Aaron Rodgers stands alone atop the 2015-quarterback mountain. With apologies to first-ballot Hall of Famer Tom Brady, no one is currently within leagues of Rodgers' peak.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback has been so skilled at every aspect of the offense, he's out-coaching coaches and outplaying players simultaneously every week.
One facet of Rodgers' game that he's amped this season is the use of hard counts to get defenders to jump offsides, then burning defenders deep on those free plays.
The skill has led St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher to employ an air horn this week, to ensure his defensive line is awake and ready for the quarterback's tactic on Sunday.
"That's just a message to the D-line on the hard count," Fisher said when asked about the horn, via TurfShowTimes.com. No one uses the hard count better than Aaron. And everybody week after week, you'll read clips and things and all the defensives work against it. We were ready for it. He pulls them offsides two or three times a game. So, I woke them up in their meeting room this morning with the horn, just to send a message."
The Rams defensive line has been none too thrilled with their coach's tactic.
"No, some were pissed. (laughs) It scared them," he said.
They will be more pissed if Rodgers burns them on a free play.
The Rams have a history of corralling mobile quarterback Russell Wilson, but Fisher said Rodgers takes the mobility angle to another level.
"Well he's different from Russell from a standpoint that he's just a little bit taller. He can see," Fisher said. "So, if you keep him in the pocket, he's going to hurt you in the pocket. At times, Russell will lose track of what's going on down the field and take off. He'll beat you with his legs and his arm. But you just have to change things up as best you can and challenge their receivers. Then he puts them in the perfect situations in their run game as well."
Even for one of the most talented defensive lines in the NFL, slowing Rodgers will be a herculean task -- especially if the air horn doesn't work.Â
