Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is footing the bill for new helmets for three high schools in the area of Northern California where he grew
up
Jermaine Whitehead Jersey , an area that was devastated by a wildfire last year.Chico High, Paradise High and Pleasant Valley, Rodgers’ alma mater, are
getting enough Vicis Zero1 helmets to outfit the full football programs at all
three schools. The Vicis Zero1 has been the highest-rated helmet in NFL safety
testing for the last three years, but it retails at $950 and isn’t in the budget
for a lot of schools.“These kids deserve the best, and I’m happy to play a small
role in outfitting them with the safest helmets,” Rodgers said in a
statement.Paradise coach Rick Prinz told the that high school football has been
a source of community pride for the area, and Rodgers’ support has been vital.“I
don’t know if anybody outside of Paradise and Butte County can truly understand
what football means to helping us to feel normal again,” Prinz said. “We’re
grateful for Aaron’s donation. I’ve been the head coach now for eight years and
not one time have I ever had to ask Aaron for anything. He calls or texts every
year and says, ‘Coach, here is what I would like to do. Is this OK?’ He does so
much for our school and community that most people have no idea.”When Rodgers
starts tonight’s game, he’ll have plenty of people rooting for him, not only in
Green Bay, but also in California. The Green Bay Packers finished the 2018
season 6-9-1, and there were numerous reasons for that result. Loads of injuries
sapped the team of key players on both sides of the football; the coaching
staff’s decision-making was often questionable; Aaron Rodgers’ injury seemed to
derail him from his normal caliber of play. All of those issues can be
illustrated at least in some form by looking at the team’s total snap counts for
the season. Interestingly, the Packers did run more offensive plays than their
opponents, but it was a difference of only ten snaps on the season. The injury
issues are most clearly evident when looking at the snap breakdowns at the wide
receiver, offensive line, defensive line, and cornerback groups. No defensive
lineman or corner played more than 72% of the team’s total defensive snaps,
while the team had just two receivers over 50%. Here’s a breakdown of all of the
offensive and defensive snaps on the year, with a little extra analysis of some
of the top special teamers.OFFENSE (1075 total plays)QuarterbacksAaron Rodgers
1013 (94.2%), DeShone Kizer 62 (5.8%)Kizer saw game action in just three
contests this year, though he was active for each game. Those came in week one
(a catastrophic outing in relief of Aaron Rodgers for about a quarter), week 14
(one kneel-down against the Falcons) and week 17 after Rodgers’ concussion. He
finished the year with 20 completions on 42 attempts for 187 yards, no
touchdowns, and two picks.Otherwise, Rodgers was healthy enough to play the
remainder of the season, though he did not play up to his normal standards. His
7.4 yards per attempt was a bit higher than it was the past few years, but is
still well off the 8.4 number he averaged from 2009 to 2014.Running BacksJamaal
Williams 523, Aaron Jones 376, Ty Montgomery 150, FB Danny Vitale 19
Womens Kevin King Jersey , Kapri Bibbs 17Although Williams led the runners in snaps, Jones was the team’s leader in carries (133) and yards (728), and he
averaged 5.5 yards per carry for a second straight season. In addition, after a
disappointing season as a receiver a year ago, Jones picked that part of his
game up in 2018 with 26 catches for 206 yards, just one reception and four yards
fewer than Williams. That all came in 12 games, as Jones missed the first two
contests on suspension and the final two games with a knee injury.Of course, one
common complaint among Packers fans was Mike McCarthy not giving Jones enough
snaps or carries when he was on the field. Even when Jones did return from
suspension, it took the head coach several games to truly commit to him as a
featured back.Williams, for his part, had 121 carries for 464 yards, and like
Jones his average of 3.8 was almost identical to that of his rookie year.Prior
to his trade at midseason, Montgomery had done most of his damate as a receiver,
picking up 170 yards on 15 catches compared to just 105 yards on 26 rushing
attempts. Vitale and Bibbs were late-season additions.Wide ReceiversDavante
Adams 954, Marquez Valdes-Scantling 692, Randall Cobb 466, Equanimeous St. Brown
358, Geronimo Allison 241, Jake Kumerow 136, J’Mon Moore 74, Allen Lazard
1Trevor Davis: 0 offensive snaps, 31 special teams snapsAside from missing the
final game of the season, Adams was the Packers’ lone constant threat on
offense, nearly breaking team records by putting up 111 catches for 1,386 yards.
He also set a career-high in catch rate with receptions on 65.7% of his official
targets and his 13 touchdowns made this his third straight season with
double-digits.Allison should have been the #2 on the outside this year, and when
he played he was very effective with 20 catches for 303 yards. That pace
actually would have put him at about 970 yards over a full season, but he only
played five games before being shut down for the year. That in turn led to MVS —
and later St. Brown — taking on a much larger role in the offense than planned
in year one .MVS’ 38 catches for 581 yards were the most for a Packers rookie
since James Jones went 47-676 in 2007. Meanwhile, St. Brown led the team in
yards per catch at 15.6 with 328 yards on 21 receptions. Moore, the first
receiver drafted by the Packers in 2018, never really cracked the lineup.In the
final year of his contract, Cobb had another disappointing and injury-marred
season. He appeared to be rejuvenated in week one when he took a pass over the
middle 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown over the Bears, but outside of
that one play he had just 37 catches for 308 yards, a miserable 8.3 yards per
catch. It’s tough to see him coming back next year unless he takes a very cheap
deal.Davis returned from injured reserve for a pair of games
Jermaine Whitehead Jersey White , but never suited up on offense before going back to IR.Tight EndsJimmy Graham 795, Lance Kendricks 315, Marcedes Lewis
191, Robert Tonyan 67For all the hype about Graham’s signing in the offseason,
he did exceed his numbers from 2017 in Seattle, at least in receptions (55) and
yards (636). However, he was never a consistent threat in the red zone, where he
was supposed to be a dominant presence, and he scored just twice all
year.Kendricks was the Packers’ de facto fullback for much of the year, lining
up largely as an H-back and move tight end and catching 19 passes. Lewis was
inexplicably an afterthought, even given Graham’s and Kendricks’ issues as
in-line blockers, while Tonyan never got much of a chance to build on his one
big touchdown against the Seahawks.Offensive LinemenCorey Linsley 1075, David
Bakhtiari 1032, Lane Taylor 881, Bryan Bulaga 782, Byron Bell 527, Justin McCray
481, Jason Spriggs 291, Lucas Patrick 279, Alex Light 26, Adam Pankey 1For the
second straight year, Linsley played every snap on offense for the Packers. His
availability is his best trait, which is saying something considering he has
also become one of the best centers in the NFL. Bakhtiari held up well for most
of the year, dealing with a few nagging issues but mostly playing through them
until the final 30 minutes of the season.Taylor and Bulaga each had their own
injury issues in 2018, missing two games apiece. Meanwhile, the Packers had
quite the rotation at right guard, with McCray starting the season there, Bell
taking over for him, then back to McCray and eventually Patrick late in the
season. Light got just a few snaps in the final game with a couple of players
out of the lineup.DEFENSE (1064 total plays)Defensive LinemenKenny Clark 721,
Dean Lowry 698, Mike Daniels 419, Tyler Lancaster 271, Montravius Adams
212
Womens David Bakhtiari Jersey , Muhammad Wilkerson 115, Fadol Brown 39, James Looney 19Oh what could have been with this unit. With Wilkerson going to
IR early and Daniels landing there shortly after midseason, Clark was the one
stalwart on the line until even he went to injured reserve late in the season.
That led to a hefty workload for Dean Lowry all season and eventually got Tyler
Lancaster valuable snaps late in the year as the latter showed that he deserves
to have the inside track on a roster spot for next year. Adams, the final
third-round pick by Ted Thompson, might be gone next year. Looney, a
seventh-round pick, started the year on the practice squad and had little
opportunity to show his talents.Outside LinebackersClay Matthews 756, Kyler
Fackrell 623, Reggie Gilbert 486, Nick Perry 301Somehow, the Packers made it
through all of 2018 by playing just four edge rushers; however, Perry likely
played his way off the team due to injury and ineffectiveness. The sack numbers
here are startling, too; Fackrell put up 10.5 to lead the team, while Matthews
had just 3.5 sacks in more than a hundred more snaps. Meanwhile, Perry had 1.5
and Gilbert posted just 2.5 sacks. This group needs an infusion of talent right
away.Inside LinebackersBlake Martinez 1049, Antonio Morrison 299, Oren Burks
122, Korey Toomer 12, James Crawford 1Martinez was once again an iron man,
playing nearly every snap all season long. The team rotated a handful of
safeties through at the Nitro linebacker spot, however, as Oren Burks’ shoulder
injury kept him from making the impact that the team presumably hoped he would.
Between Jermaine Whitehead, Josh Jones, and Eddie Pleasant, Mike Pettine
continued the trend of using a safety there, though Morrison did provide some
good, aggressive play against the run when he was in the lineup.Hopefully Burks
can come into 2019 healthy and with a better grasp of the defense so he can make
a bigger impact in his second season.SafetiesTramon Williams 1059, Kentrell
Brice 646, Josh Jones 501, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix 459, Jermaine Whitehead 221,
Ibraheim Campbell 112
Kentrell Brice Jersey White , Eddie Pleasant 86, Raven Greene 43After starting the season at cornerback, Williams moved to safety following the
Packers’ trade of Clinton-Dix to Washington and missed just a few snaps all
season long. His discipline and versatility made him an essential part of a
secondary that struggled with injuries all year long. Brice probably played his
way out of Green Bay in his third season, struggling mightily in coverage after
a good performance in week one.As mentioned above, Jones split time between
safety and Nitro linebacker, showing that his best position still is in the box.
Expect the Packers to add some talent here both in free agency and in the draft
in 2019. Greene and Campbell both showed enough to bring them back for another
go in training camp next season, however.CornerbacksJaire Alexander 760, Josh
Jackson 718, Bashaud Breeland 329, Kevin King 304, Tony Brown 287, Davon House
29, Will Redmond 4The Packers’ top draft pick, Alexander, showed why he was
worthy of a top-20 selection much of the season, though he had some growing
pains and injury issues as well. When fully healthy, he should have the ability
to be a lock-down cornerback. Jackson was available all year long, playing 16
games, but he showed the issues in man coverage that kept teams away from him
until the middle of round two. He just doesn’t yet have the feel for man
coverage, and he’s too handsy, taking several penalties throughout the
year.SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS (471 total)James Crawford 333 (70.7%), Antonio
Morrison 266 (56.5%), Oren Burks 254 (53.9%), Kyler Fackrell 243 (51.6%), Reggie
Gilbert 226 (48.0%)Robert Tonyan 191 (40.6%), Josh Jackson 190 (40.3%), Tony
Brown 178 (37.8%), Josh Jones 169 (35.9%)The Packers got plenty of contributions
from their reserves on special teams. Despite arguments that there was a
revolving door of personnel on these units, that’s true only to an extent. The
medium-sized bodies — linebackers and tight ends — were quite consistent
throughout the season, while the team got regular contributions from a handful
of defensive backs as gunners on coverage teams.This is an even greater
indictment of Ron Zook as special teams coordinator, as his units remained
ineffective despite having much of their core intact throughout the 2018
campaign.
