Aaron Rodgers’ 10 Total Turnovers in 2014

Interceptions

1-10-GB 14 (Q3, 12:06) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short left intended for 87-J.Nelson INTERCEPTED by 41-B.Maxwell at GB 29. 41-B.Maxwell to GB 8 for 21 yards (63-C.Linsley).

On this play, Jordy Nelson is running a post route. The Seahawks are in their standard aggressive Cover 3 shell, and this route is meant to exploit the space in between the deep and intermediate defenders. If Rodgers’ throw had been on target, it would have done just that, as Nelson was open. However, Rodgers was off target and while Nelson was able to reach out and get his hands on it, this would have been a really impressive catch had he pulled it down. I gave Rodgers partial fault on this play because while Nelson was able to get both hands on the football, but it was far enough out of his reach that he shouldn’t be expected to catch it. Byron Maxwell is in good position to catch the tipped ball. A lot of times this kind of throw would just go down as an incompletion, but Maxwell does a good job adjusting to the tipped pass.

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3-5-NO 5 (Q3, 7:46) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short left intended for 81-A.Quarless INTERCEPTED by 57-D.Hawthorne (24-C.White) at NO 2. 57-D.Hawthorne to NO 12 for 10 yards (27-E.Lacy).

I also labeled this as a partial fault for Rodgers, although I don’t think he deserves much blame at all. The only thing he really did wrong was trust his receiver too much. This throw is predetermined by the pre-snap coverage. It’s Quarless’ job to get himself in a position where only he can make the catch. White does a very good job of defending the pass, and gets in there to knock it away. If Quarless had done a better job, he would have shielded with his body to prevent the CB from getting in there. Still, this should have only resulted in an incomplete pass, and would have if not for an unlucky bounce and great diving catch. Since the ball bounced up in the air, Hawthorne was able to dive and make the pick.

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2-15-NO 41 (Q4, 14:21) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short right intended for 17-D.Adams INTERCEPTED by 24-C.White (76-A.Hicks) at NO 29. 24-C.White to NO 29 for no gain (17-D.Adams).

My feelings on this play are similar to the first interception, except Rodgers has an added difficulty of throwing on the run. Adams is able to get an outstretched hand on the errant pass, but it’s not his fault he’s unable to bring it in. However, if Adams doesn’t touch the ball at all, this is probably an incompletion. The bounce off of the deflection allowed White to make the catch.

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2-7-GB 23 (Q3, 3:40) 12-A.Rodgers pass deep left intended for 18-R.Cobb INTERCEPTED by 30-B.Rambo at GB 45. 30-B.Rambo to GB 29 for 16 yards (89-R.Rodgers).

Here is the first play where Aaron Rodgers is truly at fault for the interception. On the play, Rodgers makes the wrong decision. That actually could have worked out, but he made a poor throw too, so Bacari Rambo was able to make the interception. The route combination that Nelson and Cobb are running is meant to exploit single high safety coverage. The Bills are indeed running a single high coverage. Nelson is running a pure vertical route, while Cobb is running a post where he’s supposed to cross the field in hopes of bringing the safety to that side, opening up Nelson on the deep route.

To be honest, I’m not sure what the Bills are really trying to do in coverage on this play, because whatever it is didn’t work very well. On the right side (from the Packers’ perspective) the coverage looks like zone, but at the bottom of the screen Gilmore is clearly playing man coverage. They also end up with only one deep defender when the Packers have two deep routes that they’re running. In any case, to me it’s clear that Rodgers made the wrong decision. Rambo starts to cheat towards Cobb before Rodgers throws the ball. Rodgers needs to recognize this and then look at Nelson, who is just completely wide open at the top of the screen because nobody decided to follow him on the deep route for some reason.

Now, while this is a poor decision by Rodgers because Rambo is cheating that way, I don’t entirely blame him for making it. Cobb is the first read, and Rambo is far enough away from Cobb that Rodgers has a legitimate chance of making this throw and completing the pass. Because Cobb is Rodgers’ first read, he doesn’t know he has Nelson wide open on the other side of the field, and Cobb is open enough by NFL standards. In fact, if Rodgers’ throw had been on target, Cobb probably would have scored a TD or at least gained about 20 yards on the play, which would make this a good decision. However, Rodgers’ throw is just far enough behind Cobb that Rambo is able to dive and make the interception. It’s a bad throw because Rodgers should be leading Cobb, not only because it’s an extension of his route but also because leading Cobb would mean he was throwing away from the defender. If he had done that, this would be a nice gain. Instead, it’s Rodgers’ fourth interception on the year.

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3-4-BUF 34 (Q4, 11:15) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short middle intended for 11-J.Boykin INTERCEPTED by 30-B.Rambo at BUF 20. 30-B.Rambo to BUF 48 for 28 yards (63-C.Linsley).

Did you read the part with his first interception against the Saints? It’s the exact same situation here.

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3-10-SEA 29 (Q1, 11:23) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass deep right intended for 17-D.Adams INTERCEPTED by 25-R.Sherman (56-C.Avril) at SEA 0. Touchback.

Rodgers shows some awesome pocket presence and great poise on this play, by calmly stepping up to avoid the pressure from behind him and moving into open space. He does this so well I really wouldn’t even consider this a pressure by that DE, but Cliff Avril does a good job seeing Rodgers move, getting off of his block, and getting a hit on the QB. Rodgers doesn’t really have anything available to him down the field, as none of his receivers got open. Therefore, he tries to take a deep shot. The problem is the defender he was throwing at is Richard Sherman, who some people think is pretty good. The throw was to the inside of Adams, when it really should have been a back shoulder throw, and Sherman does a good job of tracking the football and making the interception.

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1-10-SEA 33 (Q2, 8:29) (Shotgun) 12-A.Rodgers pass short left intended for 18-R.Cobb INTERCEPTED by 41-B.Maxwell at SEA 26. 41-B.Maxwell to SEA 31 for 5 yards (18-R.Cobb).

It was raining during the NFC Championship in Seattle. And on this play, you can see the effect of that rain. Rodgers is targeting Cobb on the curl, but the throw is way off target. Since he’s not under duress, I believe the ball slipped in Rodgers’ hand while he was throwing, causing the errant pass and Maxwell makes a great diving catch to get the interception. It’s still Rodgers’ fault for the bad throw, but adverse weather conditions can cause this to happen to the best QBs, and balls that slip out of a player’s hands generally don’t end up as interceptions because they usually end up in no man’s land.

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