Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy hasn’t forgotten about all the plays quarterback Aaron Rodgers made against him. Even a decade later, Van Noy is still looking for his first sack on Rodgers to even the score from the time Rodgers lit of Van Noy and his Detroit Lions’ defense.
Both now in the AFC North, Van Noy shared his thoughts on facing Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers this season.
“I’ll tell you a quick Aaron Rodgers story that I would like to get him back,” Van Noy said on NFL Network’s The Insiders Monday evening. “It was actually back when I was in Detroit playing inside linebacker. For whatever reason, the d-coordinator, who is actually the d-coordinator of the Steelers, wanted to go Cover Zero all game against Aaron Rodgers. He caught us. Ended up scoring a touchdown to Jordy Nelson. Ended up walking behind and kinda tapped me on the butt like, ‘nice try.’
“So I gotta get him back for that. That’s been there for 10 years.”
Van Noy didn’t specify exactly when it occurred but it appears to have been the Week Three matchup between both sides. Rodgers torched the Lions with four first half touchdowns, including this perfectly-placed fade to Nelson on a Cover Zero/all-out blitz.
Rodgers and the Packers took a commanding 31-10 lead into the half and staved off a late Lions’ comeback to win 34-27. Van Noy, who has openly expressed a disdain for DC Teryl Austin in the past, was traded to the New England Patriots a month later.
Since, Van Noy has transformed into an effective pass rusher who notched a career-high 12.5 sacks for the Ravens last season to make his first Pro Bowl in the 11th year of his career. That included a five tackle, three TFL, 1.5 sack, and fumble recovery performance in a Week 17 win over Pittsburgh.
While Kyle Van Noy would love to add Aaron Rodgers to his list of sacked quarterbacks, he isn’t as macabre about it as Myles Garrett.
“He’s a Hell of a player…he’s a couple field goals away from having a winning record. I still feel like he’s slinging the ball around. He has the confidence of anybody, especially being a four-time MVP of the league. He’s coming into that Steelers who are ready and prime to have a guy at the helm, at the quarterback position to take them where they want to go.
“I feel like they have a good offensive coordinator with Arthur Smith who is gonna get back to that ground and pound. And I’m excited to see Aaron Rodgers under center to see if he likes it or not.”
The fit between Rodgers and Smith will be key and Smith’s offense often puts the quarterback under center to execute his outside zone runs and play-action scheme. Under center or in shotgun, Van Noy and the Ravens’ defense will look to continue their winning streak over Pittsburgh. After losing in last year’s first regular season meeting, Baltimore dominated the next two games, including the Wild Card round to send the Steelers packing. Van Noy will have to wait for his chance, not seeing the Ravens until Week 14 and again in the regular season finale.
Rodgers will join The Pat McAfee show tomorrow. We’ll see if he offers a response.
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