Could we be seeing more of Aaron Rodgers in the Pistol formation this year? Mike McCarthy thinks so.
"I like the pistol," McCarthy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week. "I think there's a lot of value regardless of the injury to Aaron. I know he likes it. There's a place for it year-round in your offense."
The team began heavily experimenting with the half-gun formation just before Rodgers hurt his calf late in the season in Tampa Bay, and while it seems like an innocuous bit of tinkering on offense, McCarthy shed some light on why it could make Rodgers a more dominant player.
"I would say this is about the third year it's been part of our pace and installation," McCarthy said. "Really, when we moved to it exclusively there at the end of the year it really wasn't a change for us.
"I liked it from a self-scout standpoint. It gives you another self-scout variable when you're in the gun, but you also have the tailback behind you. (There are a) lot of benefits to it."
Basically, McCarthy likes the idea of running the same plays from under center as he does the shotgun. This eliminates a huge key for the defense and prevents players from eliminating any possibilities before the snap.
With Rodgers healthy, this should be the next stage of evolution in McCarthy's offense, which has been fascinating to watch over the years.
Could you imagine the league's best quarterback getting more unpredictable?
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