KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The play has become a Green Bay Packers staple: Aaron Rodgers drops back, lofts a pass down the sideline and one of his talented receivers turns around at precisely the right time and hauls it in around the unsuspecting cornerback.
The back-shoulder fade may be the most difficult play to defend in the pass-happy NFL.
Rodgers and unbeaten Green Bay do it better than anybody.
"That's been one of the hardest routes to stop in football for a long time now," Kansas City cornerback Brandon Flowers said. "You just have to be in good position to defend the football. There's no way to coach how to stop the back shoulder. You just have to compete for the ball."
There are ways to stop it, of course -- exotic blitzes, jamming wide receivers. It's just that nobody has been able to stop the Packers when their star quarterback calls for the timing pattern.
"That's one of the most difficult pass routes to stop, for any defensive back in the league," Chiefs defensive back Travis Daniels said. "I think pretty much anybody would say that back-shoulder fade is hard to stop. And they kind of perfected that pretty good."
The play's success starts with Rodgers, who will try to get Green Bay to 14-0 when he faces the Chiefs on Sunday in Kansas City.
"You better get some rush," said Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who was appointed interim coach earlier in the week after the firing of Todd Haley. "If you're able to get some rush you might be able to defend against it so he won't be able to put it exactly where he wants it."
Flowers said the biggest thing the Chiefs can do to slow the aerial attack down is study game film, which might give them a clue as to when the wide receivers will look for the ball.
The problem is that it happens at different times on each play -- sometimes just 15 yards down field, sometimes 30 or 40. And it varies depending on whether it's Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver or one of the other wide receivers matched up with the Kansas City cornerbacks.
"They're always on the same page," Flowers said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
