Receiver Greg Jennings’ two-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings didn’t go so hot. After racking up three 1,000-yard seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Jennings topped out at 804 for the Vikings, who released him two years into his contract.
And there’s good reason for that. Jennings played with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. He played with a trash heap of quarterbacks in Minnesota.
Jennings talked about how that affected him this week.
“It was huge making that adjustment because your game never really changes, but who you play with impacts you greatly,” Jennings says. “I think that every great quarterback and every great receiver, they feed off one another. If you’re a great receiver without the great quarterback that brings you down a notch, almost to where you begin to question yourself. The same could be said about a great quarterback, where if you have a great quarterback and you don’t have the great pieces around him, it’s like, ‘Man, am I really that great?’ Going from Brett and Aaron to Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel and all of these other guys, it was a huge drop-off. I can’t even put into words, and again, no disrespect to them, it’s just about how great these other two guys were.”
You can throw Josh Freeman into that mix, as well.
I think if you made Freeman, Cassel and Ponder into one human being, that person still couldn’t hold Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre’s jock strap. Although he was bitter throughout his tenure with the Vikings, we always thought Jennings was lucky to put up the numbers he did, considering the guys he had throwing him the ball.
Well… he is right. Just a matter of fact statement of truth there.
Funny Deandre Hopkins or Josh gordon never had an issue with qb play. For a mediocre WR that could be a real issue. For a great one it isnt.
Greg Jennings got a big head and sucked outside Greenbay.
Obviously they never had Hundley as their QB.
Or…1st round picks Ponder, or Bridgewater, and whatever future 1st round pick QB’s the queens get to make them look like fools.
Greg Jennings claimed that playing with Rodgers and Green bay was holding him back. Solid Wr but nothing special.
Reporter: Welcome Christian…I wanted to ask you about Jennings recent comments saying his QB’s weren’t good enough in Minnesota, any thought’s.
Ponder: I can’t take the blame for that, if i was born with better downfield accuracy, he would have had better numbers.
Reporter: That’s his claim, that you were not good enough.
Ponder: Not good enough? Excuse me, i was the 12th pick of the draft, Jennings can kick rocks.
Reporter: The Vikings have a pattern of not fairing well with #1 QB Picks. do you feel you owe viking fans an apology?
Ponder: Their team picked me 12th. Obviously i had talent oozing out of every orifice of my body. They didn’t maximize my talent. Tebow and i were just talking about that the other day.
Reporter: Isn’t it a fact you performed horribly for a 1st round pick?
Ponder: Asked, and answered.
Reporter: You seem to still have all the confidence in the world. Any explanation why no teams want you anymore?
Ponder: Listen, i don’t have time for this. My wife is on her way home from work, and i still have to dust and vacuum and get dinner ready, or she’ll have my ass.