My Aaron Rodgers Blog

Clearly the Packers have some bright spots on their team. Aaron Rodgers can clearly be an elite QB and several other young Packers, like Jeremichael Finley and Clay Matthews, also played well in Minnesota. However, the Packers also have some big time problems. And they are the types of problems that will show up in big games. The two primary problems are the offensive line and in the defensive secondary. These just happen to be two areas that get exploited in the big games at the end of the season.

The lack of pass protection is astonishing. I know that Jared Allen is a really good player, but he is not the next Reggie White. It seems that the Packers offensive line has made the opposing teams defensive ends look like some of the greatest pass rushers of all time each and every week. It is really pathetic considering how good Aaron Rodgers could be if he had some protection.

And Speaking of Rodgers, he has already been sacked 20 times this year. Many QBs do not get sacked that many times all year long. That is on pace for a grand total of 80 sacks over the course of the season. I seriously doubt that Rodgers will be able to withstand that kind of beating all season long. I just hope that he does not get hurt so badly that it affects the rest of his career. Also, I have not checked the numbers, but I am guessing that 80 sacks would break a record.

On the defensive side of the ball, it seems that they can only do one thing at a time. Either they are giving up huge yards on the ground like they did in the first three games or they are giving up huge plays to Favre downfield. The Packers defense obviously committed to stopping the run, and I agree with that strategy. They absolutely had to stop Adrien Peterson. But I did not think that our secondary would struggle like it did.

With most of our defenders watching Peterson, there was a lot of one-on-one matchups and blown coverages downfield. And Favre quickly picked them apart for huge back-breaking plays. The safety that is replacing Bigby was consistently out of position and responsible for multiple downfield plays.

Also, I did not know that 3-4 defense must abandon bump and run coverage with the corners. Woodson is more versatile and is doing fine in this new scheme, but Harris is not doing as well. I am not an expert at the 3-4, but they should try to get Harris in some bump and run coverage. It is his greatest strength and right now we are not using it.

Despite all these huge problems, the Packers are not destined to a long and dreadful season.