Dammit I love Aaron Rodgers! The man always knows exactly what he’s doing when cameras and microphones are shoved in front of his face. This is the man who uttered one of the most iconic spellings in Packers history. “R E L A X.” The man who drank the grape soda.
Despite the efforts of a drama seeking national media Aaron is always capable of getting across exactly what he wants to get across.
Today in London was no exception.
When pressed about his future Rodgers hit the normal notes:
“Look, my decision, when it comes down to it, will be, obviously, the physical part, the mental part, seeing where the team is at…”
Then, he thoughtfully wound his way through the entire team. He praised the defense and the good long-term contract situation on that side of the ball. He praised his two stud running backs. Then, as he ended, he turned towards his young receivers and dropped a very intentional remark:
“There’s some moving pieces that’ll factor in, for sure. But seeing the development of those guys can’t help but be a part of the decision.”
Love it.
He absolutely knows what he’s doing. And although the national media will make you think he’s been negative or dismissive or a bad teammate the exact opposite is true. He is motivating. He is doing the exact thing that people have been accusing him of not doing.
Rodgers going after his young receivers in the pre-season, his post game comments, his oft spewed praise, and this remark are all part of a never ending campaign to remind his youngsters of the appropriate expectations placed upon them. They are on a championship roster with a Hall of Fame quarterback and their development is paramount.
Just two days ago he used a different opportunity to shower them with huge praise on one of sports most watched programs The Pat McAfee Show.
“I think both guys can be ‘dudes, It’s going to be, how does their confidence progress? How many plays can they lock and anchor into their mind as places to go back to and think about when they’ve maybe had a stretch where they haven’t played their best ball or maybe they need some inspiration? How many memories can they lock into their brain that they can access in the moment? And then, how do they work on their craft? There’ll be opportunities for big jumps between Years 1 and 2 and Years 2 and 3, especially, which we see from a lot of young players. But I think they both have opportunities to be really, really good players in the league.”
The compliments, (which never get covered by media) the criticisms, and the expectations are all part of the same path. Rodgers takes every opportunity he has to use every tool he can to guide these guys to where they need to be.
I think it’s amazing that he essentially threatened retirement based on their development. He has great relationships with these guys. He knows how to drive them.
Of course that’s not how it will be interpreted. Nonstop Packers hater Mike Florio has already done his best to convince everyone that Rodgers has overly intimidated his young teammates. Nonsense.
This team is finally built correctly. Defense and the running game win playoff football. Rodgers and his receivers have all season to develop together to get ready for a playoff push. If Rodgers does what we all know Rodgers is capable of doing with them the passing game will be the icing on top of a championship contending cake.
