The media tried to stir up another rumor about a “players only” meeting. McCarthy said he knew nothing about any such meeting in his news conference and Rodgers later confirmed there was no meeting but my question would be, “Why not?” Maybe the players need to get together and convey their opinions to each other about why they’re not performing at a level which is expected of them. Rodgers needs to sit down with his receivers and explain why he doesn’t trust them instead of just saying so, and the receivers need to let him know their feelings about his demands.
Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
Well, maybe Rodgers is asking his receivers to catch perfection and not settle for anything less to gain his trust. This is not a bad thing but it also puts a lot of unrealistic pressure on the receivers so maybe a common ground can be achieved with a player’s meeting.
Everyone has an opinion as to what is ailing the offense but after watching the games over and over I have noticed a pattern which Aaron seems to use as a read tactic and other teams have caught on to. The free play worked in the first few games but since then Rodgers has not been able to get teams to jump and by not doing so he uses the play clock right up to the last second when defenses know they can tee off and get a rush. This also lets the DB’s play man coverage, knowing that Rodgers will not have much time to make the pass.
Tom Brady, for example, gets the same pressure but adjusts to timing routes and gets the ball out fast to crossing routes or quick slants and even a TE over the middle on a three step drop with a pass down the seam but Rodgers for whatever reason doesn’t use this, he will try to extend the play by moving instead…and by then his receivers have run their routes and now need to improvise.
So again I ask why not have a players meeting to work on some continuity?
Whatever it takes to get this team on track before it’s too late, all I’m saying is…Just win Baby!
If the Packers don’t figure it out before Thursday I have a bad feeling the Lions could win again. But a Packers’ win would catapult them into a tough game the next week at home with some confidence against the Cowboys but a loss would be hard to recover from.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Facebook Fanpage.
Thanks,
Jeff
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I don’t think that a finger pointing meeting will resolve much – and that’s likely what it would come down to, if it’s even allowed under the current system. And if it’s not allowed, you can bet the NFLPA will have something to say about it. Do we really want to open that can of worms?
Receivers: You want us to run perfect routes and know when we’re supposed to stick with our routes, and when we’re supposed to bail you out as you scramble – yet when we’re open you throw the ball at our feet or over our heads. So much for being able to throw a football through a tire at 50 yards, you can’t even get the ball chest high at 20 yards.
Rodgers: It’s really quite simple, if defenders do this – you do that. If I do this, you do that. And when I hit you in the hands you drop balls anyway. I throw the ball to where you’re supposed to be, not where you are.
Receivers: So are we supposed to watch you or the defenders? We have heaps of pressure on us, knowing if we don’t make plays you’ll lose trust in us and ignore us. We’re doing the best that we can with what we have in your complicated scheme.
Rodgers: You watch my signals, then read the coverage and react with the correct route. It’s not that complicated. There’s only 4 or 5 different routes that you can run for each play.
The only way these meetings work to everyone’s advantage is to have a mediator present, with a specific agenda, and everyone to remain calm and professional with the common goal of continuous improvement. From my experience as a manager in the work force, I think asking a bunch of 20-30 year old men with huge egos to do so is unrealistic.
Well David if the players can’t get on the same page by practicing each week how can they know what one is thinking if they don’t express it? Like I said in the post Rodgers says he don’t trust a certain receiver to be where he want’s him so he basically won’t look his way, well that just removes one target from the field before the play even starts! Rodgers needs to get back to basics IMO, he needs to stop trying to pull defenses off sides and start checking down to timing plays and sticking to them even if he don’t trust the guy on the other end. Just a thought but Brady does this with rookies and FA’s right off the streets so if Rodgers is as good as he thinks he is then he should be able to do the same!