Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says the passing attack in Green Bay is carrying the offense, and it’s past time for the Packers to get things going on the ground.
Rodgers said during his weekly radio show on WAUK-AM that the Packers can’t just throw the ball on every play, and so they’ve got to get more out of their running game than they had on Sunday, when they picked up 66 yards on 26 carries.
“Quantity is important – we want to have a certain amount of runs every game to keep them honest,” Rodgers said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But I have to say the quality of them has not been anywhere where we’d like them. . . . We’ve got to run the ball better.”
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this week that he’s sticking with Alex Green, who is averaging just 2.9 yards a carry, as the No. 1 running back. So there aren’t any reinforcements coming to turn things around, at least until Cedric Benson returns from a foot injury, which won’t happen for several weeks.
Which means that Rodgers, who is on pace to throw a career-high 594 passes this season, is going to keep having to carry the offense. Rodgers is right that the Packers’ running game isn’t good enough, and there’s little reason to think it’s going to get better any time soon.