NFL1000: Aaron Rodgers Combines Structure, Improvisation to Be Truly Great

Structure is at the heart of every good game plan. Improvisation is what special players can do to take that game plan to new heights.

Through his 11 years as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Mike McCarthy has put different game plans on the field. Early on, he was an advocate of the traditional West Coast offense principles—receiver spacing and timing and creating matchup advantages with scheme.

In later years, McCarthy has regressed at times to the "just get our guys open and see what happens" school, using isolation routes and failing to create those same matchup advantages for his quarterback.

Fortunately for McCarthy, his quarterback is Aaron Rodgers.

As McCarthy's offensive concepts have narrowed to the team's detriment, Rodgers' ability to improvise has expanded exponentially.

In the Packers' 34-31 divisional playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, Rodgers had full control of the facilities that make him the best quarterback in the NFL and an all-time great.

The difference in this game, and during his recent hot streak, is that McCarthy has finally opened up the playbook past Page 3. That should be a worrisome development for the Atlanta Falcons, who face the Packers in the NFC championship game.

Atlanta pulled out the victory when the Packers and Falcons met in Week 8, as Matt Ryan hit Mohamed Sanu on an 11-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left. Rodgers completed 28 of 38 passes for 246 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in that loss.

From then to now, he's been as good as he ever has: 306 completions in 456 attempts for 3,650 yards, 33 touchdowns and four picks. That's quite an improvement over the first six games, when he completed 148 of 237 passes for 1,496 yards, 13 touchdowns and four picks.

Rodgers has been more in line with his accuracy and communication with his receivers, but the big difference from then to now is that McCarthy has reinstalled the crossing routes, timing concepts and coverage beaters needed against today's hybrid defenses.

These concepts were on display against the Cowboys, and that's one reason Rodgers was above reproach when he was on. Not that he was on all the time; he threw one interception and another was called back by a penalty. But when it was needed, Rodgers' combination of command of structure and ability to improvise out of disadvantageous situations left the Cowboys on the losing end.

The highlight everyone's talking about, of course, is Rodgers' 36-yard pass to tight end Jared Cook with 12 seconds remaining. It showcased Rodgers' ability to draw things up outside of structure.

The most frustrating thing for the Cowboys defenders is they had practiced all week to stop Rodgers' improvisations, and this type of play in particular. But there's not much you can do when the opposing quarterback moves to his left, against his own momentum, doesn't even reset and makes a perfectly timed and placed downfield throw.

Dallas safety Barry Church said this after the game, per ESPN's Jean-Jacques Taylor:

"

We were in a Cover 2 look with our package that has six DBs and three down linemen rushing. He was able to get out of the pocket. We preached all week that you can't let that guy get out of the pocket because he does damage out there. But he escaped, and he's a great player and he made a heck of a play. He threaded it in there, and Cook made an unbelievable toe-tap catch, and that was all she wrote.

"

Indeed. But it wasn't the only time Rodgers had tried to find Cook on the sideline out of a scramble. In fact, there was nearly a completion to the other side on the previous play.

With 18 seconds left, Rodgers scrambled to his right and tried to hit Cook on a drag route. Safety Byron Jones was the man on the spot, and he batted the ball away with excellent timing.

The killer play had Cook as the deep sideline target and Jones as the cover man; it was just the Packers switching sides with their concepts.

Jones told Jacques-Taylor:

"

When he's scrambling like that, it's probably best to turn it to man almost because the integrity of the zone kinda breaks down when he is squeezing the field. I'm low. I'm playing in front of the receivers, and you got deep guys playing in the back. So we've got to find a way to not let that little hole pop up like that for him to squeeze it in.

"

Easier said than done—that's something a lot of defenders have said with regret after facing Rodgers.

Going right back to his primary target after an incompletion was a common theme.

With 1:10 left in the first quarter, Rodgers attempted to hit Davante Adams downfield to his right. Adams had shaken cornerback Orlando Scandrick free and established outside position to the boundary, but Scandrick complicated matters by pulling on Adams' jersey through the route and holding on past the five-yard mark. Incredibly, though Adams' jersey was pulled to the point where you could see his left shoulder pad, no flag was thrown.

Next play? Same guy.

This time, Adams lined up in the left inside slot in trips left and ran up the left seam with Jones covering him. Adams has a great ability to shake free of coverage in open spaces, and on the replay, you can see him render Jones jelly-legged with an inside fake to the outside route.

From there, it was another master class in timing and precision from Rodgers for the 32-yard completion.

It was clear in the Week 8 loss to the Falcons that Rodgers was taking advantage of Atlanta's young defense by placing the ball where only his receivers could catch it. McCarthy also did a good job of scheming his receivers in route concepts that put speedy players on safeties and linebackers.

If Rodgers places the ball the way he did against the Cowboys, he won't need much of a schematic head start.

"It's a tough game," Dallas cornerback Brandon Carr concluded. "It's a high-powered offense and a quarterback who can do it all."

It's the combination of the high-powered scheme and the quarterback who can do it all that makes this Packers team so daunting right now.

The warning shot for Green Bay fans who might want to get overconfident?

Remember when I cited Rodgers' amazing stats in the second half? Guess which one quarterback has been even more efficient through the second half of the season and into the playoffs? That Matt Ryan guy.

Ryan's stat line (234 completions in 327 attempts for 2,934 yards, 25 touchdowns and three interceptions) means Rodgers will need all his facilities on display to avoid a rerun of that close loss.