Another possible reason for Arod's struggles this year

[mraynrand]

Rodgers was off last year.
There is no doubt.
Fans shed tears,
They scream and shout.

"Why, why, why?"
Was it his knee?
Did the receivers not try?
Was it me? Oh me, oh my.

Why the sneers?
Why the grimace?
Is he a leader?
Or just a menace?

The answer is plain,
I tell you, my son.
It gives me great pain
To say "Olivia Munn".

Our national poet

Knee, my

grimace, menace

LOL

[Patler]

Some of you make it sound as if the Packers had no ground game at all. Lacy obviously had conditioning issues, the O-line had some injuries; and yet the Packers were 12th in rushing yards, 12th in rushing attempts and tied with four others for 11th in yds/carry average. The Packers had more rushing yards than Denver, and the same average per carry. Rodgers had no more attempts himself then he typically has when he plays a full season.

Blaming the ground game for Rodgers' performance is somewhat grasping for straws.

[Patler]

I think part of the blame lies at ARods feet, but much like a QB gets too much credit for wins by some they also get too much blame for losses by some. I hope, and believe you are currently in the last camp Patler. Feel free for an I told you so in January 2017 if you're right.

I'm hoping that his knee was more of a problem than was let on, but I am a little concerned about his change in accuracy that was first mentioned in training camp.
Who knows? Maybe his off season was "different" last year, he will make changes this year and everything will return to normal. I hope he has 6 or 7 years yet that will be just as good as the previous ones, and a few after that when his smarts and experience will keep him as one of the best in the league.

Then again, maybe at age 32 he is entering the last four or five years of his career. Lots of QBs retire at 35-37.

Careers go fast sometimes.

[George Cumby]

Aikman went at 34.

[pbmax]

James Jones had a career year at an advanced age after two other teams gave up on him. He might have nearly doubled his previous high production marks in some areas had he not hurt his hammy and gotten even slower.

I can see an argument for Cobb, but he got hurt early and was not fully healthy for a couple of games. Even so, he set a career high for targets on one fewer start and was down 12 receptions.

As we have discovered at other positions, sometime Packers do not get the production they anticipate from younger players. That seems to have been the case with the rest of the depth.

So injured Cobb versus a diminished Rodgers. My money is on Rodgers being more of a constant.

[pbmax]

Re your #2) - MM has not hesitated using rookies when they are needed, and these two weren't rookies. Over the years MM has given a lot of questionably talented WRs opportunities now and then, yet these two hardly saw the field in their second seasons. Brett Swain didn't see a lot of targets, but he played a lot as a 4th and even 5th WR. Were Ruvell Martin and Jarrett Boykin that much more talented than Abbrederis? or even Janis?

If Cobb, Adams and Jones were that limited by their injuries, wouldn't it have made sense to give Janis a chance now and then, or use Abbrederis more regularly?

Something was different about the use of Abbrederis and Janis this year than we saw in years past with WRs no more talented than these two.

Abby saw the field pretty quickly after he healed and Rodgers was enthusiastic about him playing. But he still was behind Adams for playing time at the end of the year. The braintrust clearly wanted Adams to deliver in a big way and were willing to be stubborn about it all year. I suspect its because they do not play the same receiver position in the offense.

McCarthy said that Janis struggled even to catch the ball over his shoulder until the middle part of the season, which gives you some idea of how raw he still is. I doubt he mastered the skill before the end of the season. I do agree with you and Maxie that after a certain point it didn't matter and you just have to play to his jump ball, run to an open spot strengths, but they really did not have faith in him this year.

I still believe the no huddle and Rodgers version of the offense tied this team in knots the last two years when they had to adjust. I think its the biggest challenge McCarthy has this year. If healthy out wide, it might not matter. But if injuries happen again or they are in a tight game late versus a very good D and need a score, it might still be an issue.

[Patler]

Aikman went at 34.

Yup, and McNair and Bledsoe last played at 34, McNabb at 35, Esiason at 36
Some think Romo is winding down at 35.

I said in another thread, when Hundley's contract is up in 3 years, and AR is 35 years old, the Packers could have a decision on their hands. There is no guarantee that Rodger won't be done when his contract runs out after the 2019 season when he will be 36.

[Pugger]

I don't think injuries were the primary factor in the downturn of the passing game. When players practice and play, their injuries are not a significant excuse.

Rodgers got the majority of credit when the offense was so good. Best in the league, future HOFer, etc. If that was deserved, and I believe it was, he also has to shoulder blame for 2015.

I don't think anyone is saying Rodgers was blameless for last season's woes but the state of our WR corps in 2015 wasn't as good as 2014 and it wasn't just the loss of Jordy. Folks thought Adams was going to make up for the loss of Jordy but that poor kid had a terrible season with a bad wheel and drops. Cobb is not a #1 guy. He's a pretty nice slot guy and Swiss army knife but he isn't big or fast enough to battle with other teams' top DBs. Jones was okay initially but after a while when he had to go up against a #1 corner or safety he disappeared. Then Montgomery got hurt so we were left with JJ, Abby who is fragile and misses a lot of practice time and Janis who is fast but can't figure out the playbook. Even the best QBs in the league suffer when they have nobody to throw to. IF Rodgers looks like he did in 2015 this coming season then we have something to concern ourselves with.

[Patler]

I don't think anyone is saying Rodgers was blameless for last season's woes but the state of our WR corps in 2015 wasn't as good as 2014 and it wasn't just the loss of Jordy. Folks thought Adams was going to make up for the loss of Jordy but that poor kid had a terrible season with a bad wheel and drops. Cobb is not a #1 guy. He's a pretty nice slot guy and Swiss army knife but he isn't big or fast enough to battle with other teams' top DBs. Jones was okay initially but after a while when he had to go up against a #1 corner or safety he disappeared. Then Montgomery got hurt so we were left with JJ, Abby who is fragile and misses a lot of practice time and Janis who is fast but can't figure out the playbook. Even the best QBs in the league suffer when they have nobody to throw to. IF Rodgers looks like he did in 2015 this coming season then we have something to concern ourselves with.

I don't disagree with any of that. My point is simply that AR did a lot to make a precarious situation even worse than it had to be. Great QB play would have taken that situation and made it less impactful.

Since late in the season, I have argued that the key for 2016 will be finding out if 2015 was an aberration, or AR's new normal. We can't automatically expect he will play to 38, 40 or beyond. He is rapidly approaching the age at which many do begin to fade. Hopefully, he will not be one of those.

[gbgary]

That's an interesting question. For years, QB enthralled fans have told us that first Favre, then Rodgers "made" their WRs. Many argued that really our WRs were not that good, the QBs made them.

Does anyone question that for Rodgers after 2015? Did he "make" his receivers last year, or is there evidence that without top notch receivers Rodgers' performance suffers?

i always hate when i hear people say that qbs makes their wrs better. they were open weren't they? they caught the ball didn't they? it takes two to complete a pass. hell sometimes a wr will make a great catch on a poorly thrown ball and that just makes the qb look better in the box score.

[woodbuck27]

It's going to all be very interesting.

TT has to find another speedy WR in the draft. The Packers 'O' has to find a way to return to TOP FIVE.

[mraynrand]

.. impactful...

save it for the post-graduate program application

[Rutnstrut]

I don't think anyone is saying Rodgers was blameless for last season's woes but the state of our WR corps in 2015 wasn't as good as 2014 and it wasn't just the loss of Jordy. Folks thought Adams was going to make up for the loss of Jordy but that poor kid had a terrible season with a bad wheel and drops. Cobb is not a #1 guy. He's a pretty nice slot guy and Swiss army knife but he isn't big or fast enough to battle with other teams' top DBs. Jones was okay initially but after a while when he had to go up against a #1 corner or safety he disappeared. Then Montgomery got hurt so we were left with JJ, Abby who is fragile and misses a lot of practice time and Janis who is fast but can't figure out the playbook. Even the best QBs in the league suffer when they have nobody to throw to. IF Rodgers looks like he did in 2015 this coming season then we have something to concern ourselves with.

So Adams gets the free pass due to injury but Jones doesn't. You do realise that that the time Jones play declined last season coincides with his hamstring injury? He at least played through it, and usually made the most of his targets. Adams on the other hand had more drops than most teams receivers combined. Even with a banged up receiver group, Rodgers should get a lot of the blame. It was plain to see he was inaccurate and just not his usual self last year.

[pbmax]

Jones will be available in August. Why take up the spot now?

[Pugger]

So Adams gets the free pass due to injury but Jones doesn't. You do realise that that the time Jones play declined last season coincides with his hamstring injury? He at least played through it, and usually made the most of his targets. Adams on the other hand had more drops than most teams receivers combined. Even with a banged up receiver group, Rodgers should get a lot of the blame. It was plain to see he was inaccurate and just not his usual self last year.

Who's giving Adams a free pass? I said he was terrible this year dropping passes right in his mitts. But he is a lot more talented than Jones is at this point in their respective careers. There is a reason why we aren't offering JJ a contract this season. Rodgers wasn't his usual self but he wasn't as dreadful as some here are suggesting either. There were many reasons for our offensive issues last year. There is enough blame to go around.