By Lori Nickel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel –
GREEN BAY, Wis. — In order to get to the ultimate destination: the end zone, NFL teams must achieve success in the red zone.
No team is more comfortable in that territory than the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers have come away with a touchdown in 16 of their 21 trips, making them the most efficient team (76.2 percent) in the NFL.
But why?
They don’t spend exhaustive meeting hours dreaming up red-zone formations, and they don’t devote entire practices to this specific area.
And yet they’re better than every team in coming away with six points once they get inside the 20.
“It helps when you have the best quarterback in the league,” Packers guard T.J. Lang said. “But I think there’s a bit more urgency to us when we get in the red zone.
“It’s not a very good feeling when you have to drive the ball 60, 70 yards and you have to settle for three points. And 12 wants to get in to the end zone every time he touches the ball.”
The starting point for this success has to begin with Rodgers. He has completed 71.9 percent of his passes in the red zone, which is No. 1 in the NFL and even better than his 69.8 percent overall completion.
He hasn’t thrown one interception inside the 20-yard line, and 13 of his 19 total passing touchdowns have come from the red zone.
“Aaron makes some pretty good decisions,” quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo said.
But the Packers explain the success on other factors as well, beginning with a general philosophy that is repeated constantly — six points is better than three.
“Every time you get down there and you settle for a field goal, you feel like you’ve given the other team a chance,” fullback John Kuhn said.
“You can lose a game if you just get a field goal. When we score touchdowns, we feel like we’ve executed; we got the job done.”
Getting inside the red zone requires poise. Nerves have usually settled — if there were any — because the offense most likely put together a lengthy drive.
Once there, total concentration is required.
Kuhn used receiver Randall Cobb’s 5-yard touchdown pass against St. Louis as an example.
“He ran a perfect route. We got the exact defense that we were waiting for, the exact coverage, and it was all about Randall executing that route,” Kuhn said.
“I mean, you couldn’t run the route any better — that’s why he was wide open; that’s why he caught the touchdown.”
Where there might be a slight margin for error on the rest of the field, there’s none in the red zone.
“The execution down there has probably been the best that we have ever had,” receiver James Jones said. “Down there guys are not making mistakes, we have very few ME’s (mental errors).
“Last year, it was the total opposite. In the field of play, we’d be awesome and then once we get down in the red zone, we started making mistakes. This year, we’re getting in there, no mistakes.”
The Packers do have an expansive playbook, and there are unique plays designed just for the red zone. They’re installed during the off-season and training camp so that players are comfortable with them by the middle of the season.
While the Packers work on what they call situational plays, the red zone is a part of it. It’s just not an overwhelming part.
“Still, there’s great play-calling in the red zone,” running back Alex Green said.
The uniqueness of playing in the red zone also means playing at a much faster pace.
“Things happen a little quicker down there,” McAdoo said. “The field gets smaller, the inline creeps up, the defense is closer. We have the receivers, tight ends and running backs to play with the precision and the discipline that’s needed.”
McAdoo said the offensive line was another contributing factor. It has protected Rodgers in the red zone (just three sacks), giving him an opportunity to extend plays.
The Packers also clearly benefit from spreading the intended passes to multiple people: Jones had two red-zone touchdowns against Houston, but receiver teammates Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson also have scored red-zone touchdowns. Tight end Jermichael Finley has one and so does Kuhn.
“We’re all so competitive; we flip the switch down there,” Finley said. “We put enough time into the red zone to be effective and have it right on Sunday.”
