Alarms are sounding in Green Bay following another inept offensive outing that led to a 27-10 defeat to the New York Jets on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers believes there's a simple solution for the Packers offense going forward.
"Simpler," he said after his team fell to 3-3 on the season. "Simplify some things."
Simplifying the scheme? The game plan?
"All of it," Rodgers elaborated. "Yeah, I don't want to get too specific. I'm not attacking anything, I think based on how we've played the last two weeks it's going to be at our best interest to simplify things for everybody ... the line, the backs, the receivers, especially with [Randall] Cobb's injury. Just need to simplify some things and maybe that will help us get back on track."
Rodgers struggled to get in any sort of rhythm in the early going, leading the Packers offense to just three points after eight first-half possessions that included two turnovers (fumble, downs) and a missed field goal. But even with a 3-3 tie at halftime, the adjustments to eradicate those offensive burdens weren't made and Green Bay's offense paved a laboring road for its defense in the second half.
"That's about as frustrating of a game that I've ever been a part of from an offensive perspective," coach Matt LaFleur said afterward. "We're in a pretty bad predicament right now."
Mustering just 60 rushing yards on the day, the Packers were rendered into a predictable mess for most of the game, and the Jets took advantage by unleashing a pass-rushing clinic. Rodgers was sacked four times in the game and under constant duress as he looked to save his team with the perfect throw on seemingly every play.
Green Bay converted just 4 of 16 third-downs, came up pointless in their only red-zone possession and added two more turnovers on downs in the second half to cement their second straight loss.
Rodgers finished 26-of-41 passing for 246 yards and one touchdown (zero interceptions), and went on to explain that the Packers' woes are a collective effort, not one solely on a scheme that has proven to be effective in years past. Averaging 17.8 points per game through Week 6, the Packers offense hasn't looked close to the one that allowed Rodgers to win consecutive MVP awards the past two seasons, and going back to square one seems to be in order.
"Very inconsistent," Rodgers said. "That's why I think we need to simplify things, because on a couple drives we didn't move the ball because it was very simple things. It was very simple plays, no motion. So we need to look at everything and the guys that we got and what we can accomplish with them and let's be smart about moving forward. Nobody works harder than Matt [LaFleur] on the plan each week, and nobody comes with better ideas than Matt and his staff. But if it's not working it's not because those guys aren't grinding it's because we are not executing. If you think we have the right players, then we need to simplify things. If you don't, that's a whole another conversation."
