Rodgers Wishlist of Improvements

[CaptainKickass]

I'm no coach - but I'll play one on the world wide web today.

For the record:

I believe Aaron's got the arm and the smarts to be a legit NFL QB. He ain't there yet.

The topic:

What I think the GB coaches really need to work with Aaron on is simply taking the time to set his feet before making a throw when on a play action pass and or designed bootleg pass (QB rolls left or right - usually w/ a FB or OL/TE in front of him)

Everytime he goes to make a throw on the run I close my eyes - I just haven't seen the ability to throw accurately while on the run from him. There have been several plays where he had time, but didn't set his feet and then more often than not - the highlight reel in my head remembers incomplete passes or picks.

I brought this up in the early part of the gameday thread, but I wanted to know 2 things:

1. Confirmation of my observation - am I way off base? Do you also see the same thing?

2. What have you seen that I haven't - what areas do you see that Aaron could improve in, and where the coaches should be focusing this offseason?


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[HarveyWallbangers]

Re: Rodgers Wishlist of Improvements

I'm no coach - but I'll play one on the world wide web today.

For the record:

I believe Aaron's got the arm and the smarts to be a legit NFL QB. He ain't there yet.

The topic:

What I think the GB coaches really need to work with Aaron on is simply taking the time to set his feet before making a throw when on a play action pass and or designed bootleg pass (QB rolls left or right - usually w/ a FB or OL/TE in front of him)

Everytime he goes to make a throw on the run I close my eyes - I just haven't seen the ability to throw accurately while on the run from him. There have been several plays where he had time, but didn't set his feet and then more often than not - the highlight reel in my head remembers incomplete passes or picks.

I brought this up in the early part of the gameday thread, but I wanted to know 2 things:

1. Confirmation of my observation - am I way off base? Do you also see the same thing?

2. What have you seen that I haven't - what areas do you see that Aaron could improve in, and where the coaches should be focusing this offseason?

I disagree with the premise. I think he's shown a good ability to throw on the run--better than average. He's made a bunch of good throws on rollouts, and he has an ability to throw on the run without squaring up his body. The problem is that he hasn't always made the best decisions on the run. This is a problem with a lot of QBs. Here's hoping his decision making improves on these types of plays. I think it will.

[Patler]

It was just a week ago or so the announcers threw out a stat about Rodgers having one of the higher QB ratings in the league for throws while moving.

Honestly, I don't think there really is anything specific that Rodgers needs to work on. He just needs to play more, get more experience. The rest should take care of itself with experience. That doesn't mean I am predicting greatness for him or anything like that. It's just that I think he can do what needs to be done, he just needs to develop the feel for the game that really good QBs have. He might never get it, in which case he will be OK, and have a decent career, just like a lot of others.

[red]

i think he throws pretty well on the run

i'd like to see him use the pump fake. they mentioned it on the radio that he never pumps

[packers04]

This is what QB school should be for Rodgers this spring/summer...

throw 30 times against a 8 man rush every day. what i have seen this year is that teams are not afraid to blitz the heck out of him and he needs to learn how to get the ball out FAST. thats the key to every good QB's development and growth is learning how to make them pay for the blitz. Brady is the best at this in my opinion. I just hope mccarthy realizes this and works with him on this all spring and summer.

[Bossman641]

I think he throws pretty well on the run. There was one playin particular yesterday where he rolled out left and threw a dart without having to stop and set his feet.

[Patler]

This is what QB school should be for Rodgers this spring/summer...

throw 30 times against a 8 man rush every day. what i have seen this year is that teams are not afraid to blitz the heck out of him and he needs to learn how to get the ball out FAST. thats the key to every good QB's development and growth is learning how to make them pay for the blitz. Brady is the best at this in my opinion. I just hope mccarthy realizes this and works with him on this all spring and summer.

He won't learn that in QB school. You only learn that from seeing it live. Teams used to blitz Favre early in his career too, until he began to make them pay for it regularly. It's the same with every inexperienced QB.

[RashanGary]

He's thrown a couple deep ones short that turned into picks. At the last moment, a guy has broken free way down field and he dind't set his feet to throw the bomb. Mostly (within 30 yard down the field) he can throw with plenty of distance adn velocity to get it where he wants it on the move. His throwing motion (while not completely set on the move) looks exactly the same every time. It's obviously coached with the intent to continue moving through the throw (rather than stopping setting and getting crushed) but still having the velocity to get it where he wants it. I'm sure there is some give/take with the arm strength and maybe it's played a part in some of those unexpected bombs down the field.

[pacfan]

I think Rodgers is doing fine. To me he seems fairly accurate on the move, he is very quick and his arm strength is better than advertised. Some decisions are questionable but this is his first season of playing and he is improving his decisions every game. Not all decisions, but he is making better ones.

I don't know if the run game sucks so bad that MM just doesn't trust it or if MM just loves throwing the ball. It seems that the last few games have been dumped on Rodgers to win or lose and thats tough for anybody. Favre couldn't do it by himself and its unfair to think that Rodgers can carry the team without a running game.

[Bossman641]

He's thrown a couple deep ones short that turned into picks. At the last moment, a guy has broken free way down field and he dind't set his feet to throw the bomb. Mostly (within 30 yard down the field) he can throw with plenty of distance adn velocity to get it where he wants it on the move. His throwing motion (while not completely set on the move) looks exactly the same every time. It's obviously coached with the intent to continue moving through the throw (rather than stopping setting and getting crushed) but still having the velocity to get it where he wants it. I'm sure there is some give/take with the arm strength and maybe it's played a part in some of those unexpected bombs down the field.

Good point. Rodgers has a serious cannon, especially on throwing the deep ball. On that long ball to Jennings yesterday, AR let it fly from the 23, and GJ came down with it at the 15. That is 62 yards in like 3 degree temperature.

[RashanGary]

Good point. Rodgers has a serious cannon, especially on throwing the deep ball. On that long ball to Jennings yesterday, AR let it fly from the 23, and GJ came down with it at the 15. That is 62 yards in like 3 degree temperature.

And right on the money. Great ball. A couple beautiful fades in the redzone too.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Needs to see more of the field. He has said this season that he only looks at half the field on a given play. I can accept that for now given he's a first year starter, but next year he's gotta see more of the field and find that open guy.

[th87]

Ever notice that every time Rodgers tries to force it, he gets intercepted? He'll need to figure that out.

He also should beef up his legs to get a stronger base, so as to avoid sacks better.

Further, I say he should hang out with Tony Romo. Romo, while reckless, has this unbelievable pocket sense and escapability. If Rodgers can get some of this somehow, he'll be the man.

[Dabaddestbear]

It was just a week ago or so the announcers threw out a stat about Rodgers having one of the higher QB ratings in the league for throws while moving.

Honestly, I don't think there really is anything specific that Rodgers needs to work on. He just needs to play more, get more experience. The rest should take care of itself with experience. That doesn't mean I am predicting greatness for him or anything like that. It's just that I think he can do what needs to be done, he just needs to develop the feel for the game that really good QBs have. He might never get it, in which case he will be OK, and have a decent career, just like a lot of others.

I think that is true. But its hard not to have a good stat in that area when most of your throws on the run are going no further than 5 yards.

[Noodle]

As others noted, he has been short at times when he didn't set, but I don't know if that's arm strength (unlikely) or just not having a good enough idea of how far to throw, how fast the receiver was running, etc. That bum shoulder also has to be a hinderance.

So I think with experience, his moving throws will improve a lot. There really isn't anything mechanical that bothers me about A-Rod. But, as Patler noted, he needs trigger time. They say the game slows WAY down after the first year or two, and that will help big time. He'll be quicker to pick up blitzes and quicker to get the ball out.

One last thing -- I'm not sure how instinctive A-Rod is. Instead, he strikes me as a student of the game type of player, more P Manning than BF. I like that, but I think it explains why there haven't been a lot of "holy crap" moments with the guy.