It’s been an up-and-down first two weeks for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense and QB Aaron Rodgers, but people around the league are seeing solid early returns. In his Wednesday news and notes column, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler included a quote from an AFC scout about Rodgers that he looks “more secure” and a “little less hesitant” now that he’s two years removed from a torn Achilles. However, the scout also cautioned that Rodgers started showing his lack of mobility in Week 5 last year and that it could happen again if he continues to get hit as much as he has.
“It was the Minnesota game in London [in Week 5] that marked about six to eight weeks of almost zero mobility due to injury,” an AFC scout told Fowler about Rodgers’ final season with the Jets. “He was compromised and it showed. But just being a year removed [from the Achilles tear], he seems a little bit more secure and a little less hesitant compared to a year ago.”
Rodgers has taken a lot of hits and been sacked seven times through two games, a rate that’s unsustainable if the Steelers want to be a good team and keep him healthy. But he’s shown the ability to move around a little bit, and that’s a good sign given that his mobility was one of his biggest concerns entering the season. It was more evident in Week 2 than Week 1, and Rodgers attributed that to dealing with back tightness in the season opener.
The offensive line needs to do a better job protecting for him, but Rodgers can still get on the move and make throws at a high level while on the run. He’s not going to be able to do that as much or as effectively if he gets banged up throughout the season, and he won’t look as secure as he does at this point in the year.
There’s a lot that the Steelers offense needs to fix and build upon, but keeping Rodgers from getting hit as frequently as he has is up there with the most important. The offensive line as a whole needs to be better, and the Steelers need to make sure Rodgers doesn’t get to that point where he’s “compromised.” If he does, the Steelers are going to have a 41-year-old quarterback who really starts to show his age like he did during a stretch with the Jets last season.
