Rodgers falls from ranks of greats
http://www.packersnews.com/story/sp...5/mcginn-rodgers-falls-ranks-greats/92053540/
"GREEN BAY - It starts in August, with Rich Gannon serving as analyst for the exhibition games.
Now it continues with the network broadcasters assigned to the games that count.
From the standpoint of the Green Bay Packers, the story begins and ends with Aaron Rodgers, twice a winner of the NFL most valuable player award.
A lovefest is what it is, non-stop talk about the quarterback that is the face of the Packers franchise and how great he is. The narrative, with a wrinkle here and there, basically has been the same since Rodgers’ magnificent play led Green Bay to a Super Bowl title six years ago.
People working for networks that pay billions to become NFL partners won’t change their sunny approach. Realists understand, however, that it’s time for that narrative to change.
Rodgers might be great again, and from someone who picked the Packers for a 13-3 record and Super Bowl berth this season it’s fully expected that he will. It could happen Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. The Packers have the pieces to turn it around on offense, and in dramatic fashion.
Until it happens, Rodgers should be categorized as a good veteran quarterback scuffling to regain his elite form.
Are 16 games, the equivalent of one regular season, long enough to say a quarterback has slipped? That should go without saying.
Rodgers hasn’t been the same player since Game 7 last season when the Packers, a three-point favorite, went to Denver and were crushed, 29-10.
“I haven’t had my ass kicked like that in a long time,” said coach Mike McCarthy, but Rodgers might have said the same thing after throwing for a career-low 77 yards.
That was the start of a 16-game stretch – 12 last year, four this year – in which Rodgers’ level of play, so outstanding season after season, has fallen.
Working backward, Rodgers’ career was divided into eight 16-game segments, playoff games included. The two games in which he departed early because of injury also were counted. The eight 16-game segments totaled 128 starts; left out were the first eight starts of his career in 2008.
The decline in Rodgers’ statistics in the most recent 16-game segment is startling, if not shocking.
Start with passer rating. His 83.6 mark in the last 16 games doesn’t even begin to compare to his previous seven segments, which are listed here in reverse chronological order: 110.0, 105.5, 113.0, 110.9, 115.5, 98.6 and 98.5.
Now check out completion percentage. His mark of 56.8 percent in the last 16 games was preceded by 65.1, 66.5, 66.9, 66.6, 69.2, 65.2 and 63.3.
Look at yards per attempt. His mark of 6.04 in the last 16 games was preceded by averages of 8.20, 8.20, 8.36, 8.25, 8.77, 7.96 and 8.07.
His passing yards (3,677) and touchdowns (29) in the last 16 games were the lowest of the eight segments, and his interception total of 10 was his highest since the first two segments of his career.
It’s almost as if an imposter has been wearing the No. 12 jersey since that night in Denver.
At the risk of statistical overload, allow me one more set of metrics to underscore the depths of Rodgers’ struggles as the face of this offense and this franchise.
Situational football dominates analysis of the game. Whether it’s third down, red zone, short-yardage or goal-line, it’s all important."
More in article. Informative read, with some good statistical breakdowns. Written before the clunker the Packers layed against the Cowboys.
