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Rodgers' cadence make things hard for 49ers

Green Bay You would have thought Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be without a voice after playing two straight games indoors.

But the way he was barking out signals Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, the old vocal chords were working just fine.

Using a "hard count"- an inflection of the voice that raises the anticipation for the snap of the ball and preys upon a defensive player's eagerness to get out of his stance quickly - Rodgers was able to draw the San Francisco 49ers offside four times in the Packers' 34-16 victory Sunday afternoon.

Rodgers couldn't use the hard count in the domes because his own players can barely hear him let alone the defense. But he apparently saved up some particularly inviting barks to get the 49ers moving first.

"They were just a little jumpy today," Rodgers said. "I feel like the hard count is a part of our game. It's important. It's something we do every week. Obviously, when you're at home, you have a little more opportunity to get those guys to jump a little bit, but they were definitely jumping at the right time for us."

No use of the hard count was better than on a third-and-1 play at the Packers 43 when linebacker Ahmad Brooks jumped offside. Because he had not made contact with anybody and wasn't running free to the quarterback, the play wasn't whistled dead.

Rodgers, knowing the worst that could happen is that the Packers move the ball up 5 yards, surveyed the field and unloaded a deep ball to receiver Greg Jennings, who hauled it in for a 57-yard touchdown. Needless to say, the Packers declined the penalty.

"He changed up the cadence well," right tackle Bryan Bulaga said. "Every game he goes in there and changes up the cadence. He did a good job of it today and was able to get some people to jump. That works to our advantage. We snap the ball and make some plays."

The final jump came at the end of the second quarter when linebacker Travis LaBoy crossed the line of scrimmage. The Packers kept on going, and Rodgers hit receiver James Jones for what would have been about a 48-yard gain.

However, the officials ruled the play dead because they either thought LaBoy had a free run at Rodgers, had made contact with somebody or forced a Packers lineman to move prematurely. Thus, it was a neutral zone infraction and not an offside penalty.

"When they jump, we take a shot downfield," Rodgers said. "Greg made a great catch and run on the touchdown. A couple of others they decided to blow (the whistle). One of them looked like he might have been 'unabated' as they say."

Last-minute lament: Everything appeared to be going right for the Packers in the fourth quarter, but one thing did not.

Defensive end Cullen Jenkins strained the calf that has been bothering him since he hurt it in the Dallas game. The medical staff took Jenkins into the locker room on a cart.

Coach Mike McCarthy said he didn't know the severity of the injury.

"You really don't know until tomorrow," McCarthy said. "Anytime you have a strain, particularly of a muscle, it's the same one that he's strained in the past, so that's the concern there. We'll have more information for you tomorrow."

Jenkins had a bountiful game, notching a pair of sacks to raise his season total to seven. That's a career high for Jenkins, topping the 6 1/2 he had in 2006.

As for the other injuries, fullback Korey Hall and wide receiver Brett Swain both suffered knee sprains and did not return.

Wide receiver Donald Driver had a tight wrap around his left forearm, wrist and hand, but he said the injury wasn't serious.

Fit to a T: In addition to the no-huddle offense, McCarthy used a T-formation, where three backs line up in a row behind the quarterback.

McCarthy used it in short-yardage situations and was quite effective with it. Fullback John Kuhn was the favored ball carrier, and he was able to get first downs. All together, the Packers converted 6 of 6 third and 1's, five by running the ball.

"Our goal isn't exactly to shut people up," Kuhn said after criticism of the Packers' inability to convert short-yardage plays. "We have a lot of pride in trying to get first downs, especially on third and 1's. Just wanted to go out there today and have a good performance. And 5 for 5 is pretty good."

Push and shove: Cornerback Tramon Williams wasn't exactly tickled to death with some of the tactics 49ers receiver Josh Morgan used against him.

Morgan was held without a catch, but he managed to get under Williams' skin.

"(No.) 84 was out there doing some things that the ref didn't see," Williams said. "He was doing all kinds of stuff."

Asked for an example, Williams recalled a play near the goal line where quarterback Troy Smith bootlegged to the right and overthrew a wide open Michael Crabtree in the end zone. That was Williams' man.

"But 84 came to the outside of me and he kind of got against me, trying to pick me all the way inside. He was doing little things, holding, all kinds of stuff. I guess you have to play through that stuff."

Williams said he pleaded with the officials for a flag, but couldn't get one.

"Actually what the ref told me was, 'I saw it,' " Williams said. "If you saw it, why didn't you throw the flag? What else can you say, if he said he saw it and didn't throw the flag?"

Time is of the essence: Rodgers was clearly not happy having to burn three timeouts during the game, including two on the opening drive, because of miscommunications.

"We're going to talk about that," Rodgers said. "They're not good uses of the clock. One of them was personnel; we had the wrong personnel on the field. The other two were misalignments. Maybe we have to spend five more minutes a person on those type of things."

Rodgers was noticeably irritated at tight end Andrew Quarless and fullback Quinn Johnson for what appeared to be miscues.

Short yardage: McCarthy is now 3-0 against the 49ers, for whom he was offensive coordinator before taking the Packers job. . . . The Packers have one turnover in the last five games.

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