In the Green Bay Packers first game of the season against the Chicago Bears, all-world quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered what looked to be a very serious leg injury. Packers fans panicked, fantasy football owners scrambled, and opposing NFC North fans thought they just caught a big break.
Of course, as we know, Rodgers returned to the game in the second half and willed the Packers to a come-from-behind win over the Bears.
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Now, roughly one month later, there are still rumblings that Rodgers is still not 100% and that he is limited in what he can do on the field.
Well, Detroit Lions coaches are not buying that Rodgers is limited at all. In fact, Lions head coach Matt Patricia thinks Rodgers is moving around just fine.
“He looks really good to me,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said on a conference call Tuesday. “He looks like he is moving around just fine. I think you can see it in his play. I think he’s probably in a position where he feels like he can do everything and maybe they were trying to limit him a little bit, but he doesn’t look like he’s limited at all so I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.”
“He’s an extremely athletic player,” Patricia said. “Even if you go back to the Washington game where you can say he wasn’t moving as well, but he still scrambled and ran for first downs on third down and no one could catch him. So this guy is very, very dangerous when he’s out in space. This guy can make and create a lot of plays, not only with his arms but with his legs.”
Defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni agrees with Patricia and also stressed how important it will be for the Lions defense to keep Rodgers in the pocket this coming Sunday.
“I know that he was hurt in the first game against the Chicago Bears, but as you evaluate the film, especially last week’s film against Buffalo, he’s moving extremely well,” Pasqualoni said. “He’s playing at a very, very high level. He’s running the ball. He’s doing everything that he’s always done and he’s doing it very well. So I think we have to be prepared for Aaron Rodgers to come in here, we got to be prepared for his best shot cause that’s what we’ll expect to get.”
For the Lions to beat the Packers on Sunday afternoon, they will have to contain Rodgers. If they cannot, it will be a long day.
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