To no one’s surprise, the 3-4 Green Bay Packers are making way more mental mistakes than in previous seasons, at least according to Aaron Rodgers.
“It’s not the kind of football we’re used to playing over the years,” Rodgers said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“There have been seasons where we averaged four or five, six, maybe seven at the most, kind of mental errors or missed assignments per week. Some weeks you have like four, you have two sometimes. This season, a lot more than that every single week. It’s double digits every single week.”
Rodgers estimated that in a given week, there may be a mental mistake on 20 percent of the team’s offensive plays. Whereas in the past, that number was probably less than 10 percent.
“Twenty percent, that’s too high. That’s one play a series where you’re really making it tough on yourself.”
Too many mistakes have the Packers off to their worst starter under head coach Matt LaFleur, who has lost no more than four games in his first three seasons. However, no one seems to have any answers beyond better execution. That was until Rodgers offered a new solution on Tuesday.
“Guys who are making too many mistakes shouldn’t be playing,” he stated bluntly. “Gotta start cutting some reps. Maybe some guys who aren’t playing, maybe give them a chance.”
Rodgers could be talking about his receivers, who dropped five passes against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. However, finding new pass catchers could be hard for a team without Randall Cobb, Christian Watson, and possibly Allen Lazard, who is now dealing with a shoulder injury. Wide receiver Samori Toure could be a candidate for more snaps after making his professional debut and catching one pass for four yards in Washington.
Rodgers did speak highly of the seventh-round draft pick during the summer.
Green Bay already started making changes to the offensive line by benching right guard Royce Newman. Newman did not play a single offensive snap against the Commanders after costly mistakes plagued him through his first six starts.
Of course, Rodgers also hasn’t played particularly well this season, but he did receive a positive review from his quarterback coach Tom Clements for his performance in Week 7.
“This was my highest graded game by Tom, which people may be surprised to hear,” Rodgers said laughingly.
Rodgers completed 23 out of 35 pass attempts against the Commanders for 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 99.0 passer rating was his third-highest of the season.
That kind of performance obviously isn’t up to the standard of the four-time MVP, but he recognizes that his play alone won’t be enough to fix the Packers’ problems. Rodgers will need to elevate his game to help the team win, but they will also have to stop beating themselves.
