Green Bay Packers: The demise of Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers has given the Green Bay Packers and their fans plenty of cause for concern with his play over the past few seasons.

Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is largely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks on planet Earth. That’s what happens when you win two MVPs and one Super Bowl, and throw for over 43,000 yards and 330 touchdowns in your career. Setting all stats aside, he has the best combinations of attributes a quarterback could ask for. Before the ball is snapped, he reads defenses with the best of them. There’s no fooling Rodgers. Once the ball is in action, his quick release and strong arm are a lethal combination for any coverage. When you add in his ability to get outside of the pocket and wreak havoc with his legs it’s  game over for defenses.

Or at least it was.

Once upon a time, Rodgers was the cream of the crop at his position. After winning a Super Bowl in 2011, he led his team to a 15-1 record the following season. Despite a disappointing early exit in the postseason that year, he continued his dominance in the NFL for another three years.

From 2008-2014, Rodgers’ first seven years as a starter, he averaged 274.3 yards per game (5th among all quarterbacks to attempt at least 500 passes in that timeframe), 8.27 yards per passing attempts (1st), a 6.6% touchdown percentage (1st) and a 106.6 quarterback rating (1st). That’s ridiculous.

Unfortunately, his play has taken a turn for the worst since 2015. From 2015 to Week 1 of this season, Rodgers has averaged 260.2 yards per game (12th among all quarterbacks with at least 400 pass attempts during that time frame), 7.12 yards per attempt (22nd), a 5.5% touchdown percentage (6th) and a 98.1 quarterback rating (8th). Those numbers are still good, but nothing close to what we came to expect.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the injuries Rodgers has struggled with in recent seasons. He broke his collarbone against the Minnesota Vikings in 2017 which caused him to miss most of the season. When he returned in Week 15 he wasn’t his same old self. He also battled a leg injury all of last season which severely limited his mobility. Still, he was mostly healthy for the 2015 and 2016 seasons and for Week 1 of this year.

Speaking of Week 1, it was the continuation of a concerning trend for Rodgers. Over the last few years under Mike McCarthy, the MVP quarterback tended to hold on to the ball for far too long. His hopes of making something spectacular happen often cost his team simple and easy yards. There were plenty of times where guys were running open in the flats or on crossing routes and Rodgers simply overlooked them with the thought of something bigger and better. Another theory is that he simply didn’t see his open receivers.

Rodgers also used to be elite against the blitz. His combination of a quick release and ability to dissect the defense before the snap made it a nightmare for defensive coordinators to send extra rushers at him. As Ben Fennell of The Athletic detailed in his weekly Packers’ Film Room article, Rodgers has struggled mightily against the blitz in recent seasons. Against the Bears, he sometimes passed up open receivers and dropped his eyes to the pass rush instead of getting the ball out quickly.

There are a lot of theories as to what’s going on with Rodgers. Maybe age and injuries have simply gotten the best of him. He is 35 with a rapidly growing injury history, after all. Maybe the Rodgers of old is dead and gone.

Who knows if Rodgers will ever return to form at this point in his career. To be clear, he’s still a good NFL quarterback, just not an elite one like we were used to seeing. Regardless, the writing is certainly on the wall for his demise and there’s cause for concern in Titletown.