Can Philadelphia Eagles Pass Rush Slow Down Aaron Rodgers?
It would be difficult to make a case for an NFL quarterback having a better season than Aaron Rodgers right now, and the Philadelphia Eagles are about to become his next victim. The Birds have one chance and one chance only to defeat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, and that is by forcing Rodgers to make mistakes.
If anybody has the pass rush to rattle Rodgers, it’s Philadelphia. The Eagles rank second in the NFL with 32 sacks this season, pressure that’s helped create 16 takeaways in 2014, good for ninth.
| 67.5 | 2,407 | 8.7 | 25 | 3 |
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The problem is Rodgers simply doesn’t give opponents many quality opportunities. The Packers use a lot of short routes and screens designed to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, and while the 10th-year veteran has been sacked 20 times this season, he usually limits defenses to no more than two or three per game. Even when things get hot in the kitchen, the man rarely caves.
Rodgers has only committed four turnovers—three interceptions and one fumble—in nine games this season.
| GM | CMP% | YDS/AVG | TD/INT | SK |
| Wk 3 @ DET | 59.3 | 162/6.0 | 1/0 | 2 |
| Wk 6 @ MIA | 57.1 | 264/6.3 | 3/0 | 3 |
| Wk 8 @ NO | 71.8 | 418/10.7 | 1/2 | 3 |
Green Bay’s record is just 6-3, though, which is good, but it goes to show Rodgers is not unstoppable. If the Eagles intend to win on the frozen tundra this Sunday, it will take an understanding of Rodgers’ tendencies, his offensive line’s weaknesses and—I’m sorry to say—a little bit of luck.
We sampled three games in search of answers for Rodgers—losses to the Detroit Lions in Week 3 and New Orleans Saints in Week 8 and a close call against the Miami Dolphins in Week 6. Unfortunately, it revealed very little as far as there being one consistent approach to making Rodgers uncomfortable.
Perhaps the main thing the Eagles have going for them is there are vulnerabilities in Green Bay’s protection, specifically at right tackle. Bryan Bulaga is only on the hook for three sacks in ’14, according to the game charters at Pro Football Focus (subscription required), but they also have the fifth-year player down for 13 hurries.
Bulaga really got worked over by the Dolphins and Saints in particular, not surprisingly against Pro Bowl pass-rushers Cam Wake and Cameron Jordan respectively. Against the Eagles, the right tackle should see a lot of Connor Barwin, who is currently tied for second in the NFL with 10.5 sacks.
Watch Barwin to the right of the screen as he goes one-on-one with Carolina Panthers right tackle Nate Chandler.
Pay close attention to where Barwin engages the protection.
Check out where the right tackle is now—on the ground at the quarterback’s feet about five yards away from where he started. Newton tries to escape but has the ball knocked loose as he does so.
Now look to right again as Jordan goes to work against Bulaga.
Point of engagement.
Jordan drives Bulaga backward a good five yards right into Rodgers’ lap. The quarterback is forced to pull the ball down as the defender reaches for it and is lucky this play only ends in a sack.
Not only will Bulaga give up ground against a quality power rush, but he’s susceptible to speed moves as well, as Wake so ably demonstrates, this time on the left side of your screen.
Wake engages with the tackle the same as the plays before, except with a twist.
Wake simply sheds Bulaga’s block and runs right around him, and as good as Rodgers is at maneuvering around traffic in the pocket, this time the defender is closing way too fast. The quarterback gets tripped up in the backfield, and the Packers are forced to punt.
Of course, the Eagles like to dial up the blitz with some frequency, and they have reason to believe they can create some confusion off that right side when they do so.
Get a load this six-man front Philadelphia showed back in Week 5. The St. Louis Rams have just the five offensive linemen into block with no help, so if the Eagles send six, there’s a good chance somebody is coming in unchecked.
In actuality, the defense was only sending five all along, as No. 23 in the middle bails after the ball is snapped. However, there’s confusion on the line now, and defensive end Vinny Curry still winds up unblocked despite this being a five-on-five situation for the offense. Curry jars the ball loose, and Philly recovers.
Fast forward back to New Orleans, which is showing a seven-man front. Even if the back stays into block, Green Bay has six.
No. 57 for the Saints doesn’t go, covering the back instead, but it’s still six against five. Meanwhile, the left tackle (on the right side of the image) is assigned to a defensive back who seems more interested in hanging out in the passing lane than getting after the quarterback. One thing is for sure: If anybody was going to get a free run at Rodgers, it should’ve been the DB, not Jordan coming off the right side.
It’s a sack, and the Packers are fortunate to be kicking a field goal instead of what could’ve been a turnover.
Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis will undoubtedly draw up plenty of blitzes, especially up the A-gap. Rob Demovsky for ESPN.com reports starting left guard Josh Sitton didn’t practice on Thursday, so he’s certainly a question mark for Sunday’s game.
That being said, the Eagles must be careful the rush reaches its mark when they send extra men. Part of what makes defending Rodgers so challenging is he is also willing and able to use his legs to make plays. He is a threat to run or simply extend the play, which is often how the Packers set defenses up for big passes downfield.
It’s a matter of understanding Rodgers wants to break the pocket when things break down around him.
This is just a standard four-man rush by the Lions, but both tackles are getting beat on the play. The push up front is such that Rodgers can’t easily step up and throw the ball, or he’s liable to get pancaked by two defensive tackles, not to mention a few of his own guys. However, there is an escape route to his left.
Rodgers is never going to make it there, not that it would have mattered. Look at No. 90, Ndamukong Suh. He wasn’t just rushing the quarterback on the play—he was spying on him.
Suh had disengaged and was already running to that opening before Rodgers was. The Lions knew him too well.
This is not so dissimilar to what the Eagles did versus Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers; only instead it was a linebacker—Barwin—who was tracking the quarterback.
Normally, Barwin lines up to the outside. But he’s versatile enough to move around, so here the Eagles have him over the left guard. He’s not there to pressure Newton, though, as much as he is to occupy a blocker and make sure the quarterback doesn’t try to break the pocket and run for a big gain.
Notice how everyone else is engaging with his man, but Barwin is just hanging back.
Newton eventually tries to bolt, but Barwin is already there waiting. He drags the play out a few more seconds trying to get away but is eventually hauled down for a sack.
Of course, comparing the Panthers and Rams to Rodgers and the Packers right now is outlandish. We can scheme all day long, but Rodgers just has a special feel inside the pocket, always knows where everybody is on the field and has the combination of arm strength, mobility and football IQ to make plays other quarterbacks simply cannot.
He isn’t unstoppable, though, as other defenses have shown, and between Barwin, Curry, Trent Cole, Brandon Graham and Mychal Kendricks, Philly’s defense has the pieces to make life difficult on any passer. If the Eagles hope to walk away from Lambeau Field with an 8-2 record, somehow those guys must find a way to limit Rodgers’ big plays.
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