Does James Jones lack chemistry with Aaron Rodgers?

[Travis Duncan]

Jordy Nelson, no problem. Greg Jennings, Randall Cobb, Jermichael Finley.. all seem to be on the same wave length of the great QB Ace known as Aaron Rodgers.

But what about James Jones?

Jones was the center of a mini-controversy in September of 2011, when he told the media he deserved to be on the field more.

Jones for his part did not complain specifically at that time about the quantity of passes thrown his way, but rather his lack of time on the field during passing downs.

During the preseason, an interception of Rodgers by Terrance Newman of the Bengals, could be directly attributed to miscommunication on a route by Jones.

With two regular season games in the books, Jones is tied with Randall Cobb as the third-most targeted Green Bay receivers after two weeks of the season. With the absence of Greg Jennings, in total, Jones has been targeted 11 times, and six of those passes were completions.

Thursday night Jones was targeted six times, caught two passes for a total of -1 yards.

On the sidelines Rodgers could be seen giving Jones a little extra direction on a route.

Rodgers said after the game, via the Green Bay Press Gazette, "I was expecting him to come out flat. He started out flat and then kind of took it up. That’s about as frustrating as it gets right there."

Head coach Mike McCarthy addressed the matter on Monday. McCarthy said there is a difference between a mean spirited exchanged such as the one that occurred between Jay Cutler and J'Marcus Webb on the opposite sideline, and a competitive exchange.

"He’s not trying to disrespect James Jones by no means. He’s competing. He’s extremely competitive," he said via the Press Gazette.

Packers Receiving Stats through Week 2

NAME REC TAR YDS AVG TD LONG 20+ YDS/G FUM FUML YAC 1DN
Jordy Nelson 11 16 148 13.5 0 28 3 74.0 0 0 0 5
Randall Cobb 10 11 97 9.7 0 20 1 48.5 0 0 0 6
James Jones 6 11 80 13.3 1 49 1 40.0 0 0 0 3
Jermichael Finley 11 16 73 6.6 1 16 0 36.5 1 1 0 5
Cedric Benson 4 4 35 8.8 0 17 0 17.5 0 0 0 2
Greg Jennings 5 9 34 6.8 0 10 0 34.0 0 0 0 2
Tom Crabtree 1 1 27 27.0 1 27 1 13.5 0 0 0 1
Donald Driver 1 1 26 26.0 1 26 1 13.0 0 0 0 1
John Kuhn 3 3 23 7.7 0 16 0 11.5 0 0 0 1
D.J. Williams 1 1 6 6.0 0 6 0 3.0 0 0 0 1
Totals 53 77 549 10.4 4 49 7 274.5 1 1 0 27

 

[bozz_2006]

I'll say that I don't think it is Jones' physical capabilities that are preventing him from being a bigger part of the offense. There are reasons that Jennings, Nelson, Cobb, Driver, and Finley (yes, even Finley) continue to be go-to guys for certain situations. I don't think Jones has shown he can be counted on as a go-to guy.

 

[TJV]

IMO the two examples you used don't help make your point. The first from September of last year was Jones just wanting to be more involved. While I wish no Packer would complain about anything publically, this example is the least of my worries. I'd much prefer Jones have that attitude than just accepting being paid his approximately $9M for three years and being happy on the bench.

IMO here's the bottom line from your second link: "Really, the only conclusion I can make from this play is that Rodgers missed the throw, and missed it badly." Rodgers badly missing a throw has everything to do with Rodgers and nothing to do with the chemistry between him and the target.

Again, just my opinion but it looks to me this thread is based mostly on the INT vs. the Bears. That's OK - there's no question in my mind Jones screwed up that route so badly it resulted in the INT. But looking at two week's worth of stats doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If we want to go that route, we could conclude the Packers defense is "fixed" since it is now in the top ten regarding both points and yards. And Rodgers currently is 17th in QB rating, on pace for a 24 TD, 16 INT season. Should we make any conclusions based upon those results?

Take a look at the stats from last year and you'll see Jones' stats are better than Drivers all across the board. Was there a chemistry problem between Driver and Rodgers last season?

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

^ not even a close or FAIR comparison. Driver is a slot guy who go across the middle, mainly on short yardage needs and then has to worry about getting nailed and trying to make YAC. While Jones is typically involved in deeper or more mid ranged routes, that if successful will yeild much more initial yardage on just the throw alone, let alone YAC. Driver has paid his dues as a packer, will live on forever as a packer and hold records that JJ couldn't even dream of coming close to. JJ couldn't fill DD's jock strap.

And, as I said in another thread: this JJ stuff is NOT from just 2 weeks of this season. People are fed up with his crap and "light switch" performance....on/off...on/off.....for 3 seasons now. There have been better options instead of JJ, I say we take time and explore those options.

As far as JJ complaining a while back about play time and more catches: Hello, fool, start performing better and you might just get what you are asking for. Not to mention it is WIDELY known that Arod spreads the ball around to ALL recievers, not just focusing on one or two guys. Get a life and a brain JJ, who cares if you get your play time, I don't,.....just shut up, get paid more money than we could ever dream of making to go out and have fun for 3 hours every Sunday. Sheeesh, ya big mouth baby.

 

[13 Times Champs]

I think I'll start a "Does Jordy Nelson Lack Chemistry With Rodgers" since he dropped two in Da Bears game.

 

[TJV]

^ not even a close or FAIR comparison. Driver is a slot guy who go across the middle, mainly on short yardage needs and then has to worry about getting nailed and trying to make YAC. While Jones is typically involved in deeper or more mid ranged routes, that if successful will yeild much more initial yardage on just the throw alone, let alone YAC. Driver has paid his dues as a packer, will live on forever as a packer and hold records that JJ couldn't even dream of coming close to. JJ couldn't fill DD's jock strap.

I humbly suggest being careful about displaying concern about which player better fills out his jock strap.

There isn't any excuse IMO for dropping catchable balls and the shorter the pass the more inexcusable it is. According to what you posted here it looks like you're saying Driver was the target of shorter passes than Jones. So if Driver had more drops and a higher percentage of drops…

As far as JJ complaining a while back about play time and more catches: Hello, fool, start performing better and you might just get what you are asking for. Not to mention it is WIDELY known that Arod spreads the ball around to ALL recievers, not just focusing on one or two guys. Get a life and a brain JJ, who cares if you get your play time, I don't,.....just shut up, get paid more money than we could ever dream of making to go out and have fun for 3 hours every Sunday. Sheeesh, ya big mouth baby.

IMHO this paragraph reflects much more on you than it does Jones.

 

[rodell330]

No. You can't lack chemistry with a qb if he's been with you since you came into the league....even if you were both holding it down with the second stringers they got a ton of reps together i'm sure. Because JJ lacks concentration and drops balls has nothing to do with his chemistry with A-ROD. No way could you ever tell me Cobb who's been in the league with Rodgers 18 games has more chemistry with with Jones who's been with Rodgers what 5 yrs now? Not buying it, he's just gotta get over the mental lapse and catch the ball. If that's the case Finley lacks "chemistry" with Rodgers as well.

 

[ivo610]

Nelson and Rodgers have the best chemistry on the field. That's in it's own league.

But as far as drops and all that driver, jones, and Finley are in their own league as well.

 

[Alex]

Nelson and Rodgers have the best chemistry on the field. That's in it's own league.

But as far as drops and all that driver, jones, and Finley are in their own league as well.

Driver? I might have missed something but last game he comes out and catches a td right away and in the Giants game he was the only one not dropping passes let alone making drops regularily.

 

[13 Times Champs]

Driver? I might have missed something but last game he comes out and catches a td right away and in the Giants game he was the only one not dropping passes let alone making drops regularily.

Driver has a high drop rate for NFL receivers. Last game is not a barometer for him.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/07/02/three-years-of-drop-rate-wide-receivers/

 

[Croak]

Driver has a high drop rate for NFL receivers. Last game is not a barometer for him.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/07/02/three-years-of-drop-rate-wide-receivers/

I noticed that Jones drop rate was higher and not a single Packer receiver made their list of top ten best.

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[13 Times Champs]

I noticed that Jones drop rate was higher and not a single Packer receiver made their list of top ten best.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

Based on last year alone Nelson and Jennings are in the top 20. Can't find the link anymore.

 

[ivo610]

13 is correct. Jennings and Nelson were very high. Driver and Jones (or was it Finley?) were pretty low.

 

[Croak]

13 is correct. Jennings and Nelson were very high. Driver and Jones (or was it Finley?) were pretty low.

I was just working off of the link 13x posted. It only lists 15 in each chart.

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[ivo610]

I was just working off of the link 13x posted. It only lists 15 in each chart.

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No prob, here is another list from just last year with Nelson and Jennings on it
https://www.profootballfocus.com/bl...e-2011-which-receivers-are-dropping-the-ball/

 

[Shawnsta3]

6 of the bottom 15 are NFC North players... hmmm...

 

[HyponGrey]

Change the title to: "Does The Entire Offense Lack Chemistry?"

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

I humbly suggest being careful about displaying concern about which player better fills out his jock strap.

There isn't any excuse IMO for dropping catchable balls and the shorter the pass the more inexcusable it is. According to what you posted here it looks like you're saying Driver was the target of shorter passes than Jones. So if Driver had more drops and a higher percentage of drops… IMHO this paragraph reflects much more on you than it does Jones.

Have you ever even palyed the sport? I like your posts, they are usually spot on target. I can tell you from 1st hand experience that coming off on a slant pattern and getting the ball sent your way at rocket speed over the middle, while being worried about a huge LB taking your head off is not an easy task. Driver in a slant or just playing the slot alone is a difficult place to play. I expect him to drop more, he has a higher chance to drop since there is less time to react to the ball coming, looking for open space, and getting drilled by a LB. How many actual legit packer records does JJ hold over DD? Will JJ ever be in the HOF? Hmmm.......food for your thoughts.

 

[HyponGrey]

Have you ever even palyed the sport? I like your posts, they are usually spot on target. I can tell you from 1st hand experience that coming off on a slant pattern and getting the ball sent your way at rocket speed over the middle, while being worried about a huge LB taking your head off is not an easy task. Driver in a slant or just playing the slot alone is a difficult place to play. I expect him to drop more, he has a higher chance to drop since there is less time to react to the ball coming, looking for open space, and getting drilled by a LB. How many actual legit packer records does JJ hold over DD? Will JJ ever be in the HOF? Hmmm.......food for your thoughts.

I always hated when the coach decided to sacrifice me over the middle for the first down

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

^ THANK YOU !!! My point exactly. Over the middle sucks ***.

 

[Croak]

I always hated when the coach decided to sacrifice me over the middle for the first down

I didn't have to be sacrificed over the middle. I was an X back that sometimes went out to the flanker position. On my first day of my Sophomore year, I went out for a streak pass against a future award winning safety. All I remember is the ball coming my way and I had to stop and turn around for it. The next thing I knew I woke up on the ground hurting bad and the trainer put a towel over my head. He jacked me up because I was just too darn little. I'm much better at armchair QBing than I was at playing.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

^ lol...nice. We have ALL had our bell rung badly at some point. Me, I got clothes lined and did a complete flip, then did the whole wake up on the ground thing with the world spinning.

 

[Croak]

^ lol...nice. We have ALL had our bell rung badly at some point. Me, I got clothes lined and did a complete flip, then did the whole wake up on the ground thing with the world spinning.

Yeah, I asked the trainer; "Did I catch the ball?" He laughed and said; "You caught it all right."

 

[HyponGrey]

I didn't have to be sacrificed over the middle. I was an X back that sometimes went out to the flanker position. On my first day of my Sophomore year, I went out for a streak pass against a future award winning safety. All I remember is the ball coming my way and I had to stop and turn around for it. The next thing I knew I woke up on the ground hurting bad and the trainer put a towel over my head. He jacked me up because I was just too darn little. I'm much better at armchair QBing than I was at playing.

I know the feeling... I was " too short" and too slow to play anywhere other than FB, and occasional sacrificial TE, even though when was sent in to play LB I outperformed the entire starting group. It is much more fun to give those hits.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

^ +1
Always better to give than to receive. We played iron man ball. Offensive side I played TE, defensive side I played DE....Needless to say, I liked defense better.