It’s the NFL Conference Championship weekend. Win this match and you’re heading to the big one, lose and you’re planning for next season.
The first of the two clashes sees the defending champion Seattle Seahawks face the famed Green Bay Packers.
It is no secret that when the Packers faced Seattle in Week 1 of the NFL regular season Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers did not throw the ball in star Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman’s direction once.
For those of you not familiar with the NFL, this is Richard Sherman:
Richard Sherman is one of the best cornerbacks in the game and his ability to completely shut down one side of the field opens up opportunities for the other Legion of Boom members to wreak havoc on the other side of the field.
When Seattle comprehensively defeated Green Bay earlier in the year Rodgers was forced to throw into regions he wouldn’t normally because he felt he couldn’t throw towards Sherman. As a result, Rodgers was limited to just 189 yards, one touchdown and one intercept. Compounding things for the Packers’ offense was the inability of their run game to get going, totalling just 80 yards on the ground.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Sherman holds the key to this weekend’s NFC Championship match-up. If the Packers are able to successfully throw to receivers he is marking, they are definitely a chance of winning.
So just how do you defeat Richard Sherman?
First we must establish what it is that makes him so good. Sherman operates almost exclusively in man coverage, using a very tight press and almost never gives up an inch on his opposing receiver. He covers receivers so tight that if a ball thrown in his direction isn’t perfectly located there is every possibility that it will be intercepted.
On countless occasions quarterbacks have under-thrown their receiver and before the receiver even realises the ball was under-thrown Sherman has cut back and intercepted the football. His awareness is amazing. His ability to continue defending a receiver and read the football in the air is second to none.
Unlike most cornerbacks, Sherman rarely makes mistakes. You don’t get plays off, where he just isn’t concentrating and gives up a big gain. On top of this it is rare that he sacrifice a big catch and run by attempting to take a 50-50 shot at an intercept. If he goes for the intercept it’s because he knows he has safety help or that he will catch the football.
When a quarterback is scanning the field looking for an open receiver and their eyes land on a Sherman-defended teammate they don’t stay there for very long; they see a receiver in tight coverage and choose to move to the next possible target. It’s easy to understand why they make such a decision – surely there’s an open receiver elsewhere on the field.
This is the mistake Rodgers made against Seattle earlier in the season. He thought there were open receivers elsewhere on the field. He thought wrong. Players may have looked open but more often than not they were running through safety or linebacker zones. These defenders were ready to pounce and immediately broke up any passes that entered their zone.
It is absolutely critical that Rodgers does not make the same mistake this weekend. He has to throw the ball towards Sherman. Obviously he can’t throw it recklessly to receivers that have zero chance of catching the football, but if his receivers are in a good position he has to be willing to take a shot.
If Rodgers is throwing the ball towards Sherman he has to put the ball in a position that Sherman has no chance of catching it. It will be difficult to do, but there’s a reason Aaron Rodgers is the MVP-in-waiting.
When the Packers’ receivers – be it Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb or even Jarrett Boykin – are streaking down the field with Sherman pressing close behind, they can’t afford to run a curl route, or have Rodgers throw the ball underneath because Sherman eats those routes for breakfast. Rodgers has to overthrow the football and hope that his receivers are able to go up and get it.
This is something Tony Romo and Dez Bryant did very well when the Cowboys defeated Seattle earlier in the season. Romo put the ball up high and had faith that Bryant would be able to make an acrobatic catch. He knew that if Bryant didn’t catch it, the ball was likely sailing out of bounds and incomplete. An incomplete pass is better than an interception.
The other option for Aaron Rodgers is to do the exact opposite, underthrow the football. This is only possible for crossing routes where the receiver is between the ball and Sherman. Rodgers should put the ball low to the ground and out in front so that only his receiver can make the dive to catch it.
This is a very difficult throw because anything behind the receiver will be intercepted and anything too high will sail over the receiver and the safeties will likely have a chance to make a play at it. If the ball is thrown slightly out in front at chest height Sherman will be able to get his hand out and knock the ball down.
There is always one other way to diminish Sherman’s impact on the game and that is to run the football. The Packers have relied on the running game much more in recent weeks, with Rodgers’ calf injury limiting his mobility. Running the ball effectively will force the linebackers to creep up inside the box and open up passing lanes on both sides of the field for Rodgers. This is easier said than done though, the Legion of Boom may get most of the credit for Seattle’s dominant defence but their defensive line is ranked fifth in the league at stopping the run according to Football Outsiders.
When these two teams clashed in the opening game of the season Aaron Rodgers learnt that he couldn’t simply avoid a side of the field because a great player was defending there. He can’t afford to avoid Richard Sherman this weekend if he hopes to lead his team to an NFC title.
Follow Cameron on Twitter: @fromthesheds
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