Thursday, August 26, 2010

Packers Aaron Rodgers Efficient; Peyton Manning Robbed By Officials

Aaron Rodgers
Preseason games are generally meaningless affairs, unless it's The Green Bay Packers vs. The Indianapolis Colts on ESPN Thursday (Monday) Night Football.

Then, the small value of the contest is overshadowed by Colts QB Manning's feud with NFL Officials and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers continued passing efficiency.

The Packers won 59 to 24, but the game was over when the head NFL Official decided to use his power to rob Indy Quarterback Peyton Manning of a game.

Aaron Rodgers finished the game with 21 of 29 for 195 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 124.9. Over three preseason games, Rodgers has had 41 completions in 53 attempts for 470 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. The former California Quarterback's passer rating is a blistering 141.23.

Colts Manning Robbed

While Rogers was enjoying the continuation of a blistering performance that may be a set-up for a regular season fall, Manning was involved in what became a personal battle with the NFL officiating crew.

The new NFL rules governing where the umpire stands - now behind the quarterback rather than near the football on the side of the defense - have effectively blunted any attempt at a hurry-up offense.

As expertly pointed out by the ESPN crew of Mike Terrico, John Gruden, and Ron Jaworski, Manning set out to test the new rule because it harmed the Colts' up-tempo offensive approach.

Constantly using check-with-me play calls at the line-of-scrimmage, Manning gave the officiating crew fits by forcing them to hurry up, get their act together, and have the ball in place and ready before he was ready.

More often than not, the Umpire and crew looked like a bunch of weekend warriors trying to keep-up with the pace of play. After a time, it was too much for them, and flags for "illegal snap" started to fly. The last one of two illegal snaps came just before an obviously flustered Peyton Manning fumbled the football away to the Packers, who returned it for a touchdown.

Game Score Not Reflecting Game Reality

That game-long feud between Manning and the NFL Officials negatively impacted Colts momentum and the team slowly gave up the game. After a time, a once competitive contest became a route, and Manning had proved his point.

NFL Needs To Give Umpires Pads

Rather than move the Umpire, the NFL should have the person wear football gear to reduce the chance of injury. In that way, Umpire could go back to the old and more efficient position on the defensive side yet worry less about play-related injury.

The Colts lost the game because of the officials and in a way seldom seen. The NFL needs to correct this problem in some way before the 2010 season starts. Otherwise, the issue will come up again and again and taint the quality of the game.

6 comments:

  1. 1 Did you watch the game ?
    2 Peyton is a choker and a cry baby.
    3 He was so pouting like a litle child on the sidelines. No grace,
    4 Admittedly he has talent, but he shows his true character when the rubber meets the road.
    5 You are obviously a deluded FAN to not be objective, Green Bay Killed in every stat of the game.


    I am being objective, I am a Detroit fan (cry for me) so, I didn't want GB to win.

    6 Reality check for Indy.

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  2. Anonymous5:04 AM

    You misspelled Rodgers (not Rdogers) in the 4th paragraph. Perhaps the officials robbed you of your spell checker. ;)

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  3. Good catch. As to Manning, the blog post stands.

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  4. Anonymous6:06 AM

    I completely disagree with you about Aaron Rodgers. He has become one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks. His preseason hasn't been lucky, he is one of the most efficient passers in the NFL. Granted, his passer rating probably won't be 140 but I completely disagree that his performannce in the preseason will set up for a fall/

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  5. Anonymous12:36 PM

    Were any Rodgers pictures from his teenage years unavailable?

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  6. Peyton Manning got robbed? It was a preseason game. Take a look at last years stats and explain how the quarterback with the 6th best passer rating won the MVP..Drew Brees and Brett Favre got robbed.

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