It’s no secret right now that Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is just not playing up to his full potential. While one obvious reason is that he just does not have the top-talent wide receivers at his disposal as he did in the past with the likes of Jordy Nelson or Donald Driver, etc. Another is the obvious fact that Rodgers just is not in his prime anymore. But, with someone as talented as Rodgers, even being just below their prime is still a great quarterback with plenty of potential for a championship.
First, let’s get something out of the way: Total Packers is not just another “Go Pack Go” kind of website. We love our team, but we are not shy about pointing out flaws and sharing our critique. That’s what a real fan does. Any idiot can yell “go team!” no matter how the season is going or how the team is performing. There are plenty of other Packers websites for that.
One common complaint among more discerning Packer fans is that they feel Rodgers is intentionally conservative with his targeting to keep his stats looking good and his name at the top of the NFL career QB passer rating list — where he currently sits comfortably at #1 with a career rating of 103.1. I’d say that is a bit of a stretch. Rodgers has his diva tendencies, but I do not think that even he would be the type to be preoccupied with his career stats when he is surrounded by plenty of talent to go to the Super Bowl — albeit young talent.
Another is that new head coach Matt LaFleur just is not leading him properly or helping reign him in to his new offense. Most people have no idea what goes on between them when the cameras and microphones are off, but as far as I can see, their chemistry seems to be perfectly fine. If LaFleur doesn’t have Rodgers in a more consistent form at the end of next season, them maybe I would start pointing fingers at the new coach and his system.
I do not think Rodgers is at all worried about his stats or his relationship with LaFleur — he seems much more worried about his physical health to the point of inhibiting his performance potential.
In my view, Rodgers’ hangup is a mental one. At his age, and having experienced the torture that is a broken collar bone(more than once), he is so afraid of a sack that it inhibits his ability to think as clearly in the pocket as he has in the past. Of course, ALL quarterbacks, even with newer rules protecting them, are worried about that surprise sack that knocks the air out of your lungs. It seems that this possibility, based on his past experience, is much more imminent in his mind.
As far as Rodgers and his conservatism in the pocket lately, the other side of the coin would be gunslinging, pray-it-gets-in-there Brett Favre. It seems that somewhere between the two would be ideal for team to actually make it to the Super Bowl and not embarrass themselves once they get there. When you deal with the greats like Favre and Rodgers, you get their personalities and hangups with the package.
It certainly is no one single thing that is sandbagging a passing game that absolutely should be performing better than it is. The Packers offensive line is statistically respectable in relation to the rest of the league, but their performance seems to drop off sharply later in the game. That’s all it takes to rattle your aging QB wondering if he is one hard hit away from ending his storied career. Rodgers is obviously a very intelligent guy. But, sometimes, that can work against someone as anxiety and stress can lead to constant overthinking that inhibits their performance both mentally and physically.
After Sunday’s game, Rodgers was quoted as saying:
We’ve got to clean some of that stuff up, but I wouldn’t mind winning ugly all the way to the Super Bowl.
In hindsight, most of us probably would not mind it either if the end result was a trip to the Super Bowl. However, realistically, the chances of that happening right now are extremely slim and unlikely. While they certainly could use some help in the offseason with bolstering their defensive line and their receiving corps(and a decent backup QB on that note), the fact remains that there is a Super Bowl level team there right now. It’s just a matter of if they can tap into it or not.
Maybe the O line’s drop off later in the game has to do with protecting Rodgers ( for 7 or 8 seconds ) while he runs around waiting for the big play to present itself. The Saints O line probably feels refreshed after a game in comparison to the Packers’ line, because they only have to hold their blocks for about 3 seconds.
The offensive line hasn’t been perfect this year, but they have been better than the vast majority of lines. They aren’t the problem. Rodgers averaged 3.5 seconds yesterday to throw the ball. That is insane, and far too long.
True, but Washington was playing lots of guys back in coverage. Hence, longer waits and less separation.
aaron and Ben Roethlisberger have a similar strategy — run around and wait for a receiver to be way way open. Now, this is okay, it can work. It is hard an offensive line though and it leads to extra sacks. That is why the Packers have so very many sacks despite being a premiere line. This strategy improves completion % and even yards per pass and also reduces interceptions all at the cost only of more sacks. It is a sort of artificial boost then to the QB’s stat’s as sacks do not count against the QB.
It isn’t cheating, it is within the rules, but it is deceptive. This is why aaron is not as good of a QB as many think. He is Top 10 but he is certainly no GOAT, not even close.
Also keep in mind that for many years McCarthy and aaron were simpatico to get as many throwing TDs as possible. It made them both look good. So nearly half of Rodgers TDs were thrown from 4 yards or less in circumstances other teams would have run in. Like 1st and goal from the 4. I’m not saying it failed or did not work. They still got the TDs. But running also would have worked just as well. It artificially inflated Rodgers’ TDs and that greatly boosted his QB rating in a deceptive way (thrown TDs should not even be a part of the QB rating process). aaron has had fewer of those this year thanks to Lafleur being logical about things. So far Lafleur is doing a great job managing, controlling, guiding, fostering, teaching an aging egotistical psychotic QB. Truly masterful by Lafleur.
As aaron becomes ever more obedient to Lafleur’s willpower he should improve and put up better stats. For a year or two and then he’ll be too physically decrepit to perform even when he does as told to do.
Boy!!!….You do as you is told to do!!!
He still fucking up your egg McMuffin?
Truth be told, that doesn’t even really bother me, We both enjoy the back and forth immensely. I do like the edges burnt though, and he’s working on it.
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I can tell he does his best, that’s all you can ask of anyone. He’s a good man.
PF4L = Seinfeld
Killer = Newman
Rodgers has declined some as far as mobility and general movement. But he is a 36 year old white guy that has had a few lower body injuries. That is to be expected. His arm talent hasn’t in my opinion. He still has it there despite maybe missing a few more throws than usual. He is still easily top 5 in NFL in terms of arm talent, probably top 3, he still makes throws the majority of other QBs can’t make at times.
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I think it is mental as well. Not so sure it’s necessarily about stats, but he is too risk adverse, too worried about interceptions. As Jason said, there is a fine line between being Mike Pence level conservative, and being an idiot with the football like Favre would be at times. He needs to take a few more chances and give his receivers a chance to make a play. Through 13 games, wide receivers not named Davante Adams have totaled 87 receptions. An average of under 7 per game. I have a tough time imagining that they are THAT bad at getting open, considering their total snap count is probably close to 1200 snaps. You mean to tell me that they only beat their cover guy on 7% of snaps? Of course this isn’t correcting for receptions going to other players but you catch my drift here. I think the Aaron Rodgers trust factor is real, and he doesn’t throw to those guys unless they are wide open and there is virtually no chance at an interception
A white guy? wtf?…lol
Comon, you know it’s true lol. How many white positional guys do you see playing in the NFL after they turn like 32. He isn’t Darrell Green
lol….I may have it all wrong. But i believe Kato is my favorite brother here.
This is a well written article.
But I have one caveat: If Rodgers really is playing afraid, then why does he hold the ball so long? Why doesn’t he get rid of it? Even more than safe throws, this would limit hits.
That said, the article is still right: He’s looking timid out there.
I think another real problem is lack of separation from his targets. Davante is often doubled, and Graham simply doesn’t separate well. Geronimo should have been released this past summer (told ya!), MVS has disappeared, Tonyan barely plays (why?), and Lazard needs more reps.
This is why Jones has been so critical. He’s become the safety valve because the offense just isn’t “scheming open” our receivers as was promised in camp.
Anyway, is Rodgers playing scared, missing reads and avoiding risky throws? You betcha. And it won’t work the next 3 games.
Good article.
I think Rodgers is stuck in McCarthy mode of looking for a miss match which is why he snaps the ball with one second on the play clock and causes so many false starts! i believe he is changing the play at the line quite often. This worked when you had Nelson,Driver,Jones and Cobb but wont with this group of receivers. I think if he would go with the play thats called more often and take some chances once in awhile he would be fine.
Yeah hes likely changing the play all the time again. I’m convinced anytime they throw the 30 yard pass on 3rd and 1 it is him changing the play. I remember back in 94 when Holmgren and Favre introduced that concept with great success…unfortunately it stopped surprising the opposition circa 1998.
at what cost? 3 games? I believe coaching is the more likely reason. The way they played Washington, they will have a hard day playing the Bears.
This is such a weird season. The defense plays much better than the stats show, and the offense plays much worse than the stats show. For all their faults, the D is opportunistic – they’re making plays at critical times. It feels like the opposite with the offense, they’re falling apart when they should be closing out strong/sealing the win.
That said, this is the first year since maybe 2010 that if feels like I’m watching a football team & not “Aaron Rodgers and some guys”. Yeah, there’s been star talent like Jordy and Davante, but he carried the team for years. It’s refreshing, in a weird way.
I am not a big Geronimo Allison fan, but can someone explain this to me? Why did he have 300 yards on 20 receptions and two TD last year in five games, then this year 29 receptions for 250 yards and two TDs in 13 games? Did he suddenly forget how to play? Was last year a fluke? MVS is likely going to finish with fewer receptions than last year. Sure, it’s a new offense, but technically it was a new offense for MVS last year too. Something isn’t right.
You are correct…something isn’t right, and his name is Rodgers.
Sarcasm is great, but there IS a problem with IMO the GOAT QB1. Many of my friends GO to these games at Lambeau and continually say that the WR’s are wide open. I hear the announcers say it as well. I see guys in here and on other sites voice the same fucking thing. Can any QB see the whole field all of the time? Hell no! but something is up with either Rodgers current level of awareness, or his desire to only seek out one or two receivers since Adams has come back into the fold. I cannot help but consider just how OFTEN and just how MANY (with success) different receivers that Rodgers used each and every game while Adams was out! Rodgers looked like his old self many times. Even though the team sometimes struggled offensively at the time, it was clear that they were moving the chains often and with many short passes and many different receivers (sometimes 8 or more). The opposing defenses were getting to the point where they COULD NOT just key on one or two players as they do now! This past weekend was an abomination against a poor team. There is NO REASON for a 9-3 (at the time) team to struggle against such a weak opponent. I FIRMLY believe that Rodgers has a quirk regarding his receivers, it is very noticeable and at times frustrating. I also believe that Rodgers does seem to BLOW short yardage 3rd downs with wasteful bombs of 30 yards or more. I believe those should be used on 1st or 2nd downs IMO. That is more than likely a choice made by Rodgers at the line before the play happens. These faults (if you will) are Rodgers (if true). However, these “faults” fall DIRECTLY on the head coach to address. In my opinion they should be addressed most vociferously by the head coach because it has been, and will become even more of a major problem in the next 3 weeks MARK MY WORDS! Not to mention, the next few seasons! This process is becoming painfully obvious in it’s scope and in it’s abuse. I dig Aaron Rodgers as a QB1, he has given us a SB win and so much hope and excitement to winning each and every week. But I am seeing some VERY OBVIOUS weaknesses in Rodgers armor, and I am very concerned that if he does NOT get out of his OCD rut and just hit the open man more often that the next few years are going to start declining at a much more rapid rate.
Or LaFleur just isn’t that great at calling an offense
I am beginning o believe that this may be the case as well . . .
See…here’s the thing, everyone is an expert on the whole deal, but the reality is none of us know a fucking thing. Why? Because we are not there….we don’t know why this…why that….speculate all you want…carry on. I find it amusing.
I’ll stick to my sarcasm and seeing how far a 10-3 team can go, maybe not far and that’s cool. Because i didn’t expect this much to begin with.
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But ya’ll go ahead and keep bitching and whining. I’ll watch :)
You are such a gas lighting hypocrite . . . Carry on. I AM NO EXPERT, I even parenthetically stated many of these things as speculative! But since I wounded your man crush of Rodgers you lash out with general statements. You and I, along with a few other on this site basically predicted what was going to happen with this team years and years ago. Just because Rodgers is now brought up as a potential problem (IMHO, collateral damage from TT) because of his 10 plus years of dealing with this, he is now failing. It is a fucking shame! But it is NOT OUR FAULT! What I find amazing is that for most of this decline many of us have been in lock-step regarding what was happening . . . Why is this aspect (Rodgers) so much more difficult for you to see? It is becoming obvious even to the casual fan . . . I am not happy about this either (if you were wondering). But do NOT CONFLATE actual observation and commentary with whining! LOL! Because we are all watching the same fucking games.
Ignore this troll (PF4L) . All he does is fight. Probably lives in Detroit. This article and most of the comments are correct. Rodgers is different.
Next time you see him…tell him PF4L says howdy.
Oops…almost forgot…welcome to the site…”new guy”
Post under your normal username candyass.
Please read…..I said “everyone” i didn’t say MMSUCKS….please breathe….This post, is also for everyone.
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If someone doesn’t know something for fact, it is a guess, speculation at best. If someone doesn’t know Rodgers personally, they don’t know “what he’s thinking” or what his “thought process is” Lets stop pretending.
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PERSPECTIVE……Your team is 10-3, 2nd seed in the NFC. You have a QB with a rating of over 100, completing 64% of his passes, 23 TD’s, 2 picks and your finally back in the playoffs. So it begs the question……
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What would most of you need to stop whining? 13-0 record? Passer rating of over 120?…what?
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What is your standard for contentment?
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I said many times, this is at least a 2 or 3 year ordeal if the right moves are made. Have the right moves been made. Draft well?
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What were your expectations this season?..14-2? The SB? The NFCCG?
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C’MON MAN!
Here is a post from another Packer site: “Everyone is down on our WR’s, but for 4 games after ADAMS got hurt, we scored a lot of points with those same WRs. How come they were open then? but not now?”
I find that this statement is such a great example of some of the speculation about Rodgers and what seems to be happening with our offense. Does it speak empirically? Or is it just foolishness? Personally, I believe that it has validity. As I stated earlier on this thread, I believe that there are a few factors creating this problem . . . because it IS a problem. One that has reared its’ ugly head in previous seasons as well.
To your other points PF4L, I agree. I am happy about the 10-3 record. But being a cynic, I see (as many of us do on this site) the uphill battle the next 3 weeks bring. I also see a one and done in the playoffs if this problem is not rectified. However, I am happy to have a team that I felt would have a record much worse than this flirting with post season possibilities! Could these last few weeks have been an exercise in sand-bagging by the Packers? To NOT give away any fresh schemes and plays? Very possible. Let us trust that this is what has been happening! If not . . . it will get ugly.
MM….i wouldn’t be in shock if the Packers lost the next 3 games. Realistic expectations (for me) were an improvement over 2018 from 6-9-1. 10-6 would be a bigger improvement than i would have guessed. Something to build on…..i want to add, that in the playoffs, i have no doubt it will be ugly at some point, Hell….it’s ugly when we beat a 3 win Redskin game.
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I just think people need to stop acting like this is a Championship season. This is a LEARNING season, for the offense, QB, and a new coach. There won’t be any Championships won this season.
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Next season, they have more camps, player acquisitions, some help at receiver hopefully, maybe tight end, and they build some more and i think we’ll see a tighter team next season where the wins aren’t so ugly…progression.
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Caveat being Gute has to start hitting more. I don’t even remember the last time we hit it big on a draft pick. Probably Bakhtiari , and now he’s slipping. I will say i have high hope for Elgton Jenkins, fantastic rookie season imo, needs less penalties.
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Good post MM
I rewatched the game. LaFleur wasn’t calling anything exotic, basically he was running Jones a lot and the Redskins were moving guys close to the line to stop him, although the Redskins rarely put 8 men in the box. I think this was a game where LaFleur kind of held back on his play calling knowing that the Packers wouldn’t have to put up 40 points to win it. In a game like this the lack of speed from the receivers due to injuries becomes obvious.
Later in the game, the offensive line started making mistakes.
Once again, on fake blitzes, Rodgers held onto the ball or reacted poorly. He does really well when a blitz is called and the opponent really does blitz, but he can’t handle fake blitzes.
I’m hoping LaFleur is just holding some stuff back for more difficult games.
Agreed Deepsky. I’m glad that you quantified my thoughts about some of
those possibilities. In no way am I disappointed by the teams record, just frustrated with the chasm that seems to be between the Packers talent pool and the rest of the top teams talent pools (thank you TT). There seems to be an almost insurmountable difference in blue-chip athletes. These are the difference makers, and the Packers are woefully short. But, as they say . . . Any given Sunday!
Allison was slow and never recovered from his injury. MVS is injured too. Adams was averaging almost a 100 yards a game before his injury, now he’s averaging a little over 60 yards a game. We thought these guys would do well and they just aren’t, mainly because of injuries.
If this is the case (which I’m almost certain that it is), perhaps LaFleur should have been holding back Adams, MVS, Allison and Graham for most (if not all of the last 2 games). Tonyan, Lewis, Kumerow, Lazard and Sternberger along with RB’s Jones and Williams should have been more than adequate to defeat the Skin’s and the Giants. That would have given Rodgers more time with these guys, plus rested up all of the injured WR’s. But this is hopeful thinking on my part.
Lol…i read this article and the comments……maybe its this,…maybe it’s that…how come this….why doesn’t he do that. He doesn’t want to do this. He won’t do that. Maybe he’s just not…that…maybe he’s just not…this. He’s afraid…..he’s not afraid…..lmao
LMAO.
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My apologies, thanks for the entertainment though. I don’t want to slow anyone down from falling of the deep end….carry on people. :)
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Hetmy fanboi did you watch the 41 year old Brees against the 49ers? Tell me again how Rodgers isn’t part of the problem??
He’s all the problem, that’s why he’s all that’s talked about (durr). That’s why a bunch of you should form a task group, hold a couple meetings, devise a strategy plan, and go up and work with Rodgers until he learns how to become a winning QB again.
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Keep me posted …carry on people.
And yet you fail to address with your almighty wisdom the crux of my point: why is the 41 year old QB in New Orleans performing at such a higher level than Rodgers? Dont throw out the stats, look at the games and the opponents. Id take Brees right now 10x to Saturday over Rodgers; and I have loved Arodge most of his career.
I’m not sure….let me get back to you after i call him. I would ask you to tell me what’s wrong with Brady, but i think we all know, as we’ve witnessed it first hand. Hang on, i’ll call Bree’s right now, give me a minute ok champ?
Ok…here’s what he told me…He has more weapons, Thomas (although he’s no Davante Adams), Kamara, Murray, Ginn, Jared Cook (granted, he’s no Jimmy G). Plus the 3rd top O line according to PFF
Plus (and more importantly) not learning a new offense, they have an established offense and very good play caller.
Top passer ratings in the NFL:
1 Ryan Tannehill 118.5
2 Kirk Cousins, 112.0
3 Drew Brees, 109.5
4 Lamar Jackson, 109.2
5 Russell Wilson, 107.5
6 Matthew Stafford, 106.0
7 Patrick Mahomes, 105.3
8 Jimmy Garoppolo, 103.9
Still a few lost misguided souls out there mentally stumbling around murmuring about aaron Rodger or Dak Prescott being the NFL MVP. Poor bastards!
Clear evidence Ryan Tannehill is the league’s best QB. Logic, brought to us by The Lonely Boy.
One thing I have noticed, people have talked about how uninspiring Green Bay has been winning this year, holy crap Seattle is even more mediocre in terms of how they are winning games. They have given up way more points than the Packers, while only outscoring opponents by a total of 20 points over 10 wins. They just win a lot of close wins.
So, my boss is coming with me for his first game at Lambeau (he is a bears fan, don’t worry, he isn’t awful like a lot of other bears fans are), and he was sick of Soldier field and wanted to experience Lambeau. I have never really tailgated that much, where should I take him around the area? We are planning on getting into town around 2-3 hours before kickoff. And definitely a hard pass on the stupid sledding hill.
SS
December 9, 2019
Ignore this troll (PF4L) . All he does is fight. Probably lives in Detroit. This article and most of the comments are correct. Rodgers is different.
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Hides behind a new username, and calls me a troll…lol.
This is starting to feel like the special needs meeting room.
A troll is not one who disagrees or has a wrong opinion or is against your team or is critical in a logical (at least attempted) way.
Being a Packer fan on a Packer fan web site does not exempt anyone from being a troll just as being a non-Packer fan on a Packer fan web site does not a troll make.
A troll is abusive in mannerism and comment. A troll acts like a 3rd grader who is supposed to be in 5th grade but has been held back two years due to bullying and no focus on actual work. A troll is mean and attempts to dominate through harsh language, name-calling, attempted humiliation.
As you can tell now that you understand what a troll is, you, PF4L, are a classic standard typical run of the mill troll.
That’s hurtful Lonely Boy. Especially right after i said some nice things about you.
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On the other hand, thank you for explaining what a troll is by definition. This is why we need a good man like you in here. So you can guide and lead and teach us. I cringe thinking of how lost we would be without your tutelage. I think i can speak for most when i say, Thank you, for all you do.
See how that works Lonely Boy? You don’t have to be mean, and dominate using harsh language, attempting to humiliate people with name calling, all in an attempt to gain attention for yourself.
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Please use this in a positive way as a source for self reflection, leading to personal improvement. Always remember, you have my support and never forget……
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Your good enough
Your smart enough
And doggone it,
people like you
Don’t you try to humiliate Aaron Rodgers by implying he is homosexual at least once a month on here? As if it is still insulting in 2019?
You are moving things around in your mind for convenience and also contradicting yourself. You say homosexual is not insulting in 2019 but, before that, you say I am trying to humiliate him by even just implying it. So, you contradict yourself. You must choose one, only one.
What I imply is not that he is homosexual, he clearly just is. What I point out is that he utilizes beards and ostracizes his whole family in order to trick, hoodwink, deceive others that he is not gay. I do not accuse him of being gay. I accuse him of carrying on deception about it. Get it?
I’m all for gays. Women with women: mmmm sexy. Men with men? More women for the rest of us! Hell, I wish most men were gay! It would be, like, 10 women for each on of us. Get it?
You need a hobby
This is just one example of where I feel Rodgers is not seeing things right
https://twitter.com/BenFennell_NFL/status/1204157571227115520?s=19
Kato…for what it’s worth i told Aaron to get contacts. I can lead a horse to water, i can’t make him drink.
Great post Kato. These are the things that I have been seeing steadily increase for the last 3-4 years. Something is up with Rodgers. I firmly believe that it is a few things. One is that he is afraid of getting sacked and hurt, the other is that he keys on only a few people when they are in the personnel package for the current play. Sometimes I wonder if he is even aware (after the snap) where the safeties are moving. Because, as this video shows, he seems to be too impatient with his reads and takes off before diagnosing the read. A 100 plus million dollar QB1 should (and must) breakdown his reads, then react (if he in fact does have time to do so), I am not certain that Rodgers is doing this as often as he is able to . . . which this video proves without question. If any of us make that much money a year, we better damn-well justify it. Just to clarify, I still think Rodgers is top-notch. He just seems to be inconsistent from game to game, and even quarter to quarter at times. It is like he has an on-off switch. The Washington game is a great example of going from great to mediocre in a few quarters.
I didn’t, and i’m not going to read the link, i’ve read enough Rodgers bashing for awhile.
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I forgot who it was, but they posted a counter point to Rodgers afraid of getting injured. He said if he was afraid of getting sacked and hurt, why does he hold onto the ball so long looking to make a play?
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A personal note on Rodgers. I’m fairly certain Rodgers knows what he’s looking at, what the safeties are doing, etc. Call me silly, but i’m pretty sure Rodgers knows what he’s doing, and hasn’t forgot how to play at an elite level. Keep in mind, just because Rodgers knows how to, doesn’t mean other players on the team are at that same level. Rodgers is one of a few players (maybe the only one) on the team that has been there, and done it before.
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So yea, i have blind trust in Rodgers because he’s done it, and he’s won it.. Rodgers didn’t win MVP’s in 2011 and 14 by himself, he had talented people around him. If anyone thinks he has anywhere NEAR that same talent around him now…God Bless You.
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Let the team grow, this isn’t their time yet.
He is spending time in the pocket because he has his eyes on rushers and not his receivers. My point stands.
I can’t disagree, but i think he has eyes on both. I said long before you joined us here…that Rodgers can over come a weak receiving group, and he can also over come a weak line (and still win MVP) but he can’t overcome both at the same time.
I’ll say this….with better receivers, we’re not even having these stupid discussions. and frankly, i’m done discussing it because when i join the fray, i feel like i have to dumb down, just to participate. I’ll still be my charming sarcastic self, but i’ll leave it to someone else to try and infuse some logic into the discussion.