Aaron Rodgers has a hard time explaining his genius
Aaron Rodgers has become one of the best improvisational quarterbacks in the NFL. His ability to extend plays in the pocket while being able to throw from nearly any arm angle has made him a nightmare for opposing defenses during his Pro Bowl career.
But for all the times he’s made something out of nothing, the Green Bay Packers star quarterback said Sunday’s playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys was the first time he had made up a play in an NFL huddle.
“That would be a first,” Rodgers said Wednesday on ESPN’s Dan Le Batard Show, via ESPN.
The play in question occurred late in the fourth quarter in the Packers’ 34-31 victory when Rodgers faded to his left after being flushed out of the pocket and hit Jared Cook along the sideline for a 36-yard completion that set up the eventual game-winning field goal.
So what did Rodgers say to his teammates in the huddle before the memorable play?
“I said everybody kind of run over to the left, and get open — not exactly in those words, but that was basically the gist of it,” Rodgers said on the show.
Though the description might sound simplistic, Rodgers said he had been thinking about the play long before he made the call.
“What ended up being the play was not something we talked about, but it was something that I thought about at various times throughout the season or throughout the week even,” Rodgers said. “But it’s hard to kind of put a name necessarily on a play where we have a roll-out with a clear-out and everybody else kind of running to the left. Didn’t exactly have a name for that. But in situations like that [coach] Mike [McCarthy] will allow me to pick a play out of a selection of plays we have.”