Mike McCarthy Needs to Watch One Game Before Designing His Offense

Since the Brett Favre fiasco started, GM Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy have taken a lot of heat from Packer fans. Regardless, McCarthy is now charged with turning green quarterback Aaron Rodgers into, well, the next Brett Favre.

As a Cal fan, it pains me to say to say this, but McCarthy should run to the film-room guy and ask him to get a copy of the Cal-USC game from 2004.

This game, lost by the Bears—23-17—when they couldn't convert from a 1st-and-goal, was the high-water mark of an amazing season, in which Cal was mentioned not only as a Rose Bowl contender, but a National Championship contender.

In their way was a USC squad with Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White, and Dwayne Jarrett on offense, and, more importantly for Rodgers, a defense led by Lofa Tatupu, Mike Patterson, and Lawrence Jackson.

Although Rodgers fumbled twice and failed to score the winning touchdown, before the infamous last four plays, he was 29-31 for 267 with 1 TD and no INTs. In fact, his 23-straight completions tied an NCAA record. Cal racked up over 400-yards of offense and dominated time of possession against a superior opponent.

How did Cal accomplish this? Here is a typical drive from that game:

C 1-10 C20  CALIFORNIA drive start at 12:11 (3rd).
C 1-10 C20 Arrington, JJ rush for 5 yards to the CAL25 (Leach, Jason).
C 2-5 C25 Rodgers, Aaron pass complete to Arrington, JJ for 7 yards to the CAL32, 1ST
               DOWN CAL (Leach, Jason).
C 1-10 C32   Lynch, Marshawn rush for 12 yards to the CAL44, 1ST DOWN CAL (Leach,
Jason;Arbet, Kevin).
C 1-10 C44 Rodgers, Aaron pass complete to Cross, Garrett for 6 yards to the 50 yardline
(Grootegoed, M.).
C 2-4  C50   Lynch, Marshawn rush for 17 yards to the USC33, 1ST DOWN CAL,
               out-of-bounds (Wyatt, Justin).
C 1-10 U33   PENALTY CAL holding 10 yards to the USC43.
C 1-20 U43   Rodgers, Aaron pass complete to Lyman, Chase for 17 yards to the USC26 (Ware,
               Scott).
C 2-3 U26 Lynch, Marshawn rush for no gain to the USC26 (Grootegoed, M.;Rucker,
Frostee).
C 3-3  U26   Rodgers, Aaron pass complete to Smith, Noah for 4 yards to the USC22, 1ST
               DOWN CAL (Wright, Eric).
C 1-10 U22 Rodgers, Aaron pass complete to McArthur, Geoff for 20 yards to the USC2,
               1ST DOWN CAL(Arbet, Kevin).
C 1-G  U02   Rodgers, Aaron rush for loss of 1 yard to the USC3 (Team).
C 2-G  U03   Rodgers, Aaron sacked for loss of 5 yards to the USC8 (Jackson, L.).
C 3-G  U08   PENALTY USC pass interference (Grootegoed, M.) 6 yards to the USC2,
               1ST DOWN CAL.
C 1-G  U02   Lynch, Marshawn rush for 2 yards to the USC0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 05:30.
               Schneider, Tom kick attempt good."

(Source: Calbears.com)

Run, pass, run, pass, run, pass. Aim to pick up 10 to 15 yards at a time. Use short passes to convert third downs. Top it off with a pounding running game to tire the defense and an accurate passing game to keep the linebackers honest, not to mention away from Lynch and Arrington.

The Packers can use Ryan Grant the same way Arrington was used by Tedford, to keep
pressure off of Rodgers, while at the same time keeping third downs short and manageable.

Rodgers is not a gunslinger like Favre is, but he can be very accurate within 20 yards.
Favre killed the 49ers and other teams for years by throwing screens to the running back and short passes to Donald Driver. With Ryan Grant established as a running threat, the Pack can get many third-and-short opportunities, at which point Rodgers can be used effectively.

The Steelers used this system to great effect when they won the Super Bowl. Jerome Bettis and a good defense picked up Roethlisberger when he struggled, and Rogers can go far if Grant and the other offensive players can pick him up with screens and other short passes.

This strategy may not work against all teams, especially those that have exceptionally
fast linebackers, but, all-in-all, the secret to success with Aaron Rodgers might lie in a study of how his former team, the Cal Bears, utilized his strengths and minimized his weaknesses.