Numbers don't lie with Rodgers/PD

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RamBill

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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.”
 

Ramrasta

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We aren't going to phase him in coverage. We need to have the pass rush on him early and often.
 

RaminExile

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This is one game where I don't know if we can get away with playing some off coverage then swarming up to make the play because I don't know if you can rely on stopping Rodgers in the Red-zone and forcing them to kick field goals. Maybe we can - but he's still likely to score two TD's at some point in the game or Eddy Lacy will likely roll over for one.

We're going to have to score 25+ points to win I think.
 

Stel

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If we play off coverage and can't get to him quickly, he'll pick us apart.
 

RamBill

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
Can the Rams’ Defense Contain Aaron Rodgers?

Mike Florio and Rodney Harrison examine the Week 5 Rams-Packers matchup, discussing what St. Louis will have to do on defense to put the clamps on a surging Aaron Rodgers.

Watch Florio/Harrison Talk Rams D vs. Rodgers
 

LACHAMP46

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meh....he threw a pick in his last game....only it was dropped....sorta like Foles int record a few years ago...I saw several dropped picks....

we'll have our chances...in fact, Tru has dropped so many picks this year, I expect him to catch one or two on Sunday....their wrs are wounded....
 

jap

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I want to see how Jenks plays this game. He was schooled badly by Aaron last time they played. this is one QB you can't get careless with while gambling. He has to carry that gambling to the high end of savvy play if he does it at all. The Mob Squad needs harass Aaron all game long and disrupt his rhythm.

Does the Gurley Express! remove the harness on his knee, thus allowing him to raise his speed by a few Warp levels? Is Quickie ready to at least begin rock & rolling again in a huge inter conference battle? Is Tavon ready to extend his play against a high scoring team?---we might need all the scoring help he can muster with good team blocking. The Horns need to control the game with TGII's running mixed in with judicious passing from Nick. We need long, clock-killing drives that terminates in TD's.
 

F. Mulder

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Besides the many attributes he has, one of the things I've seen from AR too may times is that he is comfortable moving out of a broken pocket and still looking at making a big play. He knows at worst he can pull it down and get some yards or throw it away if there's nothing, but usually by that point the entire play has broken down and some WR is running deep and he likes to go that route. I'd rather he pull it down and run for 15 than have Jenkins or some other DB lose their responsibility and come up with a huge TD or big gainer.
 

rking4441

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I agree with Mike Florio that is the Rams can get Todd Gurley going they might look up in the 3rd Quarter and say we can steal this one. He also pointed out how much trouble the Pack has against AP. Now I know Gurley isn't AP, but he has all the characteristics that could make him the deciding factor in this game. I am really looking forward to to this game since it might be the indicator of where the teams mind/mentality is and where the team might be headed in the future.
 

-X-

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Athos

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Do you press and blitz him all day long? Or back off?

Rodgers could have a 100% completion day if we play soft.

Only way to win is picking him off or having 5+ minute drives that always end in pts.
 

Rabid Ram

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2 things to remember

1. Rodgers is human
2 streaks come to and end.

This will be a challenge yes impossible no