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NFL insiders give their biggest points at Week 1, including Aaron Rodgers roller coaster and another day dominating for Tom Brady.
USA TODAY & # 39; HUI
Green Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) leaves the field after being injured by the Chicago Bears on Sunday, September 9, 2018 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Jim Matthews / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin(Photo: Jim Matthews / USA TODAY NETWORK-W)
GREEN BAY – Ten years ago, Aaron Rodgers sprained his shoulder. The Green Bay Packers have not made a decision all week, playing Sunday in Atlanta. He was a freshman starter, far from the global superstar he is now.
They made their decision until the end, asking Rodgers to throw balloons into the privacy of the Don Hutson Center before determining he could play.
There was one thing that coach Mike McCarthy decided that he absolutely would not do. With the Rodgers caring for this shoulder, the Packers were not going to throw deep. Just dink and dunk, superficial, easy passes to keep the offensive moving.
The only vertical pass McCarthy had on his call sheet that week, he said, was for a third and one. It might as well have not been there. McCarthy was determined not to call him.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Packers had third place.
By reflex, McCarthy sent the call on the field: "Fake 94 Bob X Read".
"As soon as I called him," McCarthy said Monday, "I thought," I was not supposed to call that. "
Rodgers then pulled back and sent out a 44-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver.
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This is the situation in which McCarthy has often been with Rodgers over the years. Last month, Packers coach asked reporters to write how Rodgers could not play beyond 40 points. Tell Rodgers that he can not accomplish anything, and he will almost certainly do it.
It has always been like that.
With Rodgers in the locker room on Sunday night to test his sprained left knee, McCarthy expected the Packers to finish their first game against the Chicago Bears with DeShone Kizer. Until, of course, he saw Rodgers out of the tunnel to start the second half.
The Packers are in a similar situation this week. Just like the year 2008, Rodgers' availability for Sunday's game against Minnesota could be very difficult. Do not be surprised if the quarterback of the two best players will play against the Vikings, as he did Sunday night.
"We always collect all the information, its specific situation," McCarthy said. "I know that Aaron wants to play, and is still trained to play, but that's all I have for the moment."
If Rodgers plays against the Vikings, his mobility will be significantly reduced. McCarthy has a long history to follow when designing his game plan for a rogue Rodgers. In the 2014 playoffs, a stretched right calf effectively limited Rodgers to a good game against the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks.
Veteran cornerback Tramon Williams said Rodgers' performance on Sunday night reminded him of the playoff series. Except, of course, Rodgers was trying to come back from a 20-point deficit at the Bears in the second half. The Bears built their lead with their defensive front striker Rodgers, sending him back twice in the first period. The offensive line maintained Rodgers' jersey in the second half.
Williams said it reminded him of how the offensive line rallied around Rodgers in the 2014 NFC championship game, holding a long-awaited one-seater Seahawks defense.
"The way they kept these guys out of Aaron," said Williams, "it was a total team effort, and I saw the same thing last night." It was as if everything was just changing when it happened … The game plan changed and everyone just went out and performed perfectly what he was supposed to do: prevent the guys from playing with Aaron.
Schematic adjustments can help the offensive line. Rodgers spent most of Sunday's first half keeping the ball, looking for the big win. Unable to extend the games for so long because of Rodgers' reduced mobility, the Packers opted for a quick attack.
In some ways, Rodgers' lack of mobility has made things easier for the offensive line. With the back to Rodgers, line players often have to guess where their quarterback will be. On Sunday, they knew Rodgers was in the pocket.
It also means that Rodgers does not have the same escape ability to escape the hunters when they are defeated.
"I think there is a double-edged sword," said David Bakhtiari. There are times when I really enjoy getting out of situations, feeling the haste and avoiding it, and then there are times when he avoids rushing into my block. Or he will run like a chicken with his head cut off.
"So I think it's good and bad at both ends."
Unlike 2014, Rodgers knee injury is in the left leg. This should help Rodgers to lead the football field because, as a right-handed quarterback, his right leg is the cause of lower body throwing power. Thanks to his good right leg, Rodgers managed to get a 39-yard pass to receiver Geronimo Allison, a ball he released from the 46-yard line to the opposite corner area.
Packers can also limit Rodgers' mobility. They place Rodgers in pistol and shotgun formations against the Bears, preventing him from falling back under the center. This will probably continue Sunday against the Vikings. As long as Rodgers will play for the foreseeable future, his mobility will be limited.
But Rodgers can still be effective in fast play.
"That's what the offense is about," said Bakhtiari. "We love the extensive games and all the miraculous things that he can do because he can do it anywhere on the field. No matter the situation or the fundamental flaw in which he finds himself, he can drop a penny wherever he wants.
"With (fast play), you have to keep the defense on your heels, and I think that's where the big games come from."
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