Rodgers Free Plays

[El Guapo]

It's been well-discussed how Rodgers has been playing games with defenses, using hard counts to get players offsides and catching 12 men on the field during substitutions. The recent article about Capers simplifying the defense has an important nugget in it that may help explain why Rodgers seems even better at it this season:
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...mplify-the-defense-b99591848z1-331183831.html

While Hayward admitted facing Rodgers is never easy, even with a revamped defensive language, he began to notice less pre-snap confusion for the defense [during training camp] when using the single-word play calls. Things were simpler, faster and substitutions were more efficient. Rodgers' ability to catch his own defense with 12 men on the field, something he has done repeatedly during the regular season, suddenly waned.

So our own defense got quicker and that may have forced Rodgers to get quicker too, making him now even better at catching our opponents.

Who knows if this is true but the logic seems to follow.

 

[HardRightEdge]

It's been well-discussed how Rodgers has been playing games with defenses, using hard counts to get players offsides and catching 12 men on the field during substitutions. The recent article about Capers simplifying the defense has an important nugget in it that may help explain why Rodgers seems even better at it this season:
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...mplify-the-defense-b99591848z1-331183831.html
So our own defense got quicker and that may have forced Rodgers to get quicker too, making him now even better at catching our opponents.

Who knows if this is true but the logic seems to follow.

I find the comments about the simplification of the defense more interesting than the free play element of that piece.

McCarthy promised "less scheme, more pre-snap adjustments" this off-season, but then again he promised that last season when it didn't take, if it was even considered by the DC. Perhaps it is sticking this time because of McCarthy's increased involvement in the proceedings.

Complexity leads to too much thinking which blunts aggressiveness and speed. Complexity leads to late adjustments and confusion. Complexity is inappropriate to a defense where youth circulates into several positions every year.

These were precisely my complaints about the Capers defense these past couple of years. It's about time something was done about it. Saying these changes were necessary under the newfound revelation that offenses play fast (as though this is something new) is half the story; simplicity and getting adjustments out on time have benefits even when the opponent huddles up. Carry on.

 

[El Guapo]

I broke this off from the defensive thread because, well, I wanted to focus on Rodgers and the offense. I've already commented about the defensive adjustment.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I broke this off from the defensive thread because, well, I wanted to focus on Rodgers and the offense. I've already commented about the defensive adjustment.

I get that now. I didn't look at the defensive thread until after this one.

 

[El Guapo]

No worries. I just thought this was a neat nugget to pull out. It usually stands to reason that a good offense can benefit from playing against a good defense in practice. Then again, it never helped Trent Dilfer get any better to play against his Ravens' defense 15 years ago.....or did it???

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Then again, it never helped Trent Dilfer get any better to play against his Ravens' defense 15 years ago.....or did it???

Dilfer only played a single season in Baltimore and won the Super Bowl during that one. It took them 12 years to get over losing him to the Seahawks.

In general the starting QB mostly faces a scout team defense during the season preparing the offense for their next opponent, he only faces the #1 unit during OTAs and training camp. With Rodgers being an elite QB and McCarthy offering some inside information about the offense's tendencies this offseason I think the defense mostly benefitted this offseason.

 

[TJV]

In addition to simplifying the defensive playbook and shortening the play calls, Tyler Dunne wrote a piece in June about McCarthy's helping the D.

"We're trying to educate as much as we can," McCarthy said, "defensively how the offensive thinks, offense more about how the defense thinks and things like that....We're just always trying to increase the learning opportunity, particularly for our young guys. It stimulates the conversation with the older guys. It's just very healthy, generates a lot of activity. Defensive guys have never really seen James Campen get up in front of the whole room and teach offensive line play. Just creating more opportunities. There's an opportunity for leadership there. Just trying to once again just spread the knowledge, raise the football IQ of our football team."

Capers talks about the advantage of having a great offensive mind like McCarthy's in the defensive meetings. And McCarthy went a step farther:

McCarthy has explained to the cornerbacks what Rodgers' audibles and signals mean. He'll point to an offensive lineman's stance. When a tackle lines up like this, he'll say, a run is coming. Or a pass. This off-season, they've been dissecting all subtleties at the line of scrimmage.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...pective-to-defense-b99520931z1-307762851.html

 

[Shawnsta3]

The free plays have pretty much dissappeared as defenses have spent a lot of their practice week working on the hard count. As defenses are busy preparing for that, I'd like to see Rodgers take advantage in other ways.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The free plays have pretty much dissappeared as defenses have spent a lot of their practice week working on the hard count. As defenses are busy preparing for that, I'd like to see Rodgers take advantage in other ways.

Even if the defense doesn't jump offsides Rodgers hard count slows down the pass rush which helps protecting him, especially against a great DL like the Rams.

 

[HardRightEdge]

The free plays have pretty much dissappeared as defenses have spent a lot of their practice week working on the hard count. As defenses are busy preparing for that, I'd like to see Rodgers take advantage in other ways.

He got 'em to jump in the first possession against STL and it was blown dead. It turned 3rd. and 11 into 3rd. and 6...the next play was the Montgomery TD.

The key for an opponent who jumps is to keep charging and make contact; taking the penalty is preferable to the free play as the lesser of two evils. As in the above instance, the lesser evil can still be damaging.

 

[JBlood]

Rodgers is the best QB in the game today, whether it's played fast or slow.

 

[HardRightEdge]

In addition to simplifying the defensive playbook and shortening the play calls, Tyler Dunne wrote a piece in June about McCarthy's helping the D.l

I found this quote particularly interesting and not a little disturbing:

"[McCarthy will] point to an offensive lineman's stance. When a tackle lines up like this, he'll say, a run is coming. Or a pass. This off-season, they've been dissecting all subtleties at the line of scrimmage."

While busting up information silos is almost always a good thing, defensive coaches with decades of experience should not need McCarthy to provide these "revelations".