The Rodgers Conference Call was Predictable
Aaron Rodgers has finally spoken directly about the giant elephant in the room; drafting his successor. Despite what pro football talk, Mike Florio, and Peter King would have you believe, Aaron pretty much said exactly what I thought he would say; that he wasn't exactly thrilled with the pick but respects the organization.
Aaron has always been very conscious of his perception and very intentional with his words. He made it a point of saying that this has nothing to do with Jordan Love and that the two had a very good conversation the day after the draft and how he really values his relationships with his back up quarterbacks.
Two takes that I had from the discussions on the Love pick were that Aaron, being intentional with his words, used his relationship with his previous "backup quarterbacks" just to subtly remind everyone that this is still his team despite what the organization thinks.
Secondly, I think Aaron has come to the realization that his and the Packers future plans do not align and that he has come to the realization and made peace with the fact that he will undoubtedly not finish his career in Green Bay. (Which at best he is irked by and at worst already has some resent for the organization; understandably so). Look, Aaron had a desire to play into his 40's and finish his career with the Packers. (In his mind), In order for that to happen, the Packers needed to address the needs around him (Wide Receiver and Inside Linebacker) so they could build on the success of last year and enter the 17th and 18th holes of his career as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. (My speculative opinion)
He acknowledged that he wasn't thrilled that his desires were not met and as a result of the Love pick, he will not finish his career in Green Bay. (It's ok for him to professionally voice his displeasure but then refocus on contending this year, like he did).
One thing that I think should not go unnoticed is the fact that Rodgers puts so much thought into every question he answers. He is not one to give the typical boilerplate five-word answers. He reflects, thinks, and answers in a way that is compassionate towards the subject matter as well as the people being discussed. He can call players out without always throwing them under the bus and build them back up and highlight their strengths in the same breath. Despite what many have said, and continue to say, Rodgers is the leader this young Packers team needs.
I think this conference call will allow everyone to, as Aaron would say, "Relax" about the future of the organization and refocus their attention to the present.
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David Michalski is a staff writer for Cheesehead TV. He can be found on Twitter @kilbas27dave
Comments (33)
Bearmeat
May 17, 2020 at 06:39 am
Aaron is going to be a good teammate to Jordan. That's what's most important. He also knows that his best chance to win - or get traded to another winning team - is to be a good teammate and know his place in the organization. He's much smarter than Brett.
We've been over the cap scenarios ad naseum: ARod could possibly be traded post June 1 next year, but it's more likely after 2022. Will Love be good? When will he be ready?
As ARod said: These things are completely out of his control - EXCEPT for being a good teammate to Love. Doing that maxes his chance at a ring. Here. Or elsewhere. :(
[email protected]
May 17, 2020 at 05:02 pm
In order for this pick to be the harbinger of future dynasties, Love has two to three years to mature his game at the pro level. I don't see ARod going anywhere prior to that (barring injury). Twenty or so draft picks will travel through the grinder between then and now.
Relax, you've got NASCR, Golf & Korean baseball. Oh, reruns, too.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:23 pm
Three years minimum for Rodgers, depending on the play of the offensive line to keep him clean. Turner, Taylor and Lindsley are put on notice. Love will need three years to dial in and be ready. I have good vibes with him. One of the top two QBs from this class. Tua? can he stay upright. Herbert not the same arm and daring-do as Love. La Fleur is very good with QBs. Not worried about the tmz soap operas, they are for fantasy fans. Still looking for a WR or a trade for one.
Tundraboy
May 17, 2020 at 05:35 pm
Your finest work!
stockholder
May 17, 2020 at 08:30 am
Place the Blame on Gutey. Nobody else. Love may be a bust! Rodgers set the bar. And Truthfully none of Guteys picks have been re-signed yet. I feel its a bigger mistake to push Rodgers out the door. I've already watched the packers make plenty of mistakes trading, or letting players go. Our history during the losing years "also" shows that. Like I've been saying; Gutey wants Cap. Not Rodgers. Gutey's GLORY! Rodgers only has to protect the ball. To still get his way in this organization. And with the fans. The packers have dumped to many players. Dumping Aaron Rodgers when he's capable of leading any team to a super-bowl. Just doesn't make sense. It was up to Gutey to find the missing pieces from last year. He didn't. He still continues to waste draft capitol. A veteran QB would have been the better move. Arron Rodgers still wants to win. Which still makes him the best weapon Green Bay has. It's to bad Gutey doesn't see that way.
Neebles
May 17, 2020 at 09:15 am
Well since a rookie contract is 4 years and an Un-drafted free agent contract is 3 years, it shouldn’t be a surprise that none of Guteys picks have been re-signed yet.
When would it be appropriate for them to draft a quarterback? When AR says so? When they actually NEED one? I see zero point in drafting a qb that needs to be forced into action too soon. Give me 3+ years of backup/development any day of the week.
Dumping Aaron Rodgers? Who says the Packers are dumping Aaron Rodgers. You are relying on the media way too much. Love hasn’t played a single snap yet and there are many ways this can go. He could ball out and outplay Rodgers, EARNING the starting gig. He isn’t being handed the keys to the castle, he still has to earn it. Love could play well, Rodgers continues to play better and Love is traded away. Love could be a bust, and never see a start for the Packers. Yall are putting the cart before the horse here.
“Continues to waste draft capital” Huh? What has he wasted?
You are tossing out an awful lot of assumptions here. You have zero clue what Gutey or the organization is thinking. Thinking that Gutey doesn’t see AR as a the best weapon Green Bay has, is to be honest, a very laughable comment.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 09:38 am
He was referring to the 2018 draft with Jackson, Burks and J'mon making the trifecta. Too many solid players missed to grab these reaches.
stockholder
May 17, 2020 at 03:36 pm
Guteys picks were unsigned yet. = Meaning They haven't shown that they could not be replaced. #2. Appropriate Time for a QB. Veteran First as in Joe Theisman and Williams. Just look what Tampa Bay did. Sign Brady was All! Fill your holes First! Media- Then why was Love a SURPRISE? Because it didn't make SENSE> Much like your media assumption. The #3s,etc. used for trade ups. And now the last two #1 pick won't start.( That doesn't include the better players left on the board.) The only assumption your making is Fantasy. While everyone knows the real reason is Rodgers salary. You have Zero clue?= You are so blind: it's about getting Rodgers paycheck!!! The Laughable part is your conclusion on your first comment. Maybe you should try another site.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 08:31 pm
What if Brady blows out his knee game One?
gkarl
May 18, 2020 at 08:59 am
SH,
'Fill you holes first". "And now the last two #1 picks won't start.(that doesn't include the better players left on the board)". Are you for needs or BPA? You may not like what the FO has done but it appears they do have a plan.
Love will make SENSE, "IF" he turns into QB1, no one knows that until they get a chance to get on the field and play. Same thing can be said for any pick GB might have made in his place. Stud or dud time will tell.
Have some faith, we are all fans and want the best for our team.
ricky
May 17, 2020 at 08:23 am
The elephant in the room is whether Love will develop into an NFL caliber QB. The chances of this happening are around 45%, based on first round draft picks since 2000. And this includes giving guys like Gabbert and Tannehill an "acceptable" label as starters. Also, the new guys in the league who are still unproven were put into the category of "acceptable."
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/list/ranking-every-nfl-quarterback-d...
Leatherhead
May 17, 2020 at 10:37 am
It’s a 50:50 deal. The sure things are few and far between and half fail for a variety of reasons. Injuries, like RGIII,
bad coaching, a bad organization that puts bad players around them...there’s a lot of reasons. Do you ever wonder if Arod had been drafted by the Lions or the Browns?
But if you want success, you have to keep trying to put a good QB on the field.
SF, for example, has gone through Alex Smith, Kaepernick, and Garrapolo, and they’ve had some success with all of them. You can’t just say”half fail” and make a safer pick like some OT....you’ve got to have an above average guy at QB. It’s like oxygen. But you also have to put people around them. It takes a village to make a top QB.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:31 pm
As the old man said: you either have good luck or bad. Andrew Luck was a potential HOF guy, but Injuries sidelined his career. Grigson put together an O line, but it was too late to salvage Luck's body. Used car dealers and ex-horse -track people formed the NFL.
Handsback
May 17, 2020 at 08:56 am
Love isn't a finished product, and he may never be and that is something the Packer organization understands. He was available in the late first round because he wasn't a finished product. The reason for the pick is because he has some very good potential and the Packers will need a starter in a few years. Is he better than Boyle? He has more potential, but a long ways from being better. If Love fails, they have some time, not a lot...maybe two more drafts in order to draft the next guy.
The key is they were positioned to grab him, they did, and hopefully he will work out.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:34 pm
Boyle doesn't compare to Love's pocket presence, ability to create or running ability.
Since'61
May 17, 2020 at 09:01 am
Aaron knows the deal. He is going to be professional and do his job. He wants to win which is the key for him and the Packers. If Love works out that’s good for the Packers as well. If he doesn’t we still have Aaron Rodgers at least until his current contract expires.
Rodgers is the least of our concerns as long as he is healthy.
Thanks, Since ‘61
Lphill
May 17, 2020 at 09:08 am
If Patrick Queen makes an immediate impact in the NFL which I think he will , I will never forget we got a maybe someday player when Queen was there for taking. Maybe the biggest mistake by Gute.
Johnblood27
May 17, 2020 at 09:40 am
Thats a fine take.
Be prepared to eat your words when the undersized Queen is a hybrid-safety with no meaningful run support and 2 down only capabilities with no impact on his teams run defense. He is a little squirt in the NFL, not nearly the same game as college football.
The LB from Wyoming, Logan Wilson, was the best fit after Murray for the Packer defensive scheme and team needs. He went much sooner than I thought he would and my 3rd round selection prediction would have been blown up anyway, he was long gone by 96.
Watch him and say "if only" or "what if".
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:37 pm
Not worth a one pick for Queen. If Bolton stays healthy, he is a better player.
stockholder
May 17, 2020 at 03:49 pm
It was a mistake! . Guteys #1s will sit the bench. And this site is now rewarding the Bench warmer first. There even talking about moving Savage Now. You've made good points. What matters the most is Honesty.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:45 pm
Who was your starter at #30?
Roadrunner23
May 17, 2020 at 09:38 am
Rodgers is a class act, he handled this whole thing with professionalism and dignity. He’s our QB for the next 2-3 years and hopefully Love steps in like he did years ago and lays waste to Da Bears, Vikings and Lions for another 15 years while they all bumble along waiting to find a real QB.
The Packers are returning a team that was in the Championship game and have many young developing players ready to take the step.
*Savage
*Gary
*Burks
*Clark
*Alexander
*Keke
*Jenkins
*Lazard
*Sternberger
These are just a few of the young bucks + guys like Dillon & Deguara that should be big contributors in 2020 and of course our established stars. I am looking forward to a great season and watching this new young stud QBdevelop!
Go Pack!
marpag1
May 17, 2020 at 04:41 pm
Don't get me wrong, I'm generally in favor of optimism. But it puzzles me how many people seem to be fired up about Kingsley Keke. He played about 6 defensive snaps per game on average, and racked up a total of three solo tackles for the season.
I don't get the excitement.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:41 pm
He looked good down the stretch as a gap penetrating guy and definitely out-played Lancaster. Maybe one of the FA plugs a hole. Willis has ability if he can motivate. Montravious may be better as a 4-3 guy. Not a big fan of Pettine's scheme?? Have trouble seeing Burks anywhere on the squad, unless they add a guy for sp.teams.
JonathanSpader
May 17, 2020 at 07:23 pm
We need help on the DL and people have already given up on Adams and Lowry so Keke it is.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 08:35 pm
They made zero attempts to secure a big guy during free agency. This D is on Pettine to get results to slow down the run. You will not win with finesse.
Packerlifer
May 17, 2020 at 10:16 am
Rodgers should have stuck with the response he made to the question of whether he approved or disapproved of McCarthy's status as head coach: I'm an employee paid to be the best quarterback I can be for the Green Bay Packers. Period.
The rest can be played out over time where it matters- on the gridiron.
marpag1
May 17, 2020 at 01:13 pm
Goodness, no. That would have been the absolute worst thing he could have said. Right or wrong, everybody would have said, "Oh, please..... we all know ARod has an opinion. He's obviously not willing to tell us what he really thinks. And he wouldn't be hiding what he really thinks unless it's something bad. Therefore, ARod is massively pissed, and this non-answer just shows that he's being his usual snotty, passive-aggressive self."
I'm not saying all of that would be true, but that is what virtually every media talking head would say.
Honestly, I can't imagine how anyone could have dreamed that this interview would be anything but boring. Anyone with a clue knew exactly what he was going to say, almost word for word.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2020 at 06:44 pm
Does a Master carpenter worry about the handyman from some referral service as competition?
Leatherhead
May 17, 2020 at 10:22 am
David....where has Rodgers led us since the Super Bowl? I’m not asking this to be a dick, but when you praise a person’s leadership that kind of makes me think of where he has led us, and I count some division championships and some playoff victories......
Nothing to sneeze at, to be sure. I kind of feel there should be more.
gkarl
May 17, 2020 at 02:27 pm
AR's answers maybe be predictable, but very believable at least to me. Like most athletes he's ultra competitive and believes he's the best at what he does. Unlike others he's a team guy, not an "I" guy and his statements consistently support that over the years.
He's been loyal to the Packers fans, his teammates and the FO. He's also been very well compensated and deservedly so, but he's very realistic about the business reality of the NFL. Adds to his smartest guy in the room persona IMHO and makes me real glad he's our QB for however long that may be.
ParsonJ
May 18, 2020 at 08:39 am
Hm, agreed with u guys.
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