Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers experimented with a playcall wristband during Friday’s practice, although it’s unclear if he’ll be using the wristband to help call plays in the huddle on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Matt LaFleur said the idea was something he and Rodgers wanted to try.
“We’ve integrated that in previous years. Just wanted to experiment with it,” LaFleur said Friday.
The wristband may help with the process of LaFleur getting the playcall in to Rodgers in the huddle, but the Packers coach wasn’t sure it would do much to improve the overall tempo of the offense, which was lacking in Week 1.
Still, anything that can help speed things up could be beneficial. The Packers had a delay of game penalty and were pressed against the playclock several times in Chicago. A wristband may accelerate the early stages of the playcall, especially the longer calls with more details and checks.
“It gets out of my mouth a lot faster, I can tell you that much. It maybe helps me get him the play a little quicker,” LaFleur said.
Rodgers said earlier this week that he and LaFleur sat down after Week 1 and made some “subtle” changes to the playcalling process to help improve tempo. He’s vowed to work on improving the “urgency” of the offense getting in and out of the huddle.
The communication between playcaller and quarterback is a work in progress. Not only is Rodgers in the early stages of operating the offense, but he’s also still gaining experience with hearing the play from LaFleur in his helmet and communicating it quickly and accurately in the huddle.
Playing at home on Sunday should help. The Packers dealt with significant crowd noise in Chicago. Now, LaFleur and Rodgers will get five home games in the next six weeks to nail down the pre-snap process and get the Packers offense moving quickly and efficiently.
Be on the lookout for a wristband on Rodgers’ left forearm Sunday. If Rodgers and LaFleur both liked it during Friday’s practice, it could become a consistent part of the Packers’ playcall process in 2019.
