Craig: Rodgers might not recognize this Vikings defense

Vikings defensive end Brian Robison was trying to explain coach Mike Zimmer's aggressiveness in relation to the more predictable defensive schemes the team played from 2006 until last season.

"Heck," Robison said, "there were some times when we'd line up [against the Packers] and Aaron Rodgers was calling out our defenses as we were lining up."

What say you, Aaron?

"Nah," he said Tuesday, "I never did that before."

Time out. We're throwing the challenge flag on that one.

To say Rodgers was comfortable against the Vikings' Tampa 2 scheme doesn't do justice to the word. His 116.8 passer rating in 12 regular-season games against the Vikings is the highest by any quarterback against a single team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

He's completed 71.4 percent of his passes (277 of 388) against the Vikings for 3,382 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions. He's 8-4 and has won seven of the past eight. He's … well, you get the point.

But that was then. Or at least that's what the Vikings will hope for Thursday night when they hit Lambeau Field with a defense that couldn't be any more different from the one Rodgers and Brett Favre saw the past eight seasons.

For what it's worth, Rodgers faced Zimmer's defenses in Cincinnati twice. The Packers went 0-2 while Rodgers completed 57.3 percent of his passes for an average of 252.5 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and a 74.8 passer rating.

Last year's 64.5 rating in a 34-30 loss at Cincinnati was Rodgers' third-lowest rating since 2009.

"I have a lot of respect for [Zimmer] and the job he does," Rodgers said. "He's always well prepared and very confusing at times with their schemes."

Such as?

"It gives you some similar works and they run different things out of it," Rodgers said. "Different blitz schemes, different coverages behind it. They give you some issues with the protections, obviously. And his defenses in Cincinnati always covered very well with a lot of talented corners, much like Minnesota does."

Zimmer returned the verbal hugs, calling Rodgers the NFL's No. 1 quarterback against the blitz and the third "first-ballot Hall of Famer" the Vikings have faced in the past four weeks, in addition to Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

Vikings players echoed the praise for Rodgers' arm strength, pinpoint accuracy and decisionmaking skills, which is a fancy way of saying this guy doesn't hand out interceptions as carelessly as his predecessor did.

On the other hand, one can sense inside the Vikings locker room a feeling that less predictability and more pressure will help against Rodgers. Of course, the Bears felt pretty good about their scheme too before a 38-17 loss in which Rodgers posted the highest passer rating (151.2) against a Bears team in the past 49 years.

"This defense is better suited because we can put pressure on him," defensive end Everson Griffen said. "We're not going to allow him to sit back and just pick us apart."

Meanwhile, cornerback Josh Robinson said tighter coverage, even in zone schemes, will help against Rodgers' accuracy.

"One of the things that's going to help us is playing more man coverage and more press coverage and challenging these receivers," Robinson said. "I think it comes down to challenging all throws. You can't sit back and just wait for the ball to be thrown, because he'll fit it in there."

All of this sounds good two days before a game. But oftentimes, opponents end up like Bears coach Marc Trestman, who spent Monday trying to defend a game plan that chose extra coverage instead of risky blitz packages. The fact that it was a game plan the Lions used to smash the Packers the week before meant little after a 21-point loss.

As for the Vikings, well, they didn't fare so well either the last time they faced Rodgers. All he did was post a 130.6 passer rating while going 12-for-12 for 187 yards, two touchdowns and eight first downs on third and fourth down.

So change might not be good, but we know it won't be any worse.

Mark Craig mark.craig@startribune.com