KANSAS CITY, Mo.
In the first quarter of the Green Bay Packers' 27-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 20, one play epitomized the brilliance of quarterback Aaron Rodgers u2015 and the difficulty teams have game planning for him.
It was second and 15 on the Seahawks' 29-yard line. Seattle only brought four pass rushers against the Packers' three-wide look, which means there were plenty of defenders in coverage. What's more, the Seahawks' two excellent edge rushers u2015 Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett u2015 collapsed the pocket with speed rushes.
A lesser quarterback might have sensed the pressure, as Rodgers did, evaded the rush and simply thrown to receiver Randall Cobb, who was wide open u2015 and directly in the quarterback's view u2015 about 10 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage.