Aaron, Please, Hit the Checkdown

Aaron Rodgers has yet to learn one extremely valuable lesson.

I know everyone was very excited by the play shown here (at the 0:25 mark) where Rodgers runs for a big gain. But that, in my book, gets a minus grade for decision making for the simple fact that Ryan Grant is right there in front of him for the dumpoff.

Look, I know it's easy to go back and look at the tape and grade these things out. I know it's much different on the field in real-time. And I know everyone will say I am being overly hyper-critical here. But Rodgers taking off WHEN THERE'S A BACK RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM is a bad play. Rodgers can run and he does it well, but he is not made to do so. Ryan Grant, and anyone behind him on the depth chart, is.

Whether he likes it or not, Rodgers is now "The Franchise". There's no two ways about it. As many people have said, if he goes down, the season is done. Taking off and running is fine, but not when there is a viable receiving option wide open right in front of him.

 

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Comments (24)

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IronMan's picture

September 01, 2009 at 08:19 am

I thought it was a good play. If he did this all the time, and was taking big hits, then I would be concerned.
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Most of the time when he takes off, he gains a lot yards, and is elusive/smart enough to avoid getting nailed.
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BTW, the throw at 2:54 was absolutely beautiful.

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Holly's picture

September 01, 2009 at 08:37 am

After seeing Shaub hobbled by a similar play, I'm reluctantly in agreement. It's nice to have the threat there, though...I think it's a credible one now, too, and defenses will have to watch out for him to make moves.

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CSS's picture

September 01, 2009 at 09:04 am

Schaub, hobbled after nobody touched him while stepping out of bounds. He could get hurt crossing the street.

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manolito's picture

September 01, 2009 at 09:31 am

I don't know. I agree that he needs to make smart decisions, but I'd rather see him be a gamer and leader than the bean-counting 'game manager' type he was made out to be by some in the media going into last year. That's the kind of play that gets your teammates even more pumped up. Aaron, haven't you ever just wanted the ball and wanted to make something happen? :-)

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PackerAaron's picture

September 01, 2009 at 09:49 am

manolito - I do remember playing QB back in Pop Warner and wanting to 'make something happen' and hearing my dad in the crowd going "Oh no, no no no...." ;)

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green, gold's picture

September 01, 2009 at 09:51 am

I understand what Aaron's saying here, but it's just not realistic to "grade out" a play watching the highlight reels at NFL.com.

In real life, in real time and at game speed Rodgers has the ability to see the entire field during the play. We only see what's on the screen. When coaches are grading out film, then have tape from all angles and see the whole field.

And for what it's worth, it looked like Grant was still running with his back to Aaron by the time Rodgers decided to tuck it. Either way, we don't know where defenders were tracking downfield 15-20 yards, what was behind Grant, or what was in front of Aaron during that split second.

Rodgers isn't reckless. He usually finds the sidelines when he runs. No, we don't want him banged up but he knows the risks and he's smart about it and it's usually his last option or just too good to pass up.

I know it's fun to watch the tape and try to diagnose all the little things the normal fan doesn't see, but this just seems to be getting a little stuffy.

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PackerAaron's picture

September 01, 2009 at 09:56 am

Agreed to some extent green, gold. I thought Grant had his head around, actually. And you're dead on about the tape aspect. Just remember thinking the same thing when I saw it live - and it's something he did time and time again last season. Remember, on the play where he hurt his shoulder, he had a dump off that he passed up and ran instead.
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Trust me, I recognize there's a lot I don't know/see. But the play in question helps illustrate a bigger point.

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ctpack's picture

September 01, 2009 at 09:56 am

By the time Grant turns around he would have been sacked.

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PackersRS's picture

September 01, 2009 at 10:03 am

Aaron, please explain to me how did you come back ANGRIER from your vacations? You can't be skeptycal about our team when it's demolishing everyone, and then demand perfection from our 2nd best (Woodson) player. It's just contraditory... And BTW, it was a perfectly fine play. He saw that the defenders weren't paying any attention to him, and took off. He figured out that he could gain more yardage by doing that than by passing it to Grant. Yeah, there's the health issue, but I't showed he's no wuss. And we need that kind of playmaker to win it all.
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P.S.: NOT A CHEAP BLOCK??? NOT A CHEAP BLOCK??? He put his whole frigin weight into the defender's leg! If it was Williams doing it, everyone would've said he should be banned from the league. Because it was that primadonna, everyone's praising his play. BUT even the MNF crew, who couldn't stop drooling on Favre's lap, agreed it was a CHEAP block.

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Graham's picture

September 01, 2009 at 11:24 am

What is with this it means nothing crap?? How would you feel instead of 9 out of 12 preseason posessions for our offense were INT's instead of TD's? Would that mean nothing?

Or lets say instead of our defense having 13 turnovers we gave up 13 touchdowns? Would that really mean nothing?

I get it you are trying to not let our heads get too big and we have zero W's on the board, however our team seems to be in midseason form in the preseason, that HAS to mean SOMETHING. It does to most people not trying to make a point. I get it, and your wrong it DOES mean something!!

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Graham's picture

September 01, 2009 at 11:26 am

Also, that is not a cheap block. Did anyone here play football?? Peewee they teach you how to cut a guy (probably the last time brett did that looking at the form dont lead with your back!!), 9 out of 10 plays in an NFL game has OL cutting DL. Its football not a pillow fight!!

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bomdad's picture

September 01, 2009 at 11:35 am

grant might drop it. Take the sure 1st down.

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Ryeguy812's picture

September 01, 2009 at 11:50 am

Rodgers showing he can run for 30+ yards might make those LBs think twice before dropping far back into coverage, that could open up the middle of the field for our TEs. Just a thought.

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Asshalo's picture

September 01, 2009 at 12:15 pm

It really is a good point, considered his injury problems last year stemmed from a head-first run play against the Bucs (not 100% on that nugget though).

The Safety may have put a hit on AR as he was going out if it wouldn't have been for Driver with a pretty good block. I also recall a reverse to Driver last year against Dallas near the end of the game, when Rodgers leveled a Dallas D-lineman. I'm still kinda gaga over that block to give it any criticism though.

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PackerAaron's picture

September 01, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Asshalo - the TB run was all I was thinking about when I watched it live...

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bomdad's picture

September 01, 2009 at 02:02 pm

Graham, rules have changed since you played peewee. Cut blocks are allowed inside the tackles and in the backfield. Open field is illegal, and especially on reverses and INT returns.
Also, another rule since you days in peewee, once you are legally cut block you are forbidden to tackle Tom Brady.

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Ruppert's picture

September 01, 2009 at 02:14 pm

Personally, I hope the Queens have Favre blocking on 10 plays a week. And yes, it was cheap as all get-out. If it's so perfectly fine, why is it a major penalty? Regarding Rodgers running, there is nothing wrong with that play. How many times has he done that this preseason? Once? One run like that every 3 games is perfectly fine. One run every quarter is excessive. Rodgers' legs are a weapon, plain and simple. I think they should have a designed run for him every couple weeks to make defenses gameplan for it.

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bucky's picture

September 01, 2009 at 03:03 pm

I think Rodgers made the right decision on that play. Grant was looking the other way when Rodger's last had the opportunity to dump it off; if he'd thrown it that way and Grant never looks back, people would have been all over Rodgers had the ball bounced off Grant into a defender's arms.

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ctpack's picture

September 01, 2009 at 04:01 pm

He must think the Packers are playing electric football.He wants Rodgers to hit Grant in the back of the head

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PackerAaron's picture

September 01, 2009 at 04:08 pm

Right - no QB in the NFL ever throws a ball when the receiver isn't looking.
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Come on people - it's a designed checkdown - Rodgers knows when Grant is going to look and could have floated it to him easily. Give me a break...

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Asshalo's picture

September 01, 2009 at 05:14 pm

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009082851/2009/PRE3/packers@cardinals#tab...

Watching it again, that's a tough one to call. Grant is definitely looking back, but it looks like the pocket is closing in. Don't have rodgers' view their so it's hard to tell. I give him the benefit of the doubt. Even while he's on the run there doesn't really seem to be much room to slide without getting nailed on the way down. For future reference , when he has a chance to hit Grant and if that's not open-- to slide, he should do it.

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Mr. Optimistic's picture

September 01, 2009 at 06:31 pm

I hafta say that the Grant option looks available, at least from the camera's angle. It did seem to me that Grant might have been at the limits of the QB's peripheral vision. Still, there's no arguing the point that if Rodgers goes down, the season is pretty much done with.
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That pingback article is intolerably obtuse.

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GBPackAttack!'s picture

September 01, 2009 at 11:25 pm

If it weren't for the fact that I am deathly afraid of losing Rodgers to injury also, I would almost think you were picking on him. His run was a great play. This could keep defenses honest come the regular season. However, at the same time I do not want to see him get hurt. Perhaps since it was preseason he should have thrown it away. If this were a regular season game though, forget it, Rodgers made a good play. Please Lord watch over Rodgers!

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Shootz's picture

September 02, 2009 at 03:40 am

Rodgers was forced up into the pocket, Dockett was coming off his block, by the time Rodgers takes his first step to run, Grant is only just getting his head around, I think it was a good decision and that's when I'm watching the film as opposed to when linemen are surging at me live.
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Part of having a franchise quarterback is trusting his decision making, trusting his coaching, trusting his vision, his belief that he can make plays. He's not Vick making plays with his legs because he can't make them with his arms, he's using another dimension to his game when it's appropriate and, on the play you've singled out, doing it extremely effectively.

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