Tundra Vision: The Reward Is Worth The Risk
Rodgers' decision to re-enter the game with an injured calf? Absolutely, positively goes against the risk/reward philosophy. And the decision couldn't have been any more right.
By tundravision
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers by Benny Sieu—USA TODAY Sports.
Last Sunday, an injured Aaron Rodgers reinjured his calf in the middle of a critical game against the Detroit Lions, a game that clearly stunned the Packers offense into shell-shock and gave the previously scoreless Lions an energized turn of momentum that saw them tie the game up.
Rodgers went to the locker room, clearly dejected. The idea of his coming back into the game, risking the possibility of completely blowing out his calf and putting his involvement in the playoffs in doubt was exactly the same as the report we got from the medical staff: "questionable."
Do you risk it? You still make the playoffs, regardless, no matter the result of this game. Do you rest your franchise quarterback, let him heal up, and come back to fight another day?
If you asked me, I would have told you, "Of course you don't let him back into the game. Not for a drive or a snap. He's too valuable to risk losing long-term, as we found out last year."
Thus, the reason no one ever asks me.
You see, I am the king of conservative risk-taking. No, don't put Randall Cobb back there to field punts. He's too valuable. Put Jeremy Ross in on punt returns. What could go wrong?
No, don't bring back Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb for that play-in game for the NFC North in the season finale last year. If we win, we win. You don't want to risk their long-term health for the sake of winning one game.
Now, sometimes my conservative play-it-safe mentality regarding the Packers pays off in the long run. But on occasion, like the examples I just cited, it haunts me. Hey, I was wrong. That's why I don't get paid to be an NFL decision-maker.
But, looking back, the decision that put Rodgers back in the game was a good one, no matter the risks. The rewards are obvious: the Packers got a win that gave them a bye and some home-field advantage in the playoffs, and Rodgers cemented his status as an MVP front-runner.
But more importantly, it was Rodgers who made the call. There's so much that a coach can do to win a game. You can structure your schemes and gameplans and prepare players to execute them, but in the end, once the coin is flipped, you rely on your players to execute, to make decisions in the split-second, and to generate the psychological momentum they need to come out on top.
And, ever since the Buffalo game, the Packers have struggled to do that consistently. It's hard to blame Mike McCarthy for the inconsistency. I mean, as a coach, you prepare the same way, you adjust the same way, you give the inspiring locker room speeches the same way. It's not like you get lazy and decide to give up one week to the next.
Every coach sets up the scaffolding needed to the team to succeed. But it falls upon the talent and the execution of the players. And there's not a lot a coach can do besides call different plays or adjust a scheme when the team isn't executing and falling behind.
The coach can inspire before the game starts. But once you're on the field, it's up to the players to inspire each other. They generate confidence through consistent execution. They generate momentum by creating scoring plays or turnovers. But most of all, they generate pure emotion through their actions, by creating game-changing moments that turn the tide of a game.
At that moment, when Aaron Rodgers stretched in the tunnel, bathed in a ghostly green light, we saw the difference. As Rodgers prepared to step onto the field, while Matt Flynn assured us that we'd be far better off with QB1 at 50 percent, he generated the game-changing moment that the Packers needed to not only win the game but carry that momentum into the playoffs.
It went against every fiber of my don't-risk-the-franchise philosophy. I have that overriding feeling of being so right when I stated emphatically that Mike Shanahan shouldn't be sacrificing RGIII's entire career based on one playoff game. People argued with me, saying that he had to play for the sake of the team. And it was Griffin who was insisting on playing, so it was his choice.
In the end, is there a soul that, looking back, would have risked Griffin in that game? No. Does Griffin wish he had been sat down by his coach and medical staff for his own protection? Of course.
So, under all circumstances, Rodgers should have been sat down for his own good, right?
Wrong.
It could have gone south. In a hurry. But the Packers needed the boost. Rodgers assumed the mantle of leadership with the wisdom of a veteran to keep his calf as protected as possible. And his team responded in a way that no coach could inspire.
And he completely demoralized the Lions in the process.
It was a telling statement when Mike McCarthy admitted this week he had to ask Rodgers three times to find out the truth of how his leg was feeling. This wasn't some hotshot rookie trying to make a name for himself, and a coach too self-satisfied in his own hubris to save the kid from himself. This is an NFL MVP, veteran quarterback who knew his own boundaries but also knew how much the team needed his influence.
And a coach who understood the limits of his own inspiration, and recognized the inspiration of his quarterback.
Risk? Yes.
Worth it? Absolutely.
Sometimes I'm happy to be wrong. You don't win championships by playing it safe, and under the inspiration of Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers have a heck of a chance to win one.
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C.D. Angeli is a long time Packer fan and feature writer at CheeseheadTV. He can be heard weekly as a co-host on Cheesehead Radio and is the good cop over at Packers Talk. Follow him on Twitter at @TundraVision.
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Comments (2)
Ibleedgreenmore
January 05, 2015 at 10:30 am
Thanks I loved the piece, keep up the great work. Makes you think how blessed we have been the last many years who else has a team like we do.
TarynsEyes
January 05, 2015 at 11:02 am
Simple thinking here.....Win or lose vs DET and we play Dallas as the wild card(Det) in Dallas as seen this weekend or we play Dallas in GB as occurring this coming weekend.
The return of Rodgers vs Det wasn't about securing an MVP,seriously hope not,and more about knowing a win vs DET gives Rodgers two(2) weeks to heal to face Dallas in GB,as is set,where a chance of being one and done is drastically lowered as opposed to a one week healing vs Dallas in Dallas.
The road play of the Packers was a factor in the return of Rodgers vs Det whether his calf gets worse or not.....How would Rodgers have looked/played yesterday vs Dallas had he not came back out vs Det and we played yesterday.