bud fox wrote: ↑07 Jul 2023 20:15
Being play action heavy would actually help with this stat.
Especially if it's a good qb/passing game.
if play action where not so successful at freezing a defenses front 7, teams wouldn't use it as much as they do, our best outing last year we used it 48% of our pass plays, most teams in the league use it 30% or more of there pass plays, it keeps a defense guessing, and increases the success ratio of both the run and the pass.
there are reasons why our RB's are not stopped for no gain in 23's stats, and it sure as hell isn't because we have a great run blocking OL, or we wouldn't be last in red zone success.
https://dairylandexpress.com/2022/11/14 ... ay-action/
It’s been a rough season, to say the least, for the Packers and their passing game, specifically on deep shots, but Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense looked like its old self on Sunday against Dallas when utilizing play-action.
As Matt LaFleur said following the game, leaning on the Packers’ rushing attack was going to give them the best chance of victory against a fierce Dallas pass rush. As good as the Cowboys have been at pressuring the quarterback this season, that aggressiveness hinders their run defense by creating running lanes and weak edges, which the Packers were able to exploit.
Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon would average 5.2 yards per carry on 27 attempts. This success on the ground, coupled with the Dallas defense crowding the line of scrimmage and playing a lot of one-high, helped set up the Packers’ play-action success.
According to PFF ($$), nearly 48% of Rodgers’ dropbacks came off play-action, and that was the highest rate in Week 10 out of all quarterbacks. On only 20 pass attempts, 11 were via play-action, with Rodgers completing nine of them at 13.5 yards per catch — the third-highest rate in Week 10 — with two touchdowns.
On both of those touchdown passes, play-action was a key element for the Packers’ offense. On the 58-yard pass to Christian Watson, the single-high safety bit on the run fake, leaving Watson one-on-one with the cornerback. On the other touchdown pass — Watson’s third — both linebackers jumped at the fake, leaving more room over the middle for Watson.
A large issue for Green Bay this season offensively has been their inability to connect on the deep ball. This has led to opposing defenses shrinking the field and challenging the Packers’ receivers at the line of scrimmage, which only compounds the issue and makes moving the ball through the air more difficult. However, the run game, then followed by play-action, was the catalyst behind several of the Packers’ big plays through the air.
The Packers have struggled mightily this season to marry the run and passing games, but both came together beautifully against Dallas, and it’s not a coincidence that Green Bay had its most productive offensive outing of the season as a result. Overall, it was a performance by Rodgers reminiscent of his previous two MVP seasons.
Play-action is a key staple of the Matt LaFleur offense, but its usage by the Packers has been hit-and-miss this season. In six out of Green Bay’s 10 games, the Packers have utilized play-action on fewer than 25% of their total snaps, which for some context, is below league average. Rodgers had also looked quite human prior to Week 10, ranking 26th in completion rate off play-action and 30th in yards per attempt.
Following the game, Rodgers mentioned that the run game can “definitely” be a formula that works for the Packers. Doing so will also have a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the offense, specifically the passing game, and allow Green Bay to continue utilizing play-action at a higher rate and, hopefully, more effectively. From there, the shot plays will be more prevalent and likely successful–giving the Packers another important element that this offense has been missing dearly.
