If drafting Love truly motivated Rodgers to reinvent himself and play at this level then honestly it doesn’t matter if he plays or not. They will contend for the next several years.
12 has never played better and sometimes a little competition (real or perceived) is just what the doctor ordered.
Rodgers’ play noticeably declined last year. He was missing throws, not seeing open receivers, and seeing ghosts in the pocket. There is absolutely no denying this.
But I don’t think the drafting of Love should be seen as anything more than the Packers seeing an opportunity to add talent to the most important position on the field after watching a noticeable decline in their aging starter. Then if Rodgers truly was in decline they aren’t handing the reins over to Tim Boyle.
Love has talent, or at least they think so, and they grabbed him. We can debate all day if they could have waited, but I really don’t think they had “motivate Rodgers” in their mind. Maybe an ancillary benefit, but that’s not why you spend valuable draft capital on a guy you know will not likely play unless a catastrophe occurs. If they were wrong about Love, and he can’t play, then Gutekunst will be called to account for that.
My money is on Rodgers playing out his contract in Green Bay. He embraced the program with MLF, and the results speak for themselves. You don’t change any of that, as long as it still works. And hopefully they were right about this Love kid- and he’s ready when that all comes. Then we’ll have 4 decades of QB excellence in Green Bay.
There are a couple problems with Rodgers playing out his contract in GreenBay.
You have to commit to Rodger or Love by 2022. I think it was really stupid to put yourself in that position. They should have signed a vet for a two year deal for insurance and then started looking for the future. If Rodgers played like he did in 2019, he still nets you a huge haul via trade.
For me as far as draft Love goes, when it happened I turned to my cousin and said something like "The older Rodgers is the more vulnerable he is to being one hit away from the end of His career. This may not be a bad move." I still think that. Although I have no idea if Love will actually work out.
@BrainDed posted:There are a couple problems with Rodgers playing out his contract in GreenBay.
- Love's rookie deal will be ending at the same time, so you now have to choose between paying an unproven commodity big QB money or resigning Rodgers.
- If you let Rodgers play to the end of his contract, you don't get to trade him for a couple 1st round picks.
You have to commit to Rodger or Love by 2022. I think it was really stupid to put yourself in that position. They should have signed a vet for a two year deal for insurance and then started looking for the future. If Rodgers played like he did in 2019, he still nets you a huge haul via trade.
I looked on Spotrac and Rodgers’ deal expires after the 2023 season. Love’s contract has the 2024 first round RFA tender, so they get an evaluation year in 2024. They don’t have to move on Love at all- and they certainly ought to know what they have by then.
My bad.. 1 year is better than none, but you still get nothing in trade for Aaron Rodgers in that scenario.
So you if you want something in return for one of the best QB's to ever play the game, you would have to trade him after next year, thus committing to a rookie QB who hopefully has never taken meaningful snaps in the NFL.
It doesn't sound like a wise plan. It's different than the Favre scenario because Rodgers isn't threatening to retire.
Rodgers deal will be re-structured in the offseason and that changes all the math and scenarios, so there's not much value in persevering over it now. Both his roster bonus and his 2021 salary offer cap relief and that's why they structured it that way to begin with
The Packers may have too many talented QBs in 2022/3 ?
Geez, what a horrible position to be in....a position that 31 other teams can only dream about.
IF Rodgers decides to restructure, there is no guarantee he will since the team just drafted a potential replacement for him instead of someone who could help him accomplish his goals over the next 3 years, that would be great.
That's a hard sell. Hey Aaron, I know we just used our #1 pick to select your replacement, but how about you push some of that money we owe ya down the road?
Can you be upset with him if he tells Russ Ball to get bent? I won't be.
@BrainDed posted:My bad.. 1 year is better than none, but you still get nothing in trade for Aaron Rodgers in that scenario.
So you if you want something in return for one of the best QB's to ever play the game, you would have to trade him after next year, thus committing to a rookie QB who hopefully has never taken meaningful snaps in the NFL.
It doesn't sound like a wise plan. It's different than the Favre scenario because Rodgers isn't threatening to retire.
Rodgers will play as long as his performances stay at this level. When he is playing at this level you don’t worry about getting anything for him. You keep him and let him win. Ultimately, Love will have to beat him out. If he can’t we let him go after 2025 when Rodgers is 42. If that happens, Love is a bust. If he beats out Rodgers in 2024 or 2025, strap on your seat belt.
@BrainDed posted:My bad.. 1 year is better than none, but you still get nothing in trade for Aaron Rodgers in that scenario.
Personally I think Rodgers deserves more than that- and that the best case is to go the way Bellichik did with Brady. Getting greedy with Draft picks just seems unbecoming of the greatest QB to ever play the position.
@BrainDed posted:My bad.. 1 year is better than none, but you still get nothing in trade for Aaron Rodgers in that scenario.
So you if you want something in return for one of the best QB's to ever play the game, you would have to trade him after next year, thus committing to a rookie QB who hopefully has never taken meaningful snaps in the NFL.
It doesn't sound like a wise plan. It's different than the Favre scenario because Rodgers isn't threatening to retire.
Also, Rodgers is never going to be the reason you lose games. You can argue that he may have had stretches in 2018-19 where he wasn't doing enough to win games for you, but he's never going to make killer mistakes that lose games for you like Favre did. The Tampa game this year was so shocking because it was so out-of-character to have a pick-6 and an almost-pick-6 on back-to-back possessions. Rodgers has 3 pick-6s in his career on 6,587 attempts (2 in Tampa - 2008 and 2020). Favre had 31 pick-6s on 10,000. A lot of us (me included) were blinded by fandom to how much Favre contributed to many of those playoff losses, but he was the main reason we lost some of those games.
Rodgers isn't threatening to retire and his absolute floor was as one of the best game-manager types ever. His two worst seasons were arguably 2018-19 and in those two seasons he threw 51 interceptions against 6 picks.
@BrainDed posted:IF Rodgers decides to restructure, there is no guarantee he will since the team just drafted a potential replacement for him instead of someone who could help him accomplish his goals over the next 3 years, that would be great.
That's a hard sell. Hey Aaron, I know we just used our #1 pick to select your replacement, but how about you push some of that money we owe ya down the road?
Can you be upset with him if he tells Russ Ball to get bent? I won't be.
If you guarantee Rodgers more money and spread out the cap hit, I think he may do it, but I agree they should not expect him to give up money (especially reducing a cap hit for nothing in return) to do anything at this point.
Gute - after seeing how QB competition reinvigorated Rodgers may decide to draft another first round QB in 2021 to amp up the competition for Love. Then, after seeing how that goes, Gute will decide on how to handle ARs contract. Never mind the national commotion this will cause among all those who think we need a receiver.
As for me I will find a 1950's bomb shelter to hang out in for a few months - until we go 13-3 and have a first round bye again.
@BrainDed posted:IF Rodgers decides to restructure, there is no guarantee he will since the team just drafted a potential replacement for him instead of someone who could help him accomplish his goals over the next 3 years, that would be great.
That's a hard sell. Hey Aaron, I know we just used our #1 pick to select your replacement, but how about you push some of that money we owe ya down the road?
Can you be upset with him if he tells Russ Ball to get bent? I won't be.
You're guilty of the same thing as many Packer fans - projecting your feelings onto AR. Rodgers is one of the most uber-intelligent and self-assured humans to every play the game and while he may have been miffed on draft day, he's way past that stuff now.
He knows exactly what he wants and exactly how to get it - and telling Ball to "get bent" doesn't help him in reaching those goals.
@Ghost of Lambeau posted:Gute - after seeing how QB competition reinvigorated Rodgers may decide to draft another first round QB in 2021 to amp up the competition for Love. Then, after seeing how that goes, Gute will decide on how to handle ARs contract. Never mind the national commotion this will cause among all those who think we need a receiver.
Move up for Lawrence!
Lets go
@Satori posted:You're guilty of the same thing as many Packer fans - projecting your feelings onto AR. Rodgers is one of the most uber-intelligent and self-assured humans to every play the game and while he may have been miffed on draft day, he's way past that stuff now.
He knows exactly what he wants and exactly how to get it - and telling Ball to "get bent" doesn't help him in reaching those goals.
Wait! No Lombardi trophy simply for telling Ball to stick it? 
@Satori posted:You're guilty of the same thing as many Packer fans - projecting your feelings onto AR. Rodgers is one of the most uber-intelligent and self-assured humans to every play the game and while he may have been miffed on draft day, he's way past that stuff now.
He knows exactly what he wants and exactly how to get it - and telling Ball to "get bent" doesn't help him in reaching those goals.
Well maybe signing with San Francisco, depending on what their Defense looks like at the time, does help him reach those goals? We've opened that door for him and told him to take a look.
I'm not projecting my feelings. I don't subscribe to the Rodgers is better because we drafted Love theory.
Will Uncle Rico be better when Lawrence is drafted?
Hmm...
If #Packers win on Sunday and go on to win the Super Bowl, then trading 12 is probably no longer a consideration. In that scenario, maybe the Colts would be interested in Love. If they liked him a year ago, he'd make a lot of sense now. He'd give them their QB of the future.
— Michael Rodney (@PackersNotes) January 20, 2021
The Colts would be getting a talented young QB who spent a year getting tutored by some good coaches in Green Bay. And with their run game and defense, he might be able to win right away. Perhaps #Packers would be able to get back the 1st-round pick they spent on Love last April.
— Michael Rodney (@PackersNotes) January 20, 2021
If they really do think as highly of him as they said when they picked him, I think they'll hold on to him until 2022-23. That will be his 3rd year and we'll know by then if AR is still performing at a high level and if the team is still on the cusp of competing for a SB. If they keep making the playoffs, their position in the draft isn't going to be good enough to find another replacement for AR a couple years down the road.
something in my gut (could be rot) tells me that if AR wins the big one, this is his swan song, ends it on a SB win & MVP...what's left? he goes on to host Jeopardy and he hangs them up.
That is a possibility if he doesn't want to end up like Brees. HOWEVER, I could see him coming back seeing if he could win back to back Super Bowls....
Not sure I get this narrative. Let's say they lose Sunday. Or they win Sunday and lose the Super Bowl.
That doesn't erase what he did in 2020. He was the MVP of the NFL. Does anyone see his play slipping off the edge in 2021 or even 2022? I don't. I think he's still a top 5 QB at least until he gets to 40, assuming no major injury.
I don't get why winning a Super Bowl is the tipping point in moving on from Love. The 2020 season is all you need to see if that is your plan in the front office. However, I don't think that is their plan unless someone like the Colts comes in hot with a really good offer.
Another valid point regarding Rodgers. He was sacked a paltry 20 times (IIRC his lowest while playing a full season). He said multiple times about how good he feels and how he's been barely touched all season.
That bodes extremely well for him wanting to play to 40 or beyond. If in this offensive system he is being protected this well with this OL, Rodgers could easily play at a high level for years to come.
@pkr_north posted:something in my gut (could be rot) tells me that if AR wins the big one, this is his swan song, ends it on a SB win & MVP...what's left? he goes on to host Jeopardy and he hangs them up.
No way. The guy wants to play into his 40's.
Rodgers is 37. No sign he is slowing down.
He just went 13-3 back to back with a coach/offense that he loves, and is well suited to keep him healthy.
IF, he/they keep winning and competing for the Owl, and there is no reason to think he/they won't, he plays for 4+ years IMO. That would put him at 41 and after the 2024 season.
Not to mention, he has just completed an MVP regular season. Dude is going nowhere.
@YATittle posted:That is a possibility if he doesn't want to end up like Brees. HOWEVER, I could see him coming back seeing if he could win back to back Super Bowls....
Brees had a good, but not great, arm to begin with (and especially after his shoulder surgery in San Diego - which is why Miami failed him on his physical). Losing 20% of that created a real liability for him.
Rodgers arm is probably top 10 or 20 all-time. He could lose 20% and still be at least league average. It would take a lot for him to end up like Brees.
What happens if he loses Jones, Linsley, Turner, and Wagner? Will the offense still be as good?
Yes!
@Pikes Peak posted:Will Uncle Rico be better when Lawrence is drafted?
Yep.
uh huh.
He won't beat out Minshew. He may start, but it won't be because he won the job.
Brak just hates Trevor Lawrence for not being a Gamecock.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:Rodgers arm is probably top 10 or 20 all-time. He could lose 20% and still be at least league average. It would take a lot for him to end up like Brees.
It would be interesting to see where his arm strength truly ranks all time. Certainly Bradshaw, Elway, Favre, Mahomes are on the list. Randall Cunningham might have has every bit as strong or stronger arm strength as those guys but he had a slow release. JaMarcus Russell had legendary arm strength but he couldn’t play worth a damn. Josh Allen supposedly throws the ball as hard as has ever been measured so he’s on the list.
The list of guys with stronger arms than Rodgers is pretty small, and that Hail Mary vs. Detroit in 2015 was as impressive as I’ve ever seen a ball thrown when you combine the height and distance.
The most impressive throw Rodgers made was late in the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh to Gerg Jennings. I know the Hail Mary was amazing, but that throw to 85 was nuts.
And what I'll always remember about that throw is a Steeler nicked Jennings in the knee bringing him down or it would have been six points. He knew it and was severely irked....
