{"id":98648,"date":"2025-07-28T06:07:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T06:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/98648\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T06:07:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T06:07:10","slug":"kozora-through-four-practices-my-thoughts-on-aaron-rodgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/98648\/","title":{"rendered":"Kozora: Through Four Practices, My Thoughts On Aaron Rodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I did with Justin Fields last year,<\/a> I wanted to share my thoughts on quarterback Aaron Rodgers\u2019 first four practices as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. A brand new quarterback room with a headlined starter name, good or bad, Rodgers will be the focus throughout the season. So how\u2019s he doing? Here\u2019s my big takeaways.<\/p>\n

1. I won\u2019t bury the lede. Overall? He\u2019s been fine.<\/p>\n

Not amazing. Not terrible. That\u2019s probably expected for a new quarterback who didn\u2019t begin working with the team until this week, signing in June and limited during mandatory minicamp. Like most players, there\u2019s been good and bad. Positive and negative moments.<\/p>\n

2. Though it\u2019s always been part of his game, Rodgers\u2019 quick and unique release is evident.<\/p>\n

Seeing it in person makes you realize how fast the ball comes out of his hand. No wasted motion, no windup, barely even arm extension on his shorter throws. The ball just seems to go from hand-to-target in the blink of an eye. That\u2019s one reason why his snap-to-throw times are among the quickest in football and why he can reduce and mitigate some of the pressure.<\/p>\n

Rodgers can also throw from any arm angle. Underneath throws, especially shallow crosses, are routinely thrown side arm and around defenders. It\u2019s a release that\u2019s hard to compare. In terms of speed, it\u2019s right there with Dan Marino for all-time fastest.<\/p>\n

The only downside is it\u2019s a lower arm slot can make him more vulnerable to passes being batted down and he\u2019s had a couple of them throughout camp. The environment also plays a role. Bat-downs are more common during training camp because defensive linemen know they can\u2019t touch\/hit the quarterback and in the padless sessions like the first four Pittsburgh just wrapped up, offensive linemen won\u2019t knock them down when they jump. Justin Fields had more than a dozen passes batted down last camp but it was less of an issue during the regular season. The same should apply to Rodgers.<\/p>\n

3. Rodgers is moving around well.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not Usain Bolt but for a 41-year-old quarterback, he\u2019s no sitting duck. And he\u2019s actively testing his throws on the run. During one 7 on 7 play, he intentionally rolled to his left and threw for Calvin Austin III along the sideline. The pass was slightly high but catchable and it hit off Austin\u2019s hands above his head.<\/p>\n

How Rodgers feels in November after actually getting hit matters a whole lot more than how his body is doing in July. But it\u2019s at least positive he doesn\u2019t look as creaky as Ben Roethlisberger did in his final knees when bad knees sapped all mobility.<\/p>\n

4. Rodgers\u2019 arm strength isn\u2019t a question.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s only aired out a couple of passes but his arm is live with zip and range. If he fails in Pittsburgh, a lack of arm strength won\u2019t be the issue.<\/p>\n

5. Rodgers knows where his playmakers are.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s clear in seven shots, the seven-play goal line drill the Steelers have run the last three practices. It was something I noted in my offseason study, highlighting Rodgers\u2019 desire to get the ball to his playmakers. In seven shots, Rodgers is seeking out top receiver DK Metcalf, especially when isolated against man-coverage. Rodgers\u2019 first touchdown of camp came that way, hitting Metcalf on a speed out 1-on-1 against CB Darius Slay. The next day, he hit Metcalf on a slant iso\u2019d on CB Joey Porter Jr.<\/p>\n

To illustrate the point, here\u2019s a list of targets on Rodgers\u2019 seven 7-shots pass attempts: Those with an asterisk are touchdowns. This excludes one throw batted down where there wasn\u2019t a clear target.<\/p>\n

\u2013 DK Metcalf*, DK Metcalf *, DK Metcalf, Darnell Washington*, Jonnu Smith*, DK Metcalf, Pat Freiermuth*, Roman Wilson, Pat Freiermuth*<\/p>\n

Of those nine attempts, four went to Metcalf. Two went to Freiermuth, one to Washington, one to Smith, and one to Wilson. Combined, eight of the nine were intended for either Metcalf or a tight end. Pretty clear trend-line.<\/p>\n

6. Rodgers has taken his lumps.<\/p>\n

Starting with his first throw, picked by LB Patrick Queen. Saturday, Rodgers was intercepted by CB Jalen Ramsey. But part of camp is testing things out. Your own limits, the limits of eligibles, etc. Rodgers has the lowest interception-rate in NFL history and a couple of camp picks shouldn\u2019t worry anyone. Still, whenever I compile his stats for a Tuesday morning post, I\u2019m betting his completion percentage won\u2019t be sparkling. Probably around 60-percent. Low for an NFL game, even lower for camp where they typically hover at 70-percent.<\/p>\n

7. Connections need to be built with everyone but especially WR Roman Wilson.<\/p>\n

Wilson has had a quiet start to training camp and hasn\u2019t been on the same page with Rodgers. That includes a play in 7 on 7 where Rodgers wanted Wilson to break his route sooner, leading to his pass being too far in front and incomplete. Rodgers looked frustrated as Mason Rudolph subbed in for his reps. Wilson is a young receiver coming off a lost rookie season and historically, young receivers haven\u2019t had much success with Rodgers. That doesn\u2019t mean this season is doomed but there\u2019s work to be done.<\/p>\n

7. Conversations matter as much as the plays.<\/p>\n

Rodgers\u2019 first pass pick to open camp drew headlines but it wasn\u2019t the most interesting part of his day. To me, anyway. I like watching the conversations he has with teammates, especially his offensive linemen. And there\u2019s been a lot. With his center Zach Frazier, which is obvious enough. But also with guard Mason McCormick, who snapped to him pre-practice the first day or two and then spent yesterday walking to the practice field together. Rodgers has talked to everyone, chatting up EDGE DeMarvin Leal during stretch line one day while hanging around TE Jonnu Smith before and after practice, getting a couple extra reps in.<\/p>\n

8. Rodgers seems to be having fun.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to get in his head and I think it\u2019s clear he doesn\u2019t love the heat Latrobe brings each day but I think there\u2019s a spark back in Pittsburgh. That\u2019s captured in small moments, like jokingly gesturing to CB Joey Porter Jr. a sideline stiff arm and walking back like he was going to lower the shoulder and truck him. He has the chance to mentor a rookie like Will Howard and had a previous relationship with QBs Coach Tom Arth, his one-time teammate in Green Bay.<\/p>\n

Like his mobility, \u201cfun\u201d is better to check-in on two months from now, but it\u2019s one reason why he chose Pittsburgh. And I think it\u2019s meeting his expectations.<\/p>\n

9. Arthur Smith isn\u2019t uprooting his offense for him.<\/p>\n

The debate of the spring before camp was how much Arthur Smith would bend the knee to Rodgers and run the offense Rodgers wants to. So far, that\u2019s not the case. Rodgers isn\u2019t the biggest fan working under center but he\u2019s spent plenty of time there during the run-oriented team periods. He\u2019s been asked to bootleg and roll out like the other quarterback and from a wide lens, the offense doesn\u2019t look radically different with Rodgers in the game. During the first day, seven of Rodgers\u2019 12 reps came under center.<\/p>\n

Any good coordinator is going to curate schemes and play-calls to quarterback preference and strengths, that\u2019s as true of Will Howard as it is of Rodgers, but the offense\u2019s core principles haven\u2019t shifted just because Rodgers is the quarterback.<\/p>\n

10. Fans are still warming up to him.<\/p>\n

Expanding on an observation I made the other way, you wouldn\u2019t know Aaron Rodgers was walking out to practice by listening to the crowd. When Ben Roethlisberger walked down the stairs, fans went nuts. Even last year, fans cheered hard for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. With Rodgers, it\u2019s much more subdued.<\/p>\n

I know he\u2019s a controversial player and person but for a four-time MVP and future Hall of Famer, I thought there\u2019d be a bigger welcome wagon. I don\u2019t say that to judge it either way and ultimately, if Rodgers wins, fans will love him. If he doesn\u2019t, they\u2019ll loathe him. It\u2019s just a note from watching him walk down the Saint Vincent stairs each day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As I did with Justin Fields last year, I wanted to share my thoughts on quarterback Aaron Rodgers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":98649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[2390,1232,1545,62,939,67,132,68,9405],"class_list":{"0":"post-98648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-trending","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-weekly"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114929365737554057","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}