Sturm - Marinelli Report - Aaron Rodgers

[Sturm1310]

http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...11/sturms-marinelli-report-deal-aaron-rodgers

[content added by staff]

Sturm: Aaron Rodgers playing best football of his career, so can Cowboys stop him again?

• 
  By Bob Sturm, Special contributor Contact Bob Sturm on Twitter SportsSturm

Marinelli Report
In what is quarterback's league, the NFL's three best signal-callers this season appear to be -- in some order -- Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers. The likelihood that one walks away with MVP honors is pretty high, but regardless, no individual trophy can take the place of the conversation piece -- you have a game you need to win, which would you least like to face?

Well, if you are Rod Marinelli, odds are pretty high that if you have designs on winning three more games to capture Dallas' first Lombardi Trophy in a generation, you will have to go through all three.

In other words, this sounds a bit like a defensive coordinator's nightmare.

They all bring different attributes to the table. No two quarterbacks are alike, and I would argue that while scheme and timing makes Ryan and Brady extremely formidable players to deal with, the challenge of dealing with Rodgers has proven to be too much for the league in general recently.

Good defenses -- in particular, the Vikings and Giants -- both had 38 points put on them by Rodgers (Seattle, too) during this streak the Packers are on. They are trying their normal ideas against the two-time MVP, and the normal ideas are maybe slowing him down a bit, but certainly not coming close to stopping him.

 

[guag]

Very much appreciated as always, Bob. Look forward to reading this. Thanks!!

 

[yimyammer]

oy, thats scary

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Good read but I'm tired of reading about Rodgers and his win streak. Granted, he did score points against good defenses (NY, Minny and Seattle) on this present run but all three of those teams lacked a potent offense. They did also beat Detroit (potent offense) but Detroit had a suspect defense.

Dallas may lose on Sunday but it will not be because Rodgers single-handedly willed the Packers to win. If Dallas loses, it will be because they (Cowboys) did not execute, turned the ball over, have a good gameplan (coaching), or a combination of any of the three. Dallas is the most complete team the Packers have faced and will face again; Rodgers alone cannot defeat them.

I'm done reading about this game until it is over.

 

[DeaconMoss]

If GB scores 30 points our chances of winning are about 15%. If Dallas controls TOP and plays with a lead, GB doesn't get 30 and DAL wins.

 

[MileyDancer]

If GB scores 30 points our chances of winning are about 15%. If Dallas controls TOP and plays with a lead, GB doesn't get 30 and DAL wins.

They're not scoring more than 24 points, if that.

 

[DogFace]

I guess we're at his mercy

 

[DFWJC]

I forgot just how bad Rodgers was early in the season. Wow. He missed a ton of throws that he makes in his sleep normally.

This will be a dogfight.
As long as Dallas, wins, that's fine.

 

[T-RO]

If GB scores 30 points our chances of winning are about 15%. If Dallas controls TOP and plays with a lead, GB doesn't get 30 and DAL wins.

We can put 35, 38 on them...

May have to.

 

[kramskoi]

To be fair...he was off a lot in the first half against NY. If Dallas can force him into that type of start, minus the Hail Mary, I like their chances in the final 30 minutes. A very loud ATT would be nice on Sunday as well.

One thing I do know is that rarely do these games go like one thinks they will. There is too much uncertainty within the sixty minutes...like turnovers, poor field position, injuries, luck and bad nerves.

That said...I think the key is to not let Rodgers get into the type of groove he slowly found in the final half of last weeks game. If that means long, methodical, clock-killing drives, with well-timed and well-disguised blitzing then so be it...just make it count or else. Just one INT by the defense might force him to become more tentative with his attempts to throw guys open. The Giants wouldn't let him "cool off" because they couldn't sustain anything over 2.5 minutes in the second half.

One thing is certain...the offense better come ready to boogie...and ready to EAT!

 

[kramskoi]

For some solace...Detroit was in the week 17 game until 10 minutes of the fourth quarter (17-14) until the circus 3rd and 9 play to Geronimo Allison. They actually led 14-10 at halftime. You think the Detroit pass defense is better than the Giants pass defense? Familiarity you say? Maybe, but Detroit, at home, gave a good 3 1/2 quarters of fight. Also, note how many times Detroit struck deep right from Stafford, especially when the Packers decided to blitz. This is where I rather differ with Sturm. You want to hide behind that massive line and running game but you can't ignore one-on-one matchups on the outside when GB blitzes...or separation demands it. Both corners are young and relatively inexperienced. They ate Gunter's lunch in the first game...Whitehead, Butler, Beasley...it did not matter, he was beaten like a drum at a marching contest.

 

[CyberB0b]

If GB scores 30 points our chances of winning are about 15%.

LOL, what?

 

[NorthTexan95]

For some solace...Detroit was in the week 17 game until 10 minutes of the fourth quarter (17-14) until the circus 3rd and 9 play to Geronimo Allison. They actually led 14-10 at halftime. You think the Detroit pass defense is better than the Giants pass defense? Familiarity you say? Maybe, but Detroit, at home, gave a good 3 1/2 quarters of fight. Also, note how many times Detroit struck deep right from Stafford, especially when the Packers decided to blitz.

If Detroit's offense could have controlled the ball more keeping their defense fresh, and put some points up in that first half, they would have probably won. I think we have the perfect offense to counter Green Bay if we just execute and don't turn the ball over.

 

[Aven8]

Could see a little bias for his team and Rogers in that piece...but I don't blame you there Bob! Rogers is a stud and the best QB on the planet.

This is going to be tough, so going for it on 4th and 1's(within reason), and avoiding field goals is a must IMO. I hope JG knows that as well.

 

[Proximo]

This game can't get here soon enough.

The bye week has made this board extra restless.

I just hope all of the fans, talking heads, pundits, etc, don't forget how unbeatable they made Aaron Rodgers sound after we win.

 

[kramskoi]

If Detroit's offense could have controlled the ball more keeping their defense fresh, and put some points up in that first half, they would have probably won. I think we have the perfect offense to counter Green Bay if we just execute and don't turn the ball over.

Well Detroit led at halftime 14-10...after giving Rodgers some easy prevent stuff in the final seconds of the first half, leading to a long field goal...like what happened in 2014 after Dallas missed a field goal right before half. The second half was more akin to the attrition usually seen in divisional match-ups once GB took the lead 17-14 (9 minutes of the third). It wasn't until nearly halfway through the fourth that things hotted up.

 

[ufcrules1]

This game can't get here soon enough.

The bye week has made this board extra restless.

I just hope all of the fans, talking heads, pundits, etc, don't forget how unbeatable they made Aaron Rodgers sound after we win.

I know, I feel the same way. It feels like with the first round bye and not playing our starters it has been forever since we have played. I have a feeling of confidence that we are going to beat the Packers too. Feels like in 2014 that they had the edge and now it feels like we have the edge. Ready to get this thing over with.

 

[8FOR!3]

Rodgers might be my least favorite player in the league. Guy's a scumbag, I don't think his own family likes him too much

 

[SlammedZero]

We are going to have our hands full, that much has been determined. I think, and I know this is obvious, we just have to do our best to not let him get in a groove. Or get a big play. It was like that Hail Mary against the Giants sparked them.

Good news for Dallas? I'm not extemely afraid of their defense.

 

[Proximo]

I know, I feel the same way. It feels like with the first round bye and not playing our starters it has been forever since we have played. I have a feeling of confidence that we are going to beat the Packers too. Feels like in 2014 that they had the edge and now it feels like we have the edge. Ready to get this thing over with.

Yep. And I think we deserve that edge because we are clearly the better TEAM.

Yes they have the almighty Aaron Rodgers, but as I mentioned in a previous thread- they have NOT been a good team when playing on the road this year, and they have NOT played well when facing teams who have a good offense. They're good at beating up on inferior opponents, which we are anything but.

If we do what we've done for the majority of the season, we win. We are easily the least flawed team in the conference, if not the league.

I'm so ready to watch us play in a conference championship game.