After three years of decline in the number of sacks of taken by Green Bay Packers quarterbacks, that number returned to a high level again in 2015.
In 2012, Packers quarterbacks were sacked the second most in the league at 51. This improved to ninth worst, at 45, in 2013, and to a tie for 21st worst, at only 30 sacks, in 2014. Last year, however, Aaron Rodgers was sacked 47 times, fifth worst in the league.
Joining the Packers in the bottom five were Tennessee (54), Cleveland (53), San Francisco (53), and Jacksonville (51) — four teams that combined for 16 wins and 48 losses. It seems clear that it’s hard to thrive offensively when your quarterback is being thrown for losses with regularity. You might notice that none of these four other teams were being led by accomplished quarterbacks. This is but one of many aspects of play Rodgers needs to improve on over last year.
While the tendency is to blame the offensive line, and Rodgers has done just that, other factors play a role in such statistics. In the Packers’ case, the receivers’ failure to get open and the tendency for Rodgers to scramble around in the backfield for several seconds, were more responsible for these numbers than was the offensive line’s performance.
These negative-yardage plays seriously hampered the Packers’ offensive drives last year. But there’s a bigger downside than that. Serious injury to Rodgers is all but inevitable if the Packers don’t commit to reducing sacks and exposing their quarterback. The Packers have played with fire far too long in this regard. The risk to a quarterback who is scrambling as much as Rodgers did in 2015 arguably exceeds the potential reward.
The coaching staff has addressed the problem by returning to the basics of good route running during training camp. The team has also acquired two additional weapons who might be able to achieve better separation — tight end Jared Cook and receiver Trevor Davis.
If Rodgers’ receivers offer better targets this year, that should result in fewer broken plays and scrambles in 2016.
The rest is up to Rodgers, who needs to think long-term, play smart, and — in the long run — preserve his health.