A Super Bowl ring with a matching MVP, two additional regular season MVPs and passing numbers whole franchises would kill for all seem like a distant memory for Aaron Rodgers.
After his Packers were stomped out 38-8 in the Arizona desert yesterday, football fans are left to ponder the current state of the Green Bay Packers, as well as what to make of their field general.
“Field general” is an interesting term, isn’t it? It implies that the quarterback (i.e. the offensive figurehead on the football field) is charged with leading his team through battle, even in the worst of times, with those in the upper echelon coming out victorious more often than not. Rodgers is absolutely one of those individuals, however unlike many of his contemporaries, Mr. Discount Double Check has managed to evade criticism like an overzealous edge-rusher lacking gap integrity. With the Pack having dropped five of their last nine games, reevaluating the two-time First Team All-Pro feels appropriate at this point.
Nothing buys time in the NFL like a Super Bowl victory— Rodgers has that, but it was five years ago. The NFL is an unflinchingly results-based business. “What have you done for me lately this week?” Despite a bevy regular season successes since then, Rodgers and his Packers are only 2-4 in the playoffs since their last championship season. In those six games he has only one 300+ yard passing game, but two sub-200 yard passing performances. Winning in the postseason is far from a birthright for even the game’s best passers, but the regular season was supposed to be Rodgers’ playpen. Not anymore.
This season, Rodgers lost his favorite receiver Jordy Nelson in the preseason to an ACL injury. Now #12 finds himself scrambling, literally and figuratively, to win an average division. If you remove the miraculous 61-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the December 3 Lions game, Rodgers would have now thrown for less than 220 yards in six consecutive games. He hasn’t thrown three TDs in a game since early November and he’s been intercepted in four of his last five starts.
Many prognosticators (cough, even some websites known for reporting on sports and hip-hop, cough) had the Cheeseheads overcoming the Jordy setback to bring yet another Lombardi Trophy back home. Nelson’s injury appears to be equally crippling to the Packers’ season though as the offense has completely fallen apart. Sure, the play-calling has been erratic, the o-line is fractured, the receivers struggle to get open and the run game non-existent (also the defense has been wildly inconsistent), but most quarterbacks of Aaron’s ilk are able to overcome many of these sorts of issues.
Tom Brady, the player Rodgers is most often compared to these days, has made a career making “chicken salad” out of less than optimal conditions. This season alone, the Patriots have dealt with a preposterous training camp distraction, and have seen injuries pile up to the ceiling on offense. Still, New England remains in pole position in the AFC heading into the playoffs. About 15 months ago, Brady’s boys hit a rough patch early in the season, and seemingly the whole world pronounced the Patriots DOA. Few appear to be writing the Packer eulogy today, despite them being laid to rest by the Cardinals on Sunday. And no player has ever taken shots at Brady’s leadership upon leaving the Pats. The same can’t be said for Rodgers (see Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley).
And then there’s the other stuff.
Aaron Rodgers’ teflon-ness goes beyond the gridiron. As Cam Newton danced and dabbed his way to a 14-0 start (without the services of his top receiver since the summer), his celebrations rubbed some fans, players, and washed players the wrong way. Then this meme surfaced— you couldn’t help but at least understand the comparison:
Yup pic.twitter.com/eoOj0xImDH
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) November 18, 2015
Even though he’s gone on record saying he was practicing abstinence in his relationship, and has appeared to fully embrace his girlfriend’s kid, Russell Wilson drew the ire of many observers by simply dating Ciara (the #FutureHive has spoken). In contrast to Ciara’s low key nature, Rodgers’ celebrity girlfriend Olivia Munn has been vocal about her alleged impact on her man’s performance on social media. Now ask yourself: What type of blowback would Wilson have experienced if his girlfriend clapped back at Twitter trolls?
There’s a racial undertone to the last two paragraphs, but understand that this isn’t that type of column. The idea here is that Aaron Rodgers for whatever reason, whether on or off the field, has been spared the criticism of other quarterbacks in his class. Sooner or later, we all need draw the line and hold him accountable for Green Bay’s ugly slide in the second half this season. He doesn’t appear to be playing hurt, and the NFL’s best passer damn sure wasn’t hurt when he tossed five TDs against the Chiefs and four more against the Panthers earlier this year.
So what gives? The holding onto the ball too long, the inaccuracy, the less than stellar judgement— can we just say he’s sucked lately? There’s a lot wrong with the Packers offense beyond just Aaron Rodgers, but only one man assumes all the credit when it’s floating like a Drizzy freestyle. Reread the first paragraph of this column; it seems fair to expect a little more.