force quarterbacks to launch frenzied launches.

There was a lot of talk this week about Rodgers' injured knee, leading many commentators and Redskins fans to believe that the FedEx Field quarterback will be somewhat diminished, unable to move and vulnerable to the Washington rush. . Rodgers himself fueled some of this speculation by wearing a huge pair of knees last Sunday against Minnesota and openly fearing that knee play could aggravate the injury.

Fletcher mocks the idea of ​​a hindered Rodgers, saying, "I've played on several MCL sprains, the knee has softened as the game continues. He can just play with film and get well. "

Considering the 281-yard Rodgers pitched Sunday against the Vikings, while moving in robotics around the field, Fletcher is probably right. There is no reduced Rodgers. Not as long as he is able to launch.

"A cannon," is what Washington D.J. Swearinger calls the Rodgers arm.

In the end, the teams probably fear more than anyone the ability to throw Rodgers. Coaches like to talk about quarterbacks "doing all the throws", as being able to complete passes at all levels of the field. Most NFL shifts can "do all the throws" to a certain level, usually excelling in some of those passes.

Rodgers, those who played against him marvel, can do all the throws.

Really. Each throw

"The big thing is that it makes them accurately," says Arians.

"He's hugging him," Foster said.

"That he's on the run or that he's backing up or that he's throwing it on the ground, making it short. That does not matter," Swearinger said while shaking the head. "He's always accurate."

Fletcher sighs. "No one else can do these throws," he says.

And yet, it is not only that Rodgers can do all the throws, it is that he throws his passes very hard. Very difficult.

"You just see, it's a bullet faster than anyone else," Swearinger says.

Fletcher has a Rodgers pass in the lead, he has seen the quarterback make in a game against the Redskins years ago. Avoiding a rush, Rodgers turned to his left and ran towards the sideline. Then, while continuing to run, he pulled a pass into the receiver 's arms at a speed that still forces Fletcher to understand the physics of such a throw.

"Think about it, he's right-handed and he runs to his left," says Fletcher. "It's hard to do because you run and you have to turn your shoulders to throw it, but he does not turn his shoulders, he throws it."

One would think that if Rodgers throws harder than any other quarterback in football running from one side to the other or back, his passes would be hard to grasp. But his 65% completion percentage is the seventh best in NFL history and his 103.9 ranking is the best of all, according to the Pro Football Reference statistics site.

"The passes of some guys are like stones," says Arians. "Some are like marshmallows, he throws marshmallows, but with a lot of speed."

"It's a zip, but it's still a spiral," Swearinger says.

So, just in case Rodgers would not have won by deciphering the defense, or by shooting the defenders' passes, or throwing quick marshmallows in his receiver's hands, he has a final trick: The Hail Mary. Three times in the last three years, Rodgers has won or played in a long desperate uprising. Swearinger, who suffered a second win in the 2016 playoff game against the Swearinger Cardinals, who won the overtime win, says Rodgers' ability to get Hail Marys to work throws the ball more higher than any other quarter, allowing his receivers and tight ends to jump for the ball.

Arians, who was Swearinger's coach that day, has another explanation.

"Chance," he says.

"But I'll tell you what," said Swearinger, standing in the Redskins locker room Wednesday afternoon, "I'll tackle this as if it was one of the biggest games of my career. the best the best quarterbacks in football, and you have to approach it like a Super Bowl. "

Two Swearinger teammates laugh as he says. Swearinger does not laugh. This is Aaron Rodgers. "No. 12", as he likes to say.

"There is only one," says Swearinger. "No. 12 is a different species."

Which is enough for anyone who fears to play against.