The miscommunication between Jennings and Rodgers during Sunday’s game were readily apparent to anyone who watched the game. It continues a trend that has developed over the season - for whatever reason, Jennings and Rodgers have had some serious problem getting on the same page. The worst case this past Sunday, of course, was the called run play where Rodgers thought Jennings would be expecting a pass. It’s a play Favre and Jennings made several times last year. McCarthy has indicated in the past that there is a system that the receiver and quarterback have, dictated by what the defensive back shows, to know whether or not they can run the quick slant or back-shoulder play. Rodgers was visibly upset after he had to throw the ball away and looked at Jennings and barked something at him. It definitely didn’t look complimentary.
Less obvious was the 3rd down play where Rodgers threw the ball into the dirt at the feet of Ruvell Martin. On the opposite side, Jennings beats his man on an inside move and if Rodgers just looks to the right, he would have had Jennings wide open for a touchdown. Instead, Rodgers looks only at Martin and when he doesn’t have him right away, he throws the ball into the ground at Martin’s feet. I understand he’s being careful - an incompletion is a thousand times better than an interception. And I also understand he’s taken a lot of criticism (justifiably so) for holding the ball too long. But if you watch the replay, Jennings is non-plussed and it’s not hard to understand why. Later in the game, Rodgers goes to Martin on a slant route when Jennings is open on the opposite side and it’s eerily similar to a play in the Seattle game when Rodgers tried (unsuccessfully) to hit Martin on a slant in the face of a Seahawk blitz. On the opposite side, Jennings is running a ‘Go’ from the slot and is WIDE open. After he watches Rodgers throw at a quite covered Martin, Jennings can be seen jumping up and down in a rare exhibition of diva-like frustration.
It’s a telling moment.
I have no doubt Jennings is a tad frustrated at Rodgers continually looking at his self-described best friend on the team when Jennings is the unquestioned best receiver on the field and open more often than not on the plays in question. (I also have no doubt that Jennings is finding it hard to be patient with Rodgers when just last season he had a quarterback that could read defenses like the POV shot from the robot in a Terminator movie…) He has a legitimate gripe here. He is the number one receiver. He should not only get the majority of the looks, but he should not be playing second fiddle to Ruvell Martin. Ever.
(On a side note: Perhaps Tundra Vision was on to something… 
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Dave said in November 4th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Oscar said in November 5th, 2008 at 11:41 am
