Aaron Rodgers is having a decent statistical year, but numbers don’t tell the real story. The NFL’s reigning MVP is clearly frustrated on game day.
Due to a mediocre and oft-injured offensive line, inconsistent receivers and under-performing running backs, the 2015 campaign hasn’t been kind to the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
“This is the most frustrated I’ve ever seen him,” head coach Mike McCarthy said of Rodgers, according to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
For a player accustomed to producing at an elite level, Rodgers ought to be annoyed with how the season has progressed.
It started with elite wideout Jordy Nelson tearing the ACL in his right knee. Play-calling was such an issue that McCarthy took back control of the offense.
Then there’s Eddie Lacy, who had consecutive 1,100-plus-yard seasons to start his NFL career, battled injuries and struggled to regain his previous form. James Starks looked like a decent replacement, but fumbling issues bit him.
On the outside, James Jones is good for little more than free-play vertical routes. He and Davante Adams rarely give Rodgers a clear passing lane. Randall Cobb isn’t the same receiver without Nelson occupying safeties. Tight end Richard Rodgers isn’t a regular difference-maker.
And, oh, that awful offensive line. Only Blake Bortles took more sacks than Rodgers in 2015. The Packers allowed a total of 14 sacks during the last two games of the year. So much for pass protection.
While Nelson’s presence could not fix every issue, but Green Bay wouldn’t look like a team that was lucky to even reach the playoffs. Expectations for the Packers are low, which is a major change from previous seasons.
After years of being considered a postseason favorite, Rodgers will enter wild-card weekend as an underdog. That’s a frustrating place for an elite quarterback who knows the franchise is capable of much, much more.