Getty Aaron Rodgers is not happy with the repeated mental mistakes on offense for the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers is fed up with the mental mistakes and missed assignments from the Green Bay Packers offense through the first seven games of the 2022 season and is ready for some of the repeat offenders to start losing reps.
After the Packers dropped their third straight game to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Rodgers revisited the ongoing issue of “detail” mistakes among his offensive teammates during his weekly Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on October 24. The four-time NFL MVP said he believes the mental errors are occurring at a high frequency than his previous season and estimates they happen “20% of the time.”
“In the past, we’re looking at like less than 10%, so it gives us a really good chance to be successful,” Rodgers told McAfee. “Twenty percent, that’s too high. That’s one play a series where you’re really making it tough on yourself. We’ve got to fix that. And whatever that is, I think guys who are making too many mistakes shouldn’t be playing. Gotta start cutting some reps, and maybe guys who aren’t playing, give them a chance.”
Rodgers Could Be Time to ‘Crack the Whip’ With Offense
Rodgers was clear that he still sees hope for the Packers in 2022. Despite the fundamental mistakes that have cost them through the first seven games, he recognizes that the issues are fixable ones that — if properly addressed — could help the Packers reach their true potential as the season continues into the second half.
At a certain point, though, the urgency of a fading season begins to take control and team leaders, such as Rodgers, need to get a little harsher when holding players accountable for their repeat mistakes in games. McAfee asked Rodgers how he might go about handling that responsibility in the coming weeks and the veteran quarterback admitted it could be time to “really crack the whip” with the Packers offense.
“You have to really be cognizant of when is the right time to speak and when is the right time to listen,” Rodgers said about his role as a Packers leader. “We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. There are times to listen and then there are times where you’ve heard enough and now it’s that time to really crack the whip a little bit. So [it] could be that time, could definitely be that time.”
Rodgers Says Commanders Did ‘Nothing’ to Stop Packers
The Packers — Rodgers included — don’t have a problem giving credit to an opposing defense when they run a good plan against them to shut them down. Head coach Matt LaFleur did as much in his postgame press conference after the Packers lost 23-21 on Sunday. Rodgers also praised the talent of the Commanders’ defense, which features a number of former first-round picks and “good players.”
As far as what the Commanders did schematically to stop the Packers on Week 7, though, Rodgers didn’t mince words about the reality of the situation.
“Nothing,” Rodgers said on McAfee’s show. “Look, they didn’t have to do anything. They rushed four guys, they played Cover 4, they sprinkled a couple weak inserts and a couple man coverages, and that was it. They’ve got good players, but as far as schematically what did they do? Lined up and played.
“We had so many mental errors and mistakes. It’s not the kind of football we’re used to playing over the years. There have definitely been games [and] seasons where we average four, five, six, maybe seven at the most kind of mental errors or missed assignments per week. Some weeks you have four, two sometimes. This season, it’s a lot more than that every single week. It’s double-digit every single week. Even on a game where we had like 50 plays or something … a lot of mistakes.”