Now that quarterback Aaron Rodgers is lastly within the fold, I needed to proceed trying on the potential match with the Steelers for the 2025 season. A side of Rodgers’ resume that aligns with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is play-action. The latter influence has already been felt within the Metal Metropolis, leading to elevated play-action utilization. The purpose of the article is to see what Rodgers has completed within the scenario in his profession.
Let’s have a look at play-action makes an attempt and passer rankings per season from Professional Soccer Focus (PFF), utilizing their knowledge that’s been tracked since 2012. Blue season numbers are Rodgers’ outcomes, and grey dots are one of the best/worst numbers per season. I additionally excluded Rodgers’ seasons with fewer complete dropbacks (underneath 500) for high quality/amount context:
Instantly, we see that Rodgers has been above common for a lot of his profession. Play-action makes an attempt soar out first, touchdown above the imply in each non-injured season since 2016 (eight instances). Because the QB has aged, this has turn into a focal a part of the offenses he has run.
Beginning with the newest 2024 season, Rodgers had 161 play-action makes an attempt, seventh-most within the league. The chart illustrates a barely below-the-mean 93.2 play-action passer score, which ranked twenty eighth final yr. That the majority latest outcome will not be ultimate, clearly. However, that being his worst score since 2019 (over 5 years in the past), is an encouraging flip aspect.
In reality, six of his qualifying ten seasons have been above the imply in play-action passer score, rating prime 15 in every of these years, together with three within the prime two:
Rodgers Play-Motion Passer Rankings:
2024: 93.2, twenty eighth.
2022: 104.9, eleventh.
2021: 118.3, 2nd.
2020: 138.1, 1st.
2019: 91.3, twenty sixth.
2018: 95.9, nineteenth.
2016: 106.9, twelfth.
2015: 71.8, thirty fifth.
2014: 119.2, 2nd.
2012: 102.0, Fifteenth.
Rating first or second in three separate seasons is spectacular. Two of them coming within the final 5 years are latest sufficient to be optimistic about how play-action may look in Pittsburgh for 2025. Whereas the numbers are constructive total, we see there have been down years to say the least, and sadly, contains the 2024 season.
Right here’s the same breakdown of Rodgers’ Play-action makes an attempt:
Rodgers Play-Motion Cross Makes an attempt:
2024: 161, seventh.
2022: 147, tenth.
2021: 146, sixteenth.
2020: 179, 4th.
2019: 171, fifth.
2018: 122, 14th.
2016: 121, eighth.
2015: 112, twelfth.
2014: 141, T-Sixth.
2012: 106, T-Fifteenth.
Much more spectacular, within the prime 15 QBs in play-action 9-of-10 qualifying seasons. For context, Pittsburgh was useless final in play-action makes an attempt in 2023 pre-Smith. In his first season with the Steelers, that bumped up considerably to seventeenth, and used it much more pre-Steelers, together with an eighth rank in 2023 as head coach in Atlanta.
Whereas all of it hasn’t been excellent, we will clearly see that Rodgers AND Smith love play-action.
I solely count on that pattern to proceed, particularly now that Rodgers is within the fold. The query is, how will it fare? Neither Smith nor Rodgers had the outcomes they needed in 2024. However the potential for a turnaround is on their resume.
