I’ve made a regular practice of tracking a few semi-advanced stats since we launched The Power Sweep in 2016, and I think what we’ve learned from those numbers in 2022 is quite interesting.

Though other metrics have come and gone, the core group of our stats (custom stats? Advanced stats? whatever) has always centered around four numbers: the Ballhawk Index, explosive plays, pass rush stats, and Aaron Rodgers’ ANY/A numbers. Here’s a quick look at how each of those numbers has developed this year.

Ballhawk Index

This number tracks every play the Packers make on the ball, compiling their sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions, and passes defensed. In 2022, the Packers’ overall ballhawk numbers declined precipitously, fueled by major drops in defensive productivity from the defensive line and defensive backs.

Diving down to the individual player levels, you can track a noteworthy decline in production from Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, and any defensive lineman not named Kenny Clark. That dovetails with the eye test from this year’s defense, and it gives us a pretty clear indication of some areas the Packers might like to target in the draft next year.

Explosive plays

The Packers’ offense produced fewer explosive plays in 2022 than they did in 2021. Overall, they still put up a pretty good number — we’re not talking about the poverty levels of the 2017 season — but the Packers were simply not as good at generating chunk plays in 2022 as they were in the past.

I think you can chalk most of this up to a mess on the offensive line and at receiver during the first third of the season or so and Aaron Rodgers’ broken thumb the rest of the way. I’m not convinced the 2022 Packers were a well-constructed team by any stretch of the imagination, but I also don’t think we got the full vision until very late in the year, and the Packers did increase their explosive play pace late. 

Here’s how the Packers did on an individual level.

There’s not much noteworthy here, other than some kudos for Aaron Jones and Allen Lazard for great seasons and a hearty hello to Christian Watson for an excellent debut year.

Pass Rush

The Packers’ pass rush ended up putting up better numbers than I would have guessed. As far as the rate stats for pass rush go, the Packers did a pretty good job of putting consistent pressure on the quarterback. They had a number of guys at or near the 10% pressure rate, which is a pretty good indicator of a healthy pass rush.

Unfortunately, when it came to converting those pressures into sacks and tackles for loss, the Packers didn’t do quite so well. Rashan Gary held up his end of the bargain, but there weren’t a lot of others who were consistently bringing down the quarterback. This is a major growth area for the Packers in 2023.

Aaron Rodgers ANY/A

I outline my case for ANY/A being one of the best single stats for QB productivity on this page, and it’s not kind to Aaron Rodgers this year. The numbers reflect a season-long struggle and consistent decline in his productivity, as you can see on the chart below.

However, the wholesale changes the Packers made on offense this year and Rodgers’ broken thumb give me some pause. The numbers are definitely bad. They’re some of the worst of Rodgers’ career, for that matter. But he dealt with so many issues out of his control that I can’t believe them entirely. How different would they look if he’d been healthy for the whole year? What if Christian Watson had been healthy the whole year? It’s hard to say, but I don’t think they’d look quite this bad. Consider this more a cautious indicator than a screaming red flag of Rodgers’ decline. For now, at least.