The Lass Word: Enjoying Aaron Rodgers from a Distance
And a surprising comparison to Jordan Love.
By KenLass
I have to admit I cracked a big smile when I read Aaron Rodgers’ recent comments about the New York Jets 2024 schedule. The NFL is putting the Jets on prime time TV six times in the first twelve weeks. Rodgers is convinced it’s because of him, and of course, he’s right.
"We are must-watch TV and that's pretty obvious. Everyone knows that," Rodgers said during a radio interview, via Pro Football Focus "Whether you love or hate me, people want to see me play. They enjoy watching me play, and we are a team to watch this year. Not surprising. Six prime time games in the first 11 or 12 weeks. I love it."
Packer fans have a range of opinions about Rodgers. Some hate him, some love him, and some are like me. I am grateful for his eighteen years as a Green Bay Packer and acknowledge him as one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game, probably the most talented QB ever to wear the green and gold. (I said most talented, not most successful. I see you, Bart Starr fans) But having said that, I am also very thankful he is somewhere else now, making headlines and creating drama for another team.
Now I can read remarks such as these and just enjoy the attitude, without worrying if it is going to cause some sort of problem in the Green Bay locker room. I daresay Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur are feeling the same way.
What makes the current situation especially enjoyable is that, considering the 2023 season, the Packers were able to move on from the future Hall of Fame signal caller without sacrificing its standard and level of success. In fact, the team actually improved its record from Rodgers’ last season at the helm.
By now you have certainly seen the numbers comparing Jordan Love’s first year as a starter to Rodgers’ first year. You are no doubt aware that Love is ahead of his predecessor in most all categories. But I wanted to go a bit further than that. I wanted to compare Love’s season to, not just Rodgers’ first as a starter, but to his career averages. What I found is that Love’s 2023 performance is very nearly equal to what was a typical Rodgers season.
These are regular season numbers, and I threw out Rodgers’ stats from the 2013 and 2017 seasons because he played in only nine and seven games respectively in those years. I wanted this to be as close to “apples to apples” as possible, so I only included years when Rodgers played a full or nearly full schedule. In terms of total passing yards, Rodgers averaged 4,193 yards per season. Last fall, Love threw for 4,159. A nominal difference of just 34 yards.
Rodgers averaged 33.9 touchdown passes per season. Love threw 32. Rodgers averaged just seven interceptions per season, but I believe that stat requires an asterisk. That figure is so low largely because Rodgers so often held the ball, refusing to throw it away, and taking sacks instead. How many drives died because of his unwillingness to get rid of the pigskin? Love threw eleven picks, but almost none in the second half of the season. Rodgers averaged a completion percentage of 65.3 over his career. Love, again after a horrendous start, finished at 64.2.
As you can see, Jordan Love not only exceeded Rodgers’ first year starter numbers, but very nearly matched those of Rodgers’ entire, distinguished career (minus the ‘13 and ‘17 seasons). Love did this with the youngest team in the NFL, and without his top running back for five games.
So this is why I’m having so much fun continuing to follow the rants and musings of Aaron Rodgers. He is, without question, the most quotable player in league history. His name will soon be on the wall at Lambeau Field. He gave us a long history of unforgettable memories. He also brought us more unwanted drama than any Packer I can recall in my more than sixty years of fandom. I am delightfully entertained to watch that drama unfold somewhere else, while Jordan Love begins to build his own legacy in Titletown.
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Ken Lass is a former Green Bay television sports anchor and 43 year media veteran, a lifelong Packers fan, and a shareholder.
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Comments (86)
PatrickGB
June 03, 2024 at 06:52 am
I’m kinda like you. I appreciate his play and don’t give a damn about the personal life of “Famous” people.
jont
June 03, 2024 at 10:04 am
"don’t give a damn about the personal life of “Famous” people."
Can I give two thumbs up? Three?
A guy can play really well, she's a good singer, that guy's been in hit movies,... terrific. But what makes their political / social opinions special? To me, nothing, but I get it-- millions of people actually want to know who Rodgers and Taylor Swift are going to vote for. That's what drives it.
But here, please, let's keep it on football.
Johnblood27
June 03, 2024 at 07:01 am
Thanks Ken.
The Packers have had their fair share of drama in the past, lets not forget...
Johnny "Blood" McNally and his antics
Curley Lambea and his Hollywood womanizing and his radical player recruitments
Billy Howton and his ego
Vince Lombardi and his staunch conservatism (Kennedy flirtations aside)
Ezras hot dog
Loftons dalliance
Cades conviction
T-Bucks arrogance
Mandarichs steroids
Sharpes hardball and local media silence
Reggies speeches
Verbas resistance to Holmgren
Rhodes firing after only one season
Favres country boy Hamlet soliloquies
Zadarius t-shirts
...and Aaron Charles Rodgers entire existence
...and there will undoubtedly be more to come. The NFL is the longest running soap opera yet.
RCPackerFan
June 03, 2024 at 07:20 am
There are many, many more we could add.
One on the top of my head was Martellus Bennett and his "training staff made me play injured".
Z Smiths - Captain necklace too.
WestCoastPackerBacker
June 03, 2024 at 02:34 pm
Najeh Davenport taking a crap in a college students laundry basket in the middle of the night?
[email protected]
June 03, 2024 at 02:44 pm
How about Charles Martin body slamming and ruining the career of Jim McMahon?
Tundraboy
June 03, 2024 at 10:05 am
Well done!
LeotisHarris
June 03, 2024 at 10:50 am
Ezra's hot dog deserves more than one thumbs up. Tip o' the hat, Jb!
LLCHESTY
June 03, 2024 at 01:27 pm
Lombardi was hardly a conservative. He had more liberal views on race and homosexuality than conservatives do NOW.
joejetson
June 03, 2024 at 10:34 pm
You have no idea what Conservatives' views are on "race and homosexuality", other than what Fake News and "The View" spoon feed you.
BTW, Lombardi was a very conservative, religious man. Try reading some of his non-football quotes.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:24 am
You are among the enemy here Joe... just sayin...
LLCHESTY
June 04, 2024 at 02:38 pm
Being religious doesn't make you conservative. Jesus could come back and run for office and most conservatives wouldn't vote for him. He leaned socialist.
I don't need the view to tell me what conservatives feel about race and homosexuality, it spews out of politicians mouths. If you don't think Lombardi's views on the subjects wouldn't be considered liberal For That Time Period you might want to read a history book.
13TimeChamps
June 04, 2024 at 03:13 pm
Lombardi was ahead of his time on race relations in the NFL in the late 50's/early 60's.
"Lombardi deplored prejudice of any kind. As an American of Italian descent and a devoted Catholic who had grown up in Brooklyn, New York, hearing all sorts of demeaning slurs, Lombardi would not tolerate bigotry on his team. In 1959, during his first season as head coach of the Packers, he lectured the team on intolerance. “If I ever hear nigger or dago or kike or anything like that around here, regardless of who you are, you’re through with me,” he said. “You can’t play for me if you have any kind of prejudice.” Recognizing that the black players on his team experienced discrimination in Green Bay, an overwhelmingly white town, Lombardi made it known among local taverns, restaurants, and landlords that if his players were not treated equally that there would be hell to pay."
DrMixerGED
June 04, 2024 at 08:27 am
Chmura?
RCPackerFan
June 03, 2024 at 07:18 am
Not going to lie when I saw that Aaron Rodgers was the picture (without reading the title) I was very curious what direction this article was going to go.
Its very popular for people to hate Rodgers. And its very popular for Packer fans to be happy for the the Future Hall of Famer to be playing elsewhere.
Regardless of how people feel about the Packers former QB, I think we should all be appreciative of what he gave us on the field for 15 years as the starting QB. He brought us a Lombardi trophy a number of years of being the best QB in the league.
I hope for Rodgers sake the Jets did enough to fix the OL this year. I think he was under more pressure in his 4 snaps last year then he was in GB in the previous 5 years. It was insane watching it. I really wish Rodgers the best in NY. He has a pretty good team around him. A player they drafted I think is going to be a huge player for them. Braelon Allen. I feel like he was slept on in the draft but is going to really flash out there.
I am happy with how Love played down the stretch. It took him a bit to settle in but once he did, damn he played good. I'm excited to see where this team goes in the next few years.
Cheezehead72
June 03, 2024 at 07:49 am
Not that I disagree with you but to appreciate his on the field success goes only so far. I do not care how good you are if you cannot act like a team player and you need to have the spotlight, you need to go. I am glad Rodgers is gone. I do not wish anything bad to happen to him just like anyone else but I do not care if he make the Jets a winning team or not. The Jets are AFC and do not matter until the SB.
He thought he was the Packers. Sorry the Packers are a team and he was a player on that team and nothing more. I am just sad that we had two very good QBs and it had to end ugly.
RCPackerFan
June 03, 2024 at 09:53 am
You can disagree with me. We are adults here (well i think we are), and its ok to disagree with people.
The thing to remember is this is a team game. Its easy to give the QB all the blame, just like it is the HC. Its also easy to give them all the credit. No one is perfect. Thats why its a team game so that when a guy is having a bad day you have someone else that can pick them up.
As far as team player I think that is more of a fanbase/media issue then a locker room guy. if you listened to a lot of teammates they said he was a teammate guy. Sure there are some sour apples along the way. But in general most thought he was a good teammate.
If we want to look to blame people I think the first place we need to look is the front office. I don't feel they gave him enough weapons around him in the 2nd half of his career. Also when have they had a defense that could shut down opponents after 2010 super bowl.
After selecting Randall Cobb in the 2nd around of the 2011 draft, the next WR they took high was Adams in the 2014 draft. After that, it was Christian Watson in the 22 draft.
After losing Finley they drafted Richard Rodgers in the 3rd round of 2014. After him they took Kennard Backman in the 6th round of 2015. After that they didn't even draft another TE until Jace Sternberger in 2019. Then they took Deguara in 2020, and finally took Musgrave and Kraft in 23. But for pure dynamic types of TE's, we can argue they didn't draft one from Finley in 2008, until they took Musgrave/Kraft in 23.
WestCoastPackerBacker
June 03, 2024 at 02:45 pm
Yes, you said it better than I attempted to in this thread. It wasn't teammates that had any issue with Rodgers. Except for maybe young WRs who didn't take practice seriously, b/c every guy that did had a decent to great rookie season with Rodgers at the helm. But past teammates really seemed to like the guy.
And yes, when we saw Gutey spend 6 picks on WRs and 2 on TEs just as Rodgers was finishing his time in GB, it really did make me realized how much he'd done with so little to work with towards the end other than Adams. I think I would have felt disrespected too.
Minniman
June 03, 2024 at 03:17 pm
Whilst not explicitly disagreeing with anything points that you, or past posters on this thread, have made.
The catastrophe that was Ted Thompson's last 2 drafts cannot be understated (see below) - and one which left the Packers with only 2 players in 2 full drafts that were retained past their rookie contracts (if they made it that far).
That's a lot of holes to fill.
........ then there's MM not having a clue how to effectively - no, even basically - use a TE.
2016
1 Kenny Clark † DT
2 Jason Spriggs OT
3 Kyler Fackrell LB
4 Blake Martinez LB
4 Dean Lowry DE
5 Trevor Davis WR
6 Kyle Murphy
2017
2 Kevin King CB
2 Josh Jones S
3 Montravius Adams DT
4 Vince Biegel LB
4 Jamaal Williams RB
5 DeAngelo Yancey WR
5 Aaron Jones † RB
6 Kofi Amichia OT
7 Devante Mays RB
7 Malachi Dupre WR
Tundraboy
June 03, 2024 at 10:06 am
I agree. Mixed emotions at it's best.
WestCoastPackerBacker
June 03, 2024 at 02:02 pm
I would love for Rodgers to win a Title with the Jets, to cement his legacy as one of the best ever to play the game. I think it is revisionist to think Rodgers didn't act like a team player for 99% of his career. The struggles he had with the front office the last couple of years and the lack of experienced talent at WR certainly added to #12's frustration with the team and decision not to be involved in anything voluntary. And for the most part (other than his last year), he balled out, proving that learning the playbook in shorts with rookies wasn't the "make or break" issue of the season. Particularly when both Doubs and Watson had excellent rookie seasons, despite a bunch of injuries.
Rodgers was highly esteemed as a good teammate for most of his career in GB. Even Micah Hyde, after years of playing with the Bills, said “I love 12. That’s my guy,” Hyde said. He added, “He’s a loving, great person. He’s one of the best teammates I ever had.” Rodgers was friends with many players, got along with most and was beyond personable with the equipment, training and other staff. You hear James Jones talk about him and he has nothing but regard for Rodgers. Even Greg Jennings is warning the league to "watch out" this season if Rodgers stays healthy.
Rodgers never thought he was the Packers. But he certainly thought he didn't get the respect he deserved. But then, he's one of many who have felt that way about the front office under both Ted and Gutey.
I wish he'd shut up about his non-football opinions. But other than that, I don't have any issues with the guy. He made GB relevant for a LONG, LONG time and made watching them fun.
vin0770
June 03, 2024 at 07:26 am
I think your article is spot on because that’s always how I felt. Loved his talent but wished it showed up in the playoffs more often, but I remember saying during his ayahuasca retreat, being immunized and the darkness retreat it is what it is. But how come the Pack gets the one qb in the league that’s out there? Couldn’t he be on someone elses team besides my favorite team 😩
Spock
June 03, 2024 at 09:48 am
"But how come the Pack gets the one qb in the league that’s out there?" Look no further than the former Bears QB (and later Packer backup for the SB year) Jim McMann. :)
NFLfan
June 03, 2024 at 07:45 am
IMO, Aaron was always the new kid in school as the family moved every 1-2 years. He was sometimes a bit socially awkward and not always accepted by his peers. I did my first 3 years as an undergrad in Chico, where AR was born and went to high school. It was a warm, friendly and open place where it was frowned upon to call attention to yourself or to signal wealth via cars, homes or clothes. I would say Chico is more Midwestern than coastal CA-it's very much like Green Bay in size and demographics.
Though Aaron was the starting QB as a Junior and Senior, he did not enjoy the full acceptance of his peers, particularly the group where many starting QB's expect to be welcomed. He has talked about it.
In the context of living in this rather egalitarian place, I think it is noteworthy and I think those feelings and some 'family stuff' drive him to seek acceptance and attention way beyond what would be satisfying for most people.
I keep this in mind as he creates buzz about every 2-3 days-like clockwork.
He's right about his play, though. I wished Green Bay would have set more limits w/him, though. I think his current owner, Woody, enjoys the notoriety AR brings, really. All those Prime Time games put money in his pocket and fill seats.
Ferrari-Driver
June 03, 2024 at 07:52 am
Ken, what you penned are likely the sentiments of most all Packer fans on this website. As you mentioned there will be a few who disagree, but I believe the majority of us feel as you do. I know I am going to watch some of the Jets games with interest and when I do I expect that I won't be pulling for them to either win or lose the game, but to see how Rodgers plays with his new team. My prime interest is to watch the Packers play and win and I will add that I do like to watch the Vikings play and lose.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:29 am
Thumbs up for your vi-queen comment alone!
NickPerry
June 03, 2024 at 08:00 am
"He gave us a long history of unforgettable memories. He also brought us more unwanted drama than any Packer I can recall in my more than sixty years of fandom. I am delightfully entertained to watch that drama unfold somewhere else, while Jordan Love begins to build his own legacy in Titletown."
I think this perfectly sums up my feelings about Aaron Charles Rodgers, just like it did Kens, and just like it will for thousands of other Packers fans. Watching Rodgers play QB for the Packers was a thing of beauty in MOST cases.
When the Packers won the SB in 2010 I thought they'd have at LEAST 2 more before he retired. Yup, by the time he was gone it would be the 15 time World Champions. The thing I was reminded of over the next 12 years of Rodgers is winning a SB is HARD. Brady and Belichick are the ONLY ones to make it look easy other than Vince and the Boys in the 60's.
Look, Rodgers was a GREAT Green Bay Packer OB but he's GONE. I will always appreciate what he helped the Packers accomplish. But THIS Rodgers I don't miss. Good luck, we'll see you when you come back to retire your number. I WILL watch most of those 6 primetime games and wish you well. At least until you play the Packers.
dobber
June 03, 2024 at 08:19 am
Looking forward, not back.
Letting 10 be the QB of the Packers on his own merits.
LambeauPlain
June 03, 2024 at 10:56 am
Me as well. The history of Packers QBs is rich to match the franchise. And I enjoy history. Let the Chapter of Love continue to be written!
I will not be tuning in to watch Rodgers play any more than I watched Favre play in Jets' green or the ugly purple. I did watch Favre in the NFCCG vs the New Orleans Bounty Hunters. Disgusting game. But that's about it.
I certainly don't hate Rodgers. He is a tremendous QB talent. But his outsized opinion of himself does not match the sole Lombardi he helped the Packers earn.
dobber
June 03, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Well stated, LP.
T7Steve
June 03, 2024 at 08:23 am
I admire Rodgers as a QB and wish we could talk about something else. HA! I guess there is nothing else till they get some pads on.
It's fun but too early and too much pressure to put on Love to be comparing career numbers after one season of playing. He'll be a totally perfect fit for this team and will be fine even if he doesn't make it to the Hall of Fame. To him the team comes first. As the last two QBs aged they felt they were indispensable to the team not the other way around.
Can't wait till camp.
dobber
June 03, 2024 at 08:30 am
In other news:
The Vikings just got out from under Kirk's contract, but put themselves under another anvil: Jefferson signs a 4-year, $140M extension with the Vikings with $110M guaranteed.
https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/06/vikings-wr-justin-jefferson-ag...
Holy crap! The devil is always in the details, but this is why having a roomful of good, young, WR on rookie contracts might actually be the model for the NFL going forward.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 09:04 am
First off, a roomful of good young players on their first contracts is good business at every position. Sadly, Jefferson's contract puts pressure on every other contract in the league. Look at our roster and decide who you want to lose in two years, because the weight of that money will come to bear on every team. It's also a marker of where Jordan's contract is going to land. I'm anticipating Jordan will become the second highest paid player in football behind Burrows. That will likely preclude re-signing receivers on second contracts.
LLCHESTY
June 03, 2024 at 01:37 pm
My guess is Wicks and Reed are the two they want to keep in two years, barring injury. Having those two pushing each other long term would be great.
https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/reed-wicks-spent-3-months-together-focusi...
Leatherhead
June 03, 2024 at 09:09 am
The worst team in the division, with the worst QB situation in the division, just guaranteed a WR $110M.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 10:00 am
Typical, no?
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:32 am
AWESOME BABY!!!
Swisch
June 03, 2024 at 09:47 am
To be a winner, it's necessary to be willing to act independently of the crowd.
The Packers don't have to follow other teams in matching contracts -- such as the Vikings with Jefferson and the Lions with Goff. How many Super Bowls have they won lately, or ever?
***
We may not want the kind of players who need to be highest paid at their position.
We want guys who are considerate of their teammates in also getting paid.
We have to think about building a team in total by not overpaying a few.
Sad to say, we have to be willing to let go of guys we really like as players and persons if they want too much.
***
At some point, the cost for Jordan Love would even become too high, it seems to me.
I hope he's enough of a leader to be looking out for his teammates also getting paid, and to want the Packers to have enough salary cap space to build a championship team around him.
Perhaps a deal with Love for six seasons at $300 million would be fair -- in other words, an average of $50 million per season.
That could include this season, when he's due to be paid about $13 million (as I understand it) -- which means an immediate raise of $37 million.
***
I'd like the Packers to be competitive in their offerings to players, even generous, but there has to be limits.
Winners must be willing to walk away from the madness of the mob.
T7Steve
June 03, 2024 at 10:30 am
I have these kinds of wishes too. Can hope and wish but it doesn't seem to be happening in this new world we live in.
Wish in one hand and shi... in the other and see which one gets filled first.
Swisch
June 03, 2024 at 08:08 pm
Ultimately, we can only control ourselves -- which is quite a challenge in itself.
dobber
June 03, 2024 at 12:20 pm
"That could include this season, when he's due to be paid about $13 million (as I understand it) -- which means an immediate raise of $37 million.
***"
It's all about the structure of the deal.
Most contracts are built so that the cap hit on the player is well below the AAV for a year or two.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 06:41 pm
I just saw something like $84 Million up front. They better pray he doesn't break a leg or tear an achiles.
Swisch
June 03, 2024 at 08:14 pm
However Love's contract might be structured, an average of $50 million per year seems fair all around.
Perhaps guarantee one-third -- about $100 million out of $300 million (for six years).
In the process, Love would set a tone of unselfishness on the team that could yield huge results as far as championship rings, and endear himself to fans for the ages.
He'd still have more money than any one person could spend in a lifetime, plus some of the intangibles that make life worth living.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:35 am
Intangibles do not seem to move the needle for people under 30 years old...
They are indestructible right up until they are not.
Swisch
June 04, 2024 at 07:16 pm
It's sad, Jb27.
Why go through the pain of making a mistake that can be avoided by learning from the mistakes of others?
I've lived most of my life bumping into walls with hard knocks due to trial and error, with lots of headaches and bruises that I would have been glad to have missed.
To the extent that I have been able to avoid those nasty jolts with the help of others, I am truly grateful.
MitchAnthony
June 03, 2024 at 09:01 am
Every single NFL player at some point becomes surplus to their team. This happens for a whole host of reasons. Someone better comes along, age becomes a factor, team needs change, play might fall off, or they just become too expensive in the larger picture, etc. Pick any one or any combination of those and the lesson is, don't fall in love too hard with any player. Someday they will be an ex-player.
As a Packer fan Aaron Rodgers brought a lot of joy to my football watching. So did Brett Favre. I really really appreciated what AR12 could bring to the field as a QB and always hoped another ring would come to Green Bay during his time. Football is a team sport, not a one man show. It just didn't happen for a whole lot of reasons, too many to get side tracked on.
When someone says he created more drama than any other Packer well, who else was around for so many years? Could you imagine having a Marty Bennett around for 10 plus years? Would you have wanted your franchise QB to be someone like Colin Kaepernick for 10 plus years? I know I wouldn't.
Plenty of Packers who I liked have moved on to other teams and I rooted for them to do well and continue to have a great NFL career. Aaron Kampmann, Micah Hyde, Casey Hayward, Devante Adams are just few of those players. I want to see Aaron Rodgers have a very successful season with the Jets, I do. I hope for the best for him because I really appreciated him as a Packer player.
During the time that we all knew the trade was coming I would see so many comments where it seemed to me that people were inventing reasons to put hate on a man who brought so much to the field of play and little of the criticism had anything to do with what he did on the field. I still shake my head thinking about, how he got along with his family, what he did in his free time, what his opinions were, who he dated, etc. I cared about none of that. I can listen to music and know that I don't care at all for the performer as person and what their viewpoints are. I can watch a movie and know that my values are probably in total misalignment with the star performer(s), but I can still walk away thinking it was a good flick. So Aaron Rodgers strayed from the "template" at times and I don't care. He was great on the field (most times) and Green Bay was lucky to have him, just like they were lucky to have Favre and just lucky they are lucky now to have Jordan Love.
The team is in a sweet spot right now. The money situation is good, young players are playing well and showing promise while they are cheap, Jordan Love is exceeding expectations, BG and staff have finally started hitting very well on draft picks. In pretty quick time the team will not be able to keep every single one of those promising receivers or defensive players if they continue to do well. Jordan Love is going to soon be commanding a big chunk of the cap space and it won't be long before - here we go again. Let's hope the team takes advantage of this magic window while they can.
T7Steve
June 03, 2024 at 09:19 am
"don't fall in love too hard with any player. Someday they will be an ex-player."
I look at more like a pet owner. I had Katie for 14 years, and she was the best dog in the world. Then I had Buster who was the smartest dog ever. Now I have Scout who's the smartest best dog ever!
I loved them and had to move on, or not be a pet owner. It is hard after every dog and I think I won't get another, then I see the new puppy and its suddenly ok to start all over again.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:37 am
you must enjoy newspapers on the floor...
T7Steve
June 05, 2024 at 01:47 pm
Never used them. I don't let them get used to going in the house.
HawkPacker
June 03, 2024 at 09:31 am
I loved what Aaron Rodgers could do for the packers. He was just unbelievable on the field. I could not understand some of his antics off the field however.
You can bet he will play well with the Jets for the next season or two as he has something to prove! Much like when the Packers drafted Love. He had to prove how good he was with two straight MVP's. As long as he stays healthy, he should do well.
I will watch the Jets as well just to see how he does with his new team. No animosity, just want to see how he plays not being on our team.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 10:06 am
I would be willing to bet that due to his age, his time away, his focus away from football, and the likelihood of injury that he won't be a factor at all, save for hype in the league.
His processing/reaction time is going to be diminished and his acknowledgement of his limitations is non-existent. We can already see how a LaFleur offense works with a young plastic mind at quarterback, and one thing we can be certain of is AR does not have a young, plastic mind. Also, in terms of past performance, he just can't get it done in the playoffs, not that I expect him to be anywhere other than injured reserve when the playoffs are happening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4lvLBe6fsE
LLCHESTY
June 03, 2024 at 01:43 pm
Wow, somebody is still bitched up a year later. He's made some douchey statements but I enjoyed watching him play and wish him the best this season.
barutanseijin
June 03, 2024 at 02:37 pm
Spoken like a fan, LL — after the reason to be a fan is gone.
Objectively, the guy is older by another year, coming off a major injury that older players are more susceptible to, and he went Hollywood a long time ago. Love or hate the guy, those are the facts.
LambeauPlain
June 03, 2024 at 09:38 am
Prior to the 2007 season rumors were swirling the Packers were attempting to trade Rodgers to the Raiders for Randy Moss. (I wonder who was pushing THAT deal?)
Rodgers had suffered a broken foot in Nov. 2006 and missed the rest of the season. But Rodgers was clearly positioning to be the starter claiming playing with a broken foot showed the Packers how tough he was...ready to lead them. But it was not to be. After the season Favre announced he was coming back for 2007. And the drama & tension Andrew Brandt described between the two QBs and their agents, stayed hot.
But the future HOF QBs remained in Green Bay and the rest is history.
How different the NFL world would have turned if the Rodgers/Moss trade had gone through!
RCPackerFan
June 03, 2024 at 10:03 am
"How different the NFL world would have turned if the Rodgers/Moss trade had gone through!"
It also makes us have to wonder what would be different now had they traded Rodgers to Denver the year sooner. What all would have changed.
First have to wonder if Love would have been ready to take over. Would he have had a bad year or same as last year.
If Love played too soon and really struggled would that have set him up for failure. Would GB have been looking to find a new QB.
And if Love would have had an identical year as last year, with him kind of starting slowly but then kicking it up at the end of the year, would that have set them better up for last year to make a deep run.
Also the different players they would have drafted over the last 3 drafts. It would have most likely been significantly different. I love the draft classes they have had the last 3 drafts so i don't know if I would have wanted anything different.
I feel like they trade Rodgers and played Love at the right time. But the 'what if' is always interesting.
Tundraboy
June 03, 2024 at 10:09 am
Good wrap up. Now it's time for the Packers!
stockholder
June 03, 2024 at 10:32 am
Yea - the grass is always greener on the
other side of the fence.
Rodgers should never have been traded.
No QB has gone through so many screwed
up changes, from the people over his head.
Don't Blame Rodgers.
He still grabs the headlines.
You saw how #4 had changed.
You saw how #12 changed.
Both did their best to win.
Starr was terrific.
But the people at the top
knew how to WIN.
That was always the problem since Starr.
Your leaders didn't know how to keep winning.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:48 am
stocky, I'm giving you a thumbs up today. A real rarity I admit.
I don't completely agree with your post, I take exception to the 'never should have been traded' part.
Rodgers would not accept the LaFleur offense in its entirety. IF he would have done that I may have been able to get on board with the 'he should have stayed' narrative.
Rodgers insistence that his concepts be part of the plan going forward was his undoing.
He was sent packing a season too late, but it all worked out fantastically due to Guteys super-excellent drafts the past 2 years. All the extra picks from Denver could not have given any more success through the draft than the Packers have gathered.
Time to move completely on from ACR. The past is the past and the present offers a cornucopia of promise!
BTW, there was only ONE person at the top when Starr was winning, the winningest head football coach of all time. That is a hard act to follow and the desert that followed the Lombardi oasis proves the point. Wolf and Holmgren knew how to win, TT and McCarthy had their day in the sun. Sustained championship level play in an uber-competitive professional sport is HARD, get over it that a once-in-a-lifetime alignment of the stars doesn't happen every year!
stockholder
June 04, 2024 at 07:51 pm
I believe he did say MLFs would work.
And MLF did get along with Rodgers.
He wanted him back.
But the concepts going forward- I ??
= Those first bad WRs Gutekunst drafted/FAs.
Rodgers put his faith in guys that could catch.
And got pissed when they didn't.
Still Gute didn't get what Rodgers needed.
And he dealt with center after center.
When I say Rodgers should have retired
a Packer. It was because he earned it.
I get the Brady and Manning didn't retire
with their respectful teams.
But I felt GB wasn't like most teams.
That Rodgers still had more in the tank.
Gutey replaced age with youth.
But so did TT when he was at his best.
How this all works out depends.
On just how good MLF can make his picks work.
NFLfan
June 03, 2024 at 11:08 am
I see a greater degree of narcissism in both Favre and Rodgers than Love. It was noticeable with Rodgers as a young man @ Cal. He was competing in a ball-throwing contest and he was the only dude revving up the spectators while the other contestants quietly hung out w/friends. The commentators called him a performer. And Favre, IMO, has struggled with character issues.
My educated guess is that Love, while gaining confidence on the field and in front of media/podcasts/interviews, etc. won't turn into
a 'problem' personality. He truly seems comfortable in his own skin and more team-centric.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:51 am
I also hope for the happy ending...
I will watch what happens when Love has hundreds of millions at his disposal...
To Be Determined...
Irish_Cheesehead
June 03, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Just like last off-season, I'm enjoying Aaron Rodgers from far far away with all the crackpot stuff he says. Great player during the season, but I do not miss the off-season with Rodgers. So refreshing without all the drama these past months.
Leatherhead
June 03, 2024 at 01:49 pm
I am enjoying Aaron Rodgers from a distance. Sometimes, he looks like Luke Musgrave, and sometimes he looks like Edgerin Cooper. Rodgers will still be helping us win games after he retires.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 06:33 pm
I see what you did there...
HawkPacker
June 04, 2024 at 07:11 am
LH, I don't think some of the down voters understand what you mean!
Packers0808
June 03, 2024 at 02:47 pm
Only one thing, Glad he is the hell gone and I believe Love if not injured will be better than Rodger the Dodger and bring home more the ONE SB!
LeotisHarris
June 03, 2024 at 02:55 pm
That's more than one thing.
Packers0808
June 03, 2024 at 04:54 pm
Nope all one thought.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 06:34 pm
Oh sure, now you're insisting on counting. What kind of world are we living in.
GregC
June 03, 2024 at 03:18 pm
Why do these statistical comparisons have to be so full of obvious oversights? Love played a 17-game season and Rodgers played 16-game seasons until the last one. So the difference in total yards and TD passes is greater than it looks, while the difference in interceptions is not quite as great as it looks. Still close enough, but the difference in games played should have at least been mentioned.
Anyway, I feel exactly the same way about Rodgers as Ken does.
13TimeChamps
June 03, 2024 at 05:17 pm
Never been much of an X's and O's guy and have never spent one minute researching player's hand size or arm length or their 3-cone speed. I always figured they pay guys to do that.
I just get fun out of watching the games...Packer games especially. And whatever anybody thinks about AR12, particularly his last couple of years, it's hard to argue the amount of fun he provided during his 15 years as our starter. The same can be said about Favre, to be honest. Those two brought a ton of enjoyment to us fans over the past 3 decades.
It was time for GB to move on from both...and they did. It's time for fans to do the same I think and enjoy the beginning of the Love era. Hopefully, it will provide just as much fun.
Since'61
June 03, 2024 at 06:11 pm
Enjoyed watching Aaron Rodgers play for the Packers. He had more good days than bad days. But the time has come; moving on .... Thanks, Since '61
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 06:39 pm
When will the Packers step up and keep pace with the Vikings and pay their receivers at a market rate. Another failure by the cheapskates in the front office - Stockholder, soon probably
stockholder
June 04, 2024 at 06:37 am
The problem is the can going down the road.
That never should have happened.
It wouldn't have with TT.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:53 am
TT would have forgotten where he put the can...
NFLfan
June 03, 2024 at 07:13 pm
After thinking about Aaron a bit more, I do feel he did not get the supporting cast he needed for a number of years.
He had good reason to be upset with the FO.
What I don't understand is the lengthy public (4 year) acting out, ie., openly fighting w/Gutekunst, Cleanses, Ayahuasca, Darkness Retreats, 'Will I Won't I retire?", Vaxx drama, Calling out Fauci, Achilles drama, VP?
It's been a 4 year public circus.
Bitternotsour
June 03, 2024 at 07:34 pm
So they won 13 games a season with no supporting cast and got first round byes? Weird.
GregC
June 03, 2024 at 07:38 pm
The defense was mostly average during Rodgers' time in Green Bay, but he had a ton of talent on offense. Excellent receivers and a good offensive line almost every year. RB and TE was more hit-and-miss, but you can't have everything.
ArlenWilliams
June 04, 2024 at 12:36 am
Well said. And I give Aaron a 50% rating for his pharmaceutical choices. (Not into communing with demons via hallucinogens.)
GB@Germany
June 04, 2024 at 02:39 am
Rodgers was a great quaterback on the field, no question.
He is completly nuts, no question.
The Jets in the SB?
This is like the Bears not sucking any longer...big question.
stockholder
June 04, 2024 at 07:01 am
Rodgers isn't nuts-
The people at the Top are.
Rodgers biggest mistake was not
leaving the packers sooner.
They always knew they could trade him-
The mistakes since 2010, should never
be put on the QB.
HawkPacker
June 04, 2024 at 07:18 am
Agreed. He should have left the year before so we would have gotten more in return.
Pack88
June 04, 2024 at 09:20 am
Ken; Very good article but lets let JLove do it for a bit- remember Majik. I don't miss the Rodgers drama but hands down the most accurate thrower of the football I have ever seen. Football fans cans blather but deep in their hearts if they talk about the 10 most amazing passes they ever saw Rodgers threw at least 6 of them.
Johnblood27
June 04, 2024 at 10:56 am
The most amazing pass I ever saw was the one I threw at the prom queen...
Complete! Touchdown! Oh yeah, glory days!
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
June 04, 2024 at 01:34 pm
AR is such old news! Glad he is gone and we are better off with QB, JL who will be around for possibly another 14 - 15 years. Dedicated and down-to-earth who his teammates love. I believe before Love's career is over with the Packers he will have minimally as many SB wins as AR did, but will have more SB appearances.
tonyorth
June 04, 2024 at 01:38 pm
The one aspect of AR I liked the least was his strong need to be the personal focus of the news cycle, rather than subordinating his ego to a narrative focusing on Packers as a whole. In other words, he seems to have felt that he was BIGGER than the Packers - at least as relates to tbe news cycle - rather than PART of the Packers.
JL may never achieve AR's milestones but he managed during his first, full season to put up excellent numbers himself while doing everything he could to be PART of the Packers and avoid making the news about HIM. Moreover, the good vibe's coming put of OTA's including higher participation combined with multiple examples of players having worked very hard in the offseason suggest that AR's narcissim may have turned off some parts of the locker room. We can't know for sure of course, but while your drunk uncle at the wedding is funny rhe first wedding, boorishness ages very poorly.
I am surely not alone in abhoring AR's constant need to be the focus of attention, and also not alone in enjoying keeping the focus on the Packers as a whole.