GREEN BAY, Wis. -- From 2001 to 2004, no one in the NFL caught more red-zone touchdowns than the Green Bay Packers tight end at the time, the plodding Bubba Franks.
All but one of his 27 touchdowns during that stretch came from inside the 20. His 26 red-zone touchdown catches matched Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison for the most during those four seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Twenty-two of those were 10 yards or less, including 18 of 5 yards or less.
It was no coincidence that the Packers were one of the best red-zone teams in the NFL in that time frame. In fact, they ranked second in red-zone efficiency in that four-year time period, according to ESPN Stats & Information with an efficiency rate of 58.2 percent (behind only the Kansas City Chiefs at 64.3 percent).
What does this have to do with the 2015 Packers?
Well, they don't have a 6-foot-6 tight end like Franks. But that might not stop coach Mike McCarthy from looking to his tight ends, specifically the athletic 6-4 Richard Rodgers, to improve their red-zone efficiency.
"I have always been a big believer, not just in the red zone but in general [when] you're attacking in the passing game, the importance of having big people attacking the middle of the field," McCarthy said. "The quickest way to the end zone is through the middle of the field. That's always been a belief of mine, and it's really where you start with the vertical passing game. Richard is definitely one of those guys.
"Now, it's tighter, the steps and the time clock is faster, so it is a whole different training and being a big body, big target, big catch-radius type of individual, that's something he'll have an opportunity to excel."
Last season, no one in the NFL caught more red-zone touchdown passes than Packers receiver Randall Cobb with 10. However, as a small (5-10) slot receiver, he was the exception to the red-zone rule that size matters. Five NFL players caught nine red-zone touchdowns last season, and all but one were tight ends.
"I think it's just a little bit easier for tight ends [in the red zone] because they're bigger," Rodgers said. "It's hard for guys to get around us and make a play on the ball."
Despite having the NFL's highest-scoring team last season, the Packers finished just 10th out of the 32 teams in the NFL last season in red-zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on 57.8 percent of their possessions inside the 20. In the playoffs, their touchdown rate dropped to 50 percent, which was tied for 10th among the 12 postseason teams. It was especially problematic in the NFC Championship Game loss, when they went 1-for-3 in the red zone.
The previous week, in the NFC divisional playoff win over the Cowboys, offered a glimpse at what Rodgers can do in the red zone. He caught a 13-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the game-winning score. It was an improvisational play and a perfect throw through a tight window from Aaron Rodgers.
"I had a post [route], and I saw the backside of the end zone was open so I ran to the open space," Richard Rodgers recalled this week. "Obviously, Aaron does a great job of finding us when we're open. That's really how it panned out."
As a rookie last season, Richard Rodgers caught just three touchdown passes, including the playoffs. In training camp this summer, however, he has been a regular target in red-zone drills. That didn't show up in the preseason opener against the Patriots last Thursday. In three series, the No. 1 offense got into the red zone twice and failed to score a touchdown.
However, it's probably too early to fret over the red-zone issues.
"We got stalled in the red zone," Aaron Rodgers said after the game, "but we were in one personnel group the entire time with limited substitutions."