What Rodgers Meant

Did Aaron Rodgers send a message to Clay Matthews?

Aaron Rodgers seemed to give some high praise to Greg Jennings this week. Although it was a nice thing to say, I think he intended it for a much smaller audience.

I was discussing this with Packers writer John Rehor briefly this weekend, and on the outside it all sounds pretty straightforward:

"Says a lot about the character of Greg Jennings that so many of his teammates come to his event. He's a class act."

Now I suppose it could be just what it is; a glowing review of Greg Jennings. But, I just am not buying it right now. I give Aaron Rodgers a little more credit than that. That message was intended for Clay Matthews and the rest of the crew down in the Wisconsin Dells.

Yes, I can hear the roar of the homer crowd already, but this is not about Underwood, or his case. I've been really careful to only relay that facts on that issue, and as far as I'm concerned, outside of a potential divorce court, I think that's the only judge that Underwood will ever face in the matter. The girls falsely accused a player and subsequently set off a string of events that has dominated the news. The bigger question is should the girls have been there in the first place? That's really what Aaron Rodgers is saying here.

Aaron Rodgers took a golden rhetorical opportunity and used it to serve up Clay and his buddies. He obviously knows about the incident, he obviously knows how big a deal it was, and he obviously knows that any reference to golf outings at this moment will be taken as such. While praising Greg Jennings (as he should) he also entertained a smaller group of players by saying:

"Look Clay and all you other guys who went to a charity even and then decided to top it off with a visit to strip club, mostly Clay. You're stupid. That's not how you do it with class around here. You were probably wondering why myself and many others didn't attend your event leaving only B-listers available. I am sure that you also thought being a Pro-Bowler and near rookie of the year would be enough to get myself and the rest of the of the A list crowd on the course. Not the case in Green Bay. See Greg Jennings? He is all about how it's done. Take notes, because that shit last week was not cool. Luckily I was smart enough to see that in advance. P.S. USC sucks."

I have been hollering for a bona-fide superstar for many years. Not only on the field, but in the press too. A guy that can take the team as well as what the team has to say on his shoulders. As far as I am concerned, that guy is now officially here.

I've never seen a guy say more in 140 characters or less. One of what is most surely going to be a long string of records.

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Comments (11)

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Willis's picture

June 12, 2010 at 08:52 pm

I always though Rodgers was superb (and still is) during the Favre trade fiasco. But I was feeling a little disapointed from his comments about ESPN guys. Not that they're rude but just unnecessary and risky. I don't want the hater's to have any (legitimate) reason to trounce on A-Rod.

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Anita's picture

June 12, 2010 at 10:15 pm

Ehhh. I dunno. I don't think it was a shot, especially at Matthews. Rodgers and Matthews seem to be rather chummy (especially if you read their tweets to each other) and do things together off the field. Also, many of Rodgers friends were at that tournament in the Dells, like Tauscher and back-up QB, Flynn. IF there was a shot, I'm sure it would have been directed at Underwood, not the others.

I took his comments to be high praise for Jennings, and that's it. Jennings is a quiet guy and maybe he felt he doesn't get the credit he deserves because of that and felt the need to speak up.

Now, my question is, after seeing some of these off season golf, bowling and softball charity events in the news recently...where is AJ Hawk? Doesn't he participate in charitable causes? Even the rookies seem to be participating. Where's AJ?

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nypacker's picture

June 12, 2010 at 11:26 pm

AJ and his wife are very known to hold fundraisers and other events on their own. AJ may have been invited to attend the players' events but I'm sure he spending time doing some work with others.

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FITZCORE1252's picture

June 13, 2010 at 12:28 am

The only thing I remember AJ doing was that long drive comp he won in Tahoe last year. He's got that Play 60 commercial. It's pretty clear he doesn't like the cameras or attention. Which is fine by me. I got no problem with players keeping a Lo-Pro... eh' hem, Johnny/B-Und.

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Alex Tallitsch's picture

June 13, 2010 at 07:53 am

How timely:

"Several Packers made an appearance yesterday at the Jerry Parins Cruise for Cancer charity motorcycle ride at Lambeau Field. A photo gallery is provided by the Press-Gazette. Brandon Chillar, A.J. Hawk, Jordy Nelson and T.J. Lang all signed autographs. Chillar even took part in a dunk tank."

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Asshalo's picture

June 13, 2010 at 12:11 pm

Have to agree. If you read it literally, it's just praise for Jennings as someone to emulate.

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FITZCORE1252's picture

June 13, 2010 at 12:21 am

Two headed comment.

He was spot-on in his assessment of #85 and how he is viewed among his peers; while also sending a not-so-subtle message to the infamous 7.

#12 continues to impress me more and more as the days/years go by, I really like the way he handles his 'bitniss' and carries himself. Dudes got "IT". He WILL get us a couple of titles, no doubt in my mind.

GBP 4 LIFE

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PackersRS's picture

June 13, 2010 at 11:15 am

Yeah, I thought about something like that but it wasn't sure how to feel about it.

About "packer people", John Kuhn made a Make-A-Wish kid very happy: http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2010/06/10/1/ A really good story.

Too bad it's only the crappy things players do that gets attention...

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Asshalo's picture

June 13, 2010 at 12:06 pm

I duno, you could come to number of conclusions from that tweet. I think you have something here, but I just don't think there's enough there for it to be as condemning of that situation as you think.

Greg is entering his fifth year and those guys are only in their 1-3rd. Though there may be behavior differences implied, he could just be stressing that Jennings is a player for the younger guys to emulate.

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JohnRehor's picture

June 13, 2010 at 04:11 pm

I think his comment was clear to everyone; we have a chance to win the whole thing this year, and certian players on the team are not going to prevent that from happening by engaging in actions which could affect that from becoming a reality. The message, although directed to perhaps a select few, could have been more widely interpreted as Rodgers' first true statement as a leader of the team (leader in the sense that it was a public statement) and everyone on the team needs to stay focused.

The next few months, when there is basically nothing going on, will be the truest test of whether his statement was taken to heart by the team.

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Logic's picture

June 14, 2010 at 06:23 pm

Aaron Rodgers, last I checked is not Willam Faulkner. If he wanted to bash Clay Matthews he would do it in private and who knows maybe he has. But he would not leave a backhanded twitter comment complimenting another player but in reality shunning another.

Like if he says, Chad Clifton is a great tackle. Is that him really saying Mark Tauscher sucks? NO! You're looking too far, for sure.

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