Philly Was the Best Thing That Could Have Happened To Rodgers
It's time for Aaron Rodgers to put away the press clippings and concentrate on the task at hand - playing better football.
By PackerAaron
All throughout the offseason, seemingly from the very moment the Super Bowl was over, the general consensus has been that the Green Bay Packers would be a Super Bowl contender in 2010 and that Aaron Rodgers was set to become an elite NFL quarterback. The accolades for the former first round pick out of Cal were non-stop over the course of the summer, whether from columnists, television personalities, even his fellow players. All anyone wanted to talk about was how Rodgers was set to become - if he wasn't there already! - on par with the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
Then came the preseason - and things got truly out of control.
Even after witnessing a flawless offensive performance from a Packers offense that went on to fall flat on its face once the regular season began in 2009, the media and fans alike got all worked up again when the Packers offense once again looked unstoppable in the 2010 version of the preseason. The Super Bowl picks started coming in. It seemed every national columnist was picking the Packers to make a run to the Super Bowl, if not out-right win it.
But picking the Packers to get to the Super Bowl wasn't enough for some prognosticators. No, outlets like ESPN and Sports Illustrated started talking in almost reverential tones when it came to Rodgers' game. ESPN put Rodgers on the cover of their magazine and declared that "Aaron Rodgers has silenced all of his critics." (Indeed.) The worst of it all came last Sunday morning when Jemele Hill, on the show The Sports Reporters, declared that the 2010 season "set up perfectly" for Rodgers to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award.
And none of the other guests even argued her point.
The worst part of all of this is that I have the feeling this was all kind of going to Rodgers' head. I have absolutely no way of knowing this of course - but how could it not? Rodgers watches SportsCenter (or he says he does.) How can it not affect you when every time you turn on your television there are people talking about how you are set to become one of the best quarterbacks in the league? How can it not affect you when every interview from every journalist you speak with has some kind of reference to how your team is destined for the Super Bowl, in great part thanks to your play. How can it not affect you when you're spending hours upon hours at photo shoots for ESPN and Sporting News?
Look - I am a huge Aaron Rodgers fan. I was steadfastly in his corner the entire time the Favre drama was going on three years ago (the difference being that 3 people read me then while 6 people read me now) And I've said time and time again how impressed I've been with how Rodgers has handled himself since being named the starter in Green Bay.
But I think this past Sunday was exactly the wake up call he needed.
You aren't going to the playoffs if you miss wide open receivers. You aren't going to the Super Bowl if you throw egregious interceptions. And you certainly won't be the MVP if you're forcing the ball to Jermichael Finely in triple coverage.
There were so many bad plays in that game it's hard to zero in on just one, but the worst for me was the play where he had a wide open Finley dragging across the middle on third and short - and Rodgers never even looks at him. After getting caught trying to find Jennings deep, Rodgers checks down to Brandon Jackson way too late and Jackson is stopped well short of the first down. This has been a problem with Rodgers' game ever since he became the starter. People don't remember, but the same thing happened last year at the end of the second Viking game. On third down with about 5 minutes left and a chance to drive down for a go-ahead score, Rodgers looks deep to a double covered Driver and throws one out of bounds over his head - while there is a wide open receiver crossing about 5 yards past the line of scrimmage for what would have been an easy first down. Rodgers, for whatever reason, is determined to go deep, even when all he has to do is run the offense and move the chains - and it costs him and his team.
Rodgers was his usual stand-up self after the Eagles game, declaring that he "played terrible" - which is right. He did.
Packer fans don't seem to want to be as honest as Rodgers was in that post-game interview. I've heard just about every excuse in the book regarding why Rodgers fared so poorly against the Eagles. I'm sorry, but there's really no mystery here people - he stunk up the joint. Period. And it's perfect fodder for guys like this who, like every fan of the NFL, has spent the last six months listening to people drone on and on about how great Rodgers is and how he's obviously on the same level as Manning, Brady and Brees - when he's missing a very important piece of hardware that all the other members of that club seem to have.
When I was on Andrew Garda's show after I got back from training camp, I tried to tell people Rodgers still had some things to work on, still had some areas to grow, some things to prove. I was belittled and ridiculed - and I was right. And I think people started to see what I was talking about this past weekend.
I have every confidence that Aaron Rodgers, quarterbacks coach Tom Clements and head coach Mike McCarthy are taking a long hard look at that tape and breaking down each and every snap, learning from both the good and the bad, and moving forward and correcting the mistakes.
And I have every confidence that everyone will stop talking about how Rodgers is destined to be the MVP and just let him play football - starting on Sunday against the Bills.
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Comments (52)
September 17, 2010 at 12:54 am
Could not agree more.
September 17, 2010 at 01:02 am
Preach it!
September 17, 2010 at 01:04 am
im glad he did played bad now instead of midway through the season he played in a so called playoff atmosphere philly is no cakewalk especially when its raining... he played bad and will learn from this. I think it'll make him a better QB and i see him at least throwing another 30 TD's this season easily maybe a few more ints though like 12
September 17, 2010 at 01:12 am
"play" played lol jeez i knew he played terrible that game im not defending the guy about his game, he is a great QB and i do believe maybe all this talk is either putting alot of pressure on him more than making him cocky, he needs to turn off the TV stop reading SI and play the game he knows and loves.
September 17, 2010 at 01:05 am
Bravo. I'm expecting a lot of, "Leave Rodgers alone!" comments. This should be entertaining.
September 17, 2010 at 01:14 am
Good point there Aaron. However, I'd appreciate it if you used affect instead of effect when it's a verb. I know it's nit-picking and this is a sports blog but it's one of my pet peeves and I like your work too much to not say anything. Once again, good work Aaron.
On a more personal basis, how can you do all this Packer-related work, have a full time job and still have some kind of life with your family (I have three kids myself and never seem to have enough time for everything)? Respect!
PackerAaron
September 17, 2010 at 08:13 am
So you hit me because you love me? ;)
Thanks much for the copy edit and for the kind words. To answer your question - I have no idea how I do it but to give you some idea, I finished this at 2am this morning...
September 17, 2010 at 01:37 am
We should've come to expect this. The only difference between this opener and the other two, was that Rodgers turned the ball over. Otherwise he played pretty poorly/conservatively against Minnesota (two seasons ago) and Chicago (last season).
September 17, 2010 at 02:31 am
Yea. This is no different than last year. He needs to settle down, sure, but you're making it sound like this is his worst game of all time.
He played a much worse game last year against a MUCH worse team. He ended with a 48% completion percentage and 3 ints. He was off. No question. I didn't see anyone running to the hills on Rodgers after that performance.
The one thing I will say is that I think his reaction to the Ryan Grant injury is very telling and almost concerning. You can see he's going to putting more pressure on himself to perform and look for big plays. I don't think that's a good thing.
September 17, 2010 at 03:49 am
The biggest positive I saw in the Philly game was when Grant was injured Kuhn was given the ball and dragged tacklers down the field. May be this is too simplistic but when you have a horse like this...give him the ball until the defense can stop him. Forget about Kuhn not having halfback credentials, or not being shifty. When they gave him the ball he dragged Philly's defense down the field. Now that is a weapon!!
September 18, 2010 at 08:03 pm
Amen. I don't know why a lot of people have been freaking out about Kuhn. He obviously has incredible strength, his legs never stopped moving during that play. I would love to see more of him this Sunday.
PackerAaron
September 18, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Could not agree more. Stop focusing on what he doesn't do well and focus on what he does do well. \
September 17, 2010 at 06:03 am
The world is full of extremists and people who make knee-jerk reactions.
...and many of them are called analysts. The rest are called fans.
September 17, 2010 at 07:22 am
Can't argue with any of it, Aaron. I think Rodgers needs to do whatever he did halfway through last year. I hope and expect to see a very determined, concentrated QB on Sunday.
Buffalo has a very good secondary. They could pick off a pass or two easily. He's going to need to play well this week, and I expect that he will.
September 17, 2010 at 07:39 am
Glad to be one of you six readers, Aaron.
PackerAaron
September 17, 2010 at 09:00 am
Glad to have you.
September 17, 2010 at 08:27 am
Well written analysis but you obviously have been waiting for the opportunity to vent your vindictive feelings toward those who “belittled and ridiculed” you …….. To strike back at your persecutors and use just one game as your sample size is folly …….
AR finished the Eagle game with a mediocre QB rating of 73.1 ……. Drew Brees had QB ratings of 72.8, 78.9 & 58.9 in 3 of New Orlean’s 1st six games of the 2009 season ……… In those 3 games (total) he threw 1 TD pass along with 3 INTs …… Mediocre at best …… However, he then went on to finish 2nd in the MVP race, won Offensive Player of the Year Award & ultimately won the SB gaining the SB MVP award.
I’m not about to suggest that AR will duplicate the feats of Brees from 2009 but it may have been wise for you to wait for a few more ‘mediocre’ games from AR this season before declaring that “I was belittled and ridiculed - and I was right.” …….. Playing the martyrdom card too early can come back & bite you.
PackerAaron
September 17, 2010 at 08:35 am
Interesting take - maybe there is something buried in my subconscious, but when I was writing this last night I truly didn't feel vindictive. More like my wife when she's right about something saying "I told you so..." ;)
September 17, 2010 at 08:31 am
It he would just not go clean shaven we wouldn't even be talking about this. Has he not figured out every time he goes this route he looks and plays like Joey Harrington? Scruff it up Aaron and we'll all be fine.
September 17, 2010 at 08:35 am
In all seriousness, I think the point is here and in which I agree with Nagler is that Rodgers was missing EASY throws, and not just one or two, he missed like 12 of them througout the game. It was God awful. Yes, I think it will get cleaned up in the coming weeks, but we have to be critical at times. This was one of Rodgers absolute worst games.
September 17, 2010 at 08:46 am
Anybody making the case that Rodgers was going to light up every team, in every game, hasn't followed the NFL in recent years. I expect Rodgers to have other bad games, but I also expect more clutch throws in those off games like he had with Jennings on the post route (beautiful throw amidst a bad game.)
The only item in your article I'm really taking with a grain of salt is the notion that (I know, you said, 'I feel') the hype has gone to Rodgers head. His offseason preparation, by all accounts, is still off the charts. That includes the physical aspect of the preparation game and the film study.
Well written, but I'm very cynical on your accuracy with that notion in general.
PackerAaron
September 17, 2010 at 08:58 am
First of all, it wasn't a post, it was a 'Go'. ;)
Second of all, I've had two media members that I respect, one local and one national, both with access to Rodgers, agree with my assessment. Not saying that makes me right, just saying I'm not the only one who was thinking this way.
September 17, 2010 at 09:05 am
Thanks for the correction on point one.
As to point two, doesn't change my mind. I've seen or heard nothing tied to his preparation that would indicate Rodgers felt he could just show up and set the world on fire. Seems like he still has a chip on his shoulder related to, well, basically everything.
Sorry, not buying it.
Besides, those media members now set themselves up to write a text-book story of: Player has over-inflated sense of self, has a bad game and epihpany that he needs to re-focus/re-dedicate; lights up the remainder of the schedule.
Gee, sure makes for a better story than: Rodgers shows up in week one, plays with too much emotion and an over-dependance on budding star Finley, never develops a rythm.
Yes, I'm a cynical bastard on Fridays :)
PackerAaron
September 17, 2010 at 09:20 am
Now wait a second. Where in the post above did I say anything about Rodgers' preparation or lack thereof? I don't think the kid has been slack in that aspect whatsoever.
September 17, 2010 at 09:29 am
I neither stated nor implied you're making that case whatsoever in my writing above. Simply saying, guys that, 'let the media go to their heads' and fall in love with their own press clippings don't prep like Rodgers.
Just my 2 cents as to why I'm not buying into the 'it's gone to his head' theory. I'm a bit more pragmatic about what I watched on Sunday: Shows up without his emotions in check, feels he has to light up a playoff team on the road and shows an overdependance on Finley. Perhaps I oversimplify things, but for me it's as simple as, 'he was off and placed too much pressure on himself to perform on the road.'
Should their be a trend, I'm all ears.
September 17, 2010 at 08:53 am
"And I have every confidence that everyone will stop talking about how Rodgers is destined to be the MVP and just let him play football"...
FOOL! Nothing personal, but if you really believe that, I've got a piece of property you NEED to look at... ASAP.
Not saying they shouldn't, but when A-Rod goes 24 for 29 this week for 333 yds and 4 TD's, you think that "talk" is gonna stop? I wouldn't hold my breath. These 'experts' have already anointed him, and they will pounce on anything that verifies their 'uber-intuitive powers', especially after he made them look STUPID last Sunday. They need to redeem their prognosticating abilities and the Bills will do nothing but assure them week 1 was an anomaly.
GBP 4 LIFE
September 17, 2010 at 08:54 am
Sing it Nagler! Love the column and what I love even more is the fact even with Rodgers poor game the Packers found a way to win on the road against what we think is a quality opponent. To me speaks volumes about the play of those around him taking another step.
September 17, 2010 at 10:12 am
There's no question Rodgers had a subpar game on Sunday. But I do question the notion that it's because all the praise he received "went to his head".
I think you're reading way too much into all that. Slow starts happen every year with QBs all over the league, even the good ones. They're going from the cakewalk of the preseason to the firestorm of the regular season and it takes a while to make the adjustment. Put another way...defenses are ahead of offenses in the early games of the season.
He did look too amped up to start the game, and I think he did try to force it to Finley like he got away with in the preseason. I also think he thought his pass protection would be better than it was.
But I strongly disagree with the notion that he needed a "wake up call" because his head got too big. He's been around long enough now to know he can't just show up.
Sometimes the simple explanation is the right one. He was just off.
Frankly, I think that game was exactly what he DIDN'T need. Now he's got to question if his pass protection is going to be there for him and his turnovers may cause him to become overly cautious. The "best thing that could have happened to him" was a continuation of the preseason dominance, IMO.
September 17, 2010 at 10:59 am
"Sometimes the simple explanation is the right one. He was just off"
I'm sure that was a variable in the equation. BUT. Don't discount the fact that he was going against one of the better blitzing D's (tied 3rd last year... i think?), and they got to him EARLY and OFTEN. Oh, and he had Packer nation on his shoulders (don't think he didn't realize the last time we won there, and the fact that Brent never did... finally something he could have over him). I can't say I'd blame him if he were having flashbacks of Ogunleye or Odom in that 1st qtr. I'd probably be skiddish too, then the line settled in... so did he.
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September 17, 2010 at 11:24 am
Yeah. That is too long Fitz. Personally, don't like it. But to which their own...
About the pressure issue, I just think he had a bad game. Did the pressure affect him? OBVIOUS. But he was being pressured against the Steelers last year, and against the Cardinals, and it didn't affect him then. It shouldn't affect him.
September 17, 2010 at 11:35 am
How many offenses go on the road during the first 4 weeks and light it up? How many did it in week one this year (you don't need many fingers to do this)?
The only road team that had any offensive output was the Colts, and they lost. Correct? Yes, I hold the Packers offense to a higher standard, but lighting it up on the road against a playoff team isn't easy.
(that's why the Packers should crush the Bills early in the season)
September 17, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I think this is a great point about offenses on the road in Week 1 in the NFL. Across the board, they were atrocious.
I didnt realize that the Pack put up more points than any road team last week. The only two that even broke 20 were the offenses of the Colts (league standard for consistency and excellence on offense) and the Benglas (total garbage time).
Sometimes a little perspective goes a long way.
September 17, 2010 at 01:25 pm
I agree it is hard but Rodgers was awful. Rodgers lit it up against the Vikings last year. No excuses.
September 17, 2010 at 01:31 pm
No disputing it, he had a poor game by most standards, especially his. The road team performance references are more of a tangent to the discussion.
September 18, 2010 at 03:49 am
"Yeah. That is too long Fitz. Personally, don’t like it. But to which their own…"
What exactly would that be???
September 17, 2010 at 11:02 am
And FYI - everything posted on here is that poster's opinion. IMO = A tad redundant. Just sayin...
September 17, 2010 at 03:58 pm
FYI, it's the same with FYI.
September 18, 2010 at 03:48 am
Nice catch. That was intentional.
September 17, 2010 at 11:11 am
I liked the piece, Aaron. But I do wonder:
(1) How different is this year's start from last year's start? I won't rule out the "MVP talk goes to his head" impact. But don't Mike McCarthy offenses always start the season just like a Ford pick-up? They choke at first. It takes a few games before they warm up.
(2) How much did that little shit Vikings fan get under your skin? 'Cause I'll admit it--he got under mine. I mean, yes, if you move past his intelligence and wit (and he doesn't seem like a bad comedian, what) he does indeed have every trait that defines the Vikings fan. Bitter? Check. Pent-up rage begotten of years of failed promise? Check. Basic asshole streak? Check. There's no real reason to take him seriously.
Still, no matter how awesome Rodgers is (and he really rocks in my opinion--he's the real thing) there are still all those Tampa Bay moments in our recent past to contend with. Last season was an emotionally hard season with a really ambiguous end. That wasn't the way to go out. It left lingering doubts about our identity.
I can understand not wanting to believe when there's a teetering bandwagon of bullshit rolling off of ESPN. I don't know if Rodgers needs to get it out of his head. But we fans sure do. It'll do us no good.
That said, for some reason, I have a really good feeling about this season. Maybe it's because Crosby made his kick this week. I dunno. But I think you're right. The Packers will be fine. In my gut, I want to believe.
September 17, 2010 at 11:20 am
Well, it COULD be that all the talk has gotten into his head.
Or, OR, it could be that, you know, he had a bad game. Just that. Just like Brees has had a bad game, like Manning has had a bad game (usually in the playoffs), like Brady has had a bad game... it happens...
September 17, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Nice article, Aaron. Kudos.
One small caveat:
"ESPN put Rodgers on the cover of their magazine and declared that...."
It should be "its" and not "their"......Grammar Cop signing off....
September 17, 2010 at 01:42 pm
While I don't think he was all that bad, i do agree with the point of your article. Was it just me, or was he kind of smirking at points when going up under center? He seemed a little too cocky. And you are correct he was less than sharp in camp
I think he made 3-4 poor decisions/throws on Sunday and was just off on others, in part I am sure because he was sacked 3 times very early on. That will rattle any QB
His second interception was sooo off I have to believe it just slipped out of his hands.
Either way, I also think this will be good for him. I have no doubt he is one of the top 5 QB's in the league right now and will be a Hall of Famer when all is said and done.
He's special. but he is human
September 17, 2010 at 01:49 pm
The guy never got sacked all preseason. Hardly ever got touched, really. Then all of a sudden he's on the road, in the armpit of eastern Pennsylvania, getting harrassed mightily. Maybe his mindset wasn't perfect, but he saw some serious heat when he hasn't seen any in many months.
And yeah, I'm a homer, but I don't think he was truly "terrible." That TD to Driver was the absolutely perfect pass. People, we are used to watching VERY GOOD quarterback play. If Trent Edwards went into Philly and put together Rodgers' game from last week, it would the highlight of his career.
If 2TD's in a road win is the worst thing to happen to A-Rod this year, I'll take it 7 more times.
September 17, 2010 at 02:01 pm
In all fairness Rodgers qualifed his own outing as, 'terrible'. Also, the bar has been set much higher than Trent Edwards. He's performed at an elite or near-elite level during his 1st two years as a starter. Any effort demonstrating less over the course of 4 quarters and he will likely get scrutinized.
Fair or not, that's what's expected of the face of our franchise.
September 17, 2010 at 02:01 pm
I've said it before.
Rodgers last week was Ok/Good, for the common QB. He was AWFUL for Rodgers.
September 17, 2010 at 04:13 pm
He's going to put up better numbers. And I think we can all agree he's better than he was on Sunday.
He did a lot of bad things, from staring down the rush to bad decisions on the INT and a few badly inaccurate throws.
But he did some very good things, too, that do a lot to offset the bad things. He managed to string together 3 touchdown drives on the road in Philly--an 11 play, 76 yarder, a 10 play, 62 yarder, and a 4 play, 51 yarder. He also had a beautiful 7 play, 34 yard FG drive, taking 41 seconds to end the first half that was just huge in the flow of the game.
Again...he wasn't great. But he wasn't awful, either.
September 17, 2010 at 02:44 pm
The guy who said something about Rodgers facial hair does have a point. While it may not be the facial hair itself causing him problems its the fact that in the preseason he is always relaxed and having fun. The facial hair thing is a part of that.
I think the Philly game was a perfect storm of things that led to a rough game for Rodgers. Hostile crowd, a knowm preasure defense and some rain to top it off. It was those things that affected Rodgers more than any preseason hype from the pundits IMO.
It was stupid in my opinion to come into a hostile environment like Philly in those conditions and start the game the way they did with 3 straight passes.
If there was any opponent that should have been given an early dose of the running game it was this one, especially in the rain.
Rodgers by no means gets a pass from me for his perfomance but I can understand why it happened, or at least I think I do.
PackerAaron
September 17, 2010 at 04:25 pm
Great point about the gameplan going in. I wrote in CHTV Matchup last week that McCarthy should go in pounding the ball. He got there eventually, but it sure seemed like it was a reactionary move after his passing offense started so poorly...
September 17, 2010 at 09:47 pm
You can always count on McCarthy opening that way when on the road against a tough opponent and a hostile (read "loud") crowd. He's aiming for a quick score to take the croud out and ease the burden for the offense. The ZBS puts a heavy reliance on line communication, even moreso against one of the best blitzing teams in the league.
The problem is that every team knows this. Philly was ready with a plan: rattle Rodgers. 3 sacks, plus 6 takedowns, equals mission accomplished. They scripted the perfect defense for our scripted offense. Man press, double team Finley, get Rodgers feeling pressure, and wait for a Rodgers to force a pass into a tight window. You attack Payton Manning the same way (see preseason week 2). You attack Favre the same way. You attack all hood QB's that way. But you have three seconds to get home, or you get torched. As Rodgers said, the Eagles were able to do that even without blitzing. That was just good play from Philly. McCarthy needs to remember the mantra: less quantity, more creativity.
September 18, 2010 at 12:45 am
Did Rodgers play bad? Yes. Is it cause for concern, consternation, or even an after thought? No. Why? Well simple Rodgers has stated flatly and honestly he was bad. He did not try to lay the blame on some one else, the game plan, the weather, or because cosmic rays were pushing the balls he was throwing off base.
So what if Rodgers is realizing all the hype around him? Who cares? Has it changed the way he interacts with fans? Has it changed the way he prepares and works every week? Last I heard he has even stepped up on not only his preparation but also taking care of his body i.e. eating healthier.
This is Rodgers 6th year, 3rd as a starter. By this time you know who he is, or who he isnt. Do you think Peyton gets this kind of flak when he has an off game? I am sure most Colt fans just brush it off and expect a better Peyton the next game. At this point we have seen enough of Rodgers to know that he will learn, get better, and be ready to go the next week. Honestly I feel bad for Buffalo.
Rodgers will be fine, he has shown hes not a 1 hit wonder. Barring a serious injury (knock on wood) he will at the least put up 4k yards again.
September 19, 2010 at 12:13 am
Look at how it went to Favre's head! Look how he turned out. I do not think Aaron is anything like Brett was at his age but only time will tell how it will effect our guy
September 19, 2010 at 10:32 am
This is a good post Aaron. All good points. I actually thought it was 4 or 5 readers back in the day :) I long for the days when Keith would scold me for hating #4 so much...ah, the days of my blogging youth