Through a little more than a quarter of the game, I wondered if there would be a post at all. The Packers were trotting out their zone run schemes with regularity, but not a hint - not a whiff - of an RPO. It felt like they were simply holding back out of spite. “That guy said he’d be writing a weekly article about RPOs, did he? Well, let’s see how he likes this.”
And then, a rustling among the corn stalks. Was that the hint of a bubble release or just my imagination? The rustling was stronger now: the stalks waving wildly in the face of the oncoming horde.
Suddenly, a voice, loud and clear. “Outlander!” it rang out. “We have your RPOs!”
By the time the dust settled on the game, the Packers ran 8 RPOs, averaging 9.5 YPA. Those numbers look good, but they’re being bolstered by one big play. Let’s look at our splits.
Passing: 3 attempts, 7 yards (2.3 YPA)
Not a great showing from a yards perspective. They threw to the Bubble tag twice for 3 yards, and the Fade tag once for 4 yards.
The first clip shows Love throwing to the Bubble tag off Wide Zone. The Saints playing off gives the Packers a numbers advantage , so Love flips it out to Doubs. The Saints do a good job rallying and Doubs dances a bit, ending in a gain of 3.
The second clip shows Love throwing to the Fade tag off Inside Zone. The Packers are loading up on the front, with Doubs as their only receiver. It’s a pre-snap read and Love likes the match-up, so he throws up a ball and Doubs goes and gets it.
The third clip shows Love throwing to the Bubble tag off Inside Zone. Amari Rodgers is in the slot and the defender is playing 9 yards off, so Love flips it out. The ball is a little behind, so Rodgers is forced to slow down and turn to make the catch. By the time he turns, he has no chance and is tackle for no gain.
Rushing: 5 attempts, 69 yards (13.8 YPA).
Like I said at the top, these numbers are bolstered by one play; a play - it should be noted - that would have ended up as a no gain had Etling not decided to turn it into a read-option.
Let’s run them down.
Clip 1: Bubble tag off Inside Zone for a gain of 4. Given the inside shade of Toure in the left slot, I would have assumed a throw would have been in the cards here. A quick step-throw beats the defender to the inside, and there’s a blocker on the outside. Typically that’s seen as having numbers for the pass.
Clip 2: WR Screen/Flat tag off Inside Zone for a gain of 6. Kind of the same thoughts as Clip 1. With the off-coverage on the #3 WR, this is a look the Packers like to throw against.
Clip 3: Bubble tag off Inside Zone for a loss of 1. The Saints are showing off coverage over the Bubble receiver, giving 7 yards of space. The Packers like that guy to be playing another yard or two off before throwing these.
Clip 4: Bubble tag off Inside Zone for a gain of 9. Same as the previous clip. ~7 yards of space is typically just not quite enough to throw.
Clip 5: WR Screen/Flat tag off Inside Zone for a gain of 51. This is the long Danny Etling TD. He said this was not a read-option call, which means it’s a straight RPO. Given the alignment by the Saints, the decision to choose the Run option was the right one. But it also means he’d be handing off with an unblocked safety crashing down on the run. If Etling handed this ball off, it likely goes for no gain. Maybe it goes for 1 yard, but certainly no more than that.
Numbers-wise, a nice day. The passing portion didn’t shake out overly well, but they picked up a highlight TD, so that’s not nothing.
If you take out the 51 yard run from the run game, they end up with a 3.7 YPA, which is less-than-ideal.
Overall, a couple highlight plays, but not the greatest outing overall. Onward and upward.