Here’s how it works. Something Aaron Rodgers related happens. ESPN gets a bunch of former players and reporters to scream extreme takes at the screen and convince you they’re true. Those things are not true. Repeat cycle.
That’s how things have gone since Adam Schefter brought out his nonsense at the combine.
I’d be lying if I told you I was as big of an Aaron Rodgers fan today as I was a few years ago. I still believe he is one of the top two or three talents to ever play the position. I still believe he gives the Packers their best chance to win in the short term. I just, like many, am a little worn down with how hard he constantly works to create his insightful, zen master image. Maybe it’s totally genuine, but it doesn’t really seem so.
Yet, I believe Rodgers is entitled to his process and more importantly entitled to fairness in reporting. The latter he has received very little of in the last few years. That continues as he approaches a career and potentially life-changing decision.
So often, the media is quick to blow up a Rodgers quote without giving you the context or listening to the full interview. So often they read into every minute detail as if it’s the most important thing anyone connected to Aaron Rodgers has ever said. ESPN’s Get Up put on a master class in such behavior this morning in response to Brian Gutekunst’s comments at the combine.
Is this different than previous years? Yes. But we all knew what Gutekunst was saying. He was saying the same thing that he and Rodgers have both been saying for weeks. They’re going to be thoughtful and make a decision in a respectful amount of time that’s best for everybody involved. That everybody includes The Packers.
But that didn’t stop Get Up.
“No longer does it feel like the Packers are simply going to kiss the ring of Aaron Rodgers… It is, if you wanna be a part of this organization… You need to show us that that is going to be the case”
That was maybe the most sane quote from a 10 minute segment where Jeff Darlington, Chris Canty, and Rob Ninkovich took every opportunity they could to bury the possibility of Rodgers returning to Green Bay.
Most media outlets are guilty of sensationalization and, as consumers, we all have come to understand that is what sells in today’s society. But this is not the Brett Favre situation. Rodgers is going to make a decision in a timeframe that is considerate to others. One way or another both he and the organization will be better off for that decision.
As a Packer fan it will certainly be difficult to wait, especially if you’re one who has grown tired of Rodgers antics. But until it comes from Rodgers mouth we have no idea what’s going to happen and neither does anyone talking on TV. Take it from Rodgers himself who, discussing his darkness retreat on a podcast on Wednesday, had this to say.
“I feel really good about the conversations that are going to be had…that have been had with the important people in my life. But I’m not looking for somebody to tell me what the answer is. I think the answers are right inside me and I touched many of them and definitely feelings on both sides so I’m thankful for that. There’s a finality to the decision and I don’t make it lightly and I don’t want to drag anybody around…and look I’m answering questions about it because I get asked about it. I’m talking about it because it’s important to me, if you don’t like it and you think it’s drama and you think I’m being a diva or whatever then just tune it out…but this is my life it’s important to me and I’ll make a decision soon enough and we’ll go down that road.”
