Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy are back together in Pittsburgh, and the first thing that stands out is the way they talk about the offense. It’s not the same offense they ran in Green Bay. It’s close, but McCarthy apparently changed the names of some plays during his time in Dallas, which means Rodgers has to learn a new vocabulary for old concepts.
Rodgers, who signed with the Steelers after Mike Tomlin left the organization, is entering what he’s called his final NFL season. He’s 41 now. The clock is ticking. But he and McCarthy won a Super Bowl together with the Packers, so the familiarity is there. They just have to figure out how much the system actually changed.
“It’s just the next generations of the West Coast offense,” Rodgers said via TribLive.com. “It went kind of Bill Walsh to kind of what Mike was doing with Paul Hackett, and then it’s kind of grown from there. From a real fundamental level, it’s all about the quarterback’s timing.”
That’s the key. Timing. Rodgers has always been a rhythm thrower, even when people mistake his off-script scrambles for improvisation. Most of his best throws come from knowing where the receiver will be before the receiver knows. McCarthy’s offense, at its core, is built on that same idea. The question is whether the new terminology slows things down.
Rodgers said the changes are mostly cosmetic. “I spent 13 years in [McCarthy’s offense],” he said. “He’s changed some stuff when he was in Dallas. … It’s stuff that we used to run, but he’s just called it something different now.”
So the learning curve isn’t steep. It’s more like remembering a password you changed years ago and having to type it out a few times before it sticks.
The bigger concern for the Steelers is whether Rodgers can still play at a high level. Last season he helped Pittsburgh reach the playoffs, but they lost in the Wild Card round to the Houston Texans. He didn’t look washed. But he didn’t look like the MVP version of himself either. The arm is still there. The legs are not what they used to be.
Pittsburgh’s roster has some pieces. The defense should be solid. The question is whether the offense can generate enough explosive plays to keep up with the top teams in the AFC. Rodgers and McCarthy know each other well. That helps. But knowing each other doesn’t stop defensive linemen from getting to the quarterback.
The Steelers open the season on the road against the Cleveland Browns. It’ll be the first real look at what this reunion actually means.
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