A lot of strong opinions about AR & what has happened. I'd be interested in knowing if listening to this changes any minds .... either way
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Seems like a ****, but he’s really good at football. I accept him. Favre was a **** too.
Rodgers is slightly delusional. It's not the NBA. NFL stars just don't have the same power as NBA stars. The Packers will earn similar revenue no matter who plays QB this year. The stands will continue to be packed, concessions will be sold, and Packer gear will be purchased. It's just how NFL revenue works - it's about the teams, not the players.
You think the league gave a sh*t when Manning retired? Or Brees? Or have any worries about Brady retiring? Not at all because none of those players drive revenue; the teams do. Just as many people will watch on Sunday as they always have, probably more. But the NBA? Their popularity fluctuates with the players. When Lebron plays, people watch. When he doesn't, they don't. And that's why Lebron has so much power and Rodgers doesn't.
He should have said all this four years ago, it would have actually had an impact. Instead he waited until it affected him before he took a stand.
I can appreciate what he's saying and he makes some good points, but a real man would have stood up for his teammates before his own job was on the line. As such it rings a little hollow and self serving.
It’s about the people, the culture.
@vitaflo posted:He should have said all this four years ago, it would have actually had an impact. Instead he waited until it affected him before he took a stand.
I can appreciate what he's saying and he makes some good points, but a real man would have stood up for his teammates before his own job was on the line. As such it rings a little hollow and self serving.
He waited until it was his turn to be cut/traded “a year too early” to speak up. Exactly! Suddenly, it was about other guys.
Packers revenue by year - just goes up, no correlation to their record. It just doesn't matter, the league will make money no matter who is playing.
EDIT: Also want to add.......the most valuable team in the NFL has been the Cowboys for decades. They haven't won sh*t since the early 90's. Again, winning does not affect the bottom line or the value of the team. Just a fact.
I also think throwing a dead guy (TT) under the bus, when you’ve touted previously what a great relationship you had with him, is pretty shitty. Much of these decisions were on Ted’s watch, if we’re looking for the culprit for who wasn’t listening to Aaron, it was Ted. Ted was old school, we’ve already heard his mentor (Wolf) complain about diva QBs this off-season. No doubt in my mind Ted wasn’t taking real input from players.
I was thinking the same thing, that those players were let go on TT's watch. Kind of weird how he said he wanted to understand those decisions when the guy who made those decisions is no longer with us.
I think Rodgers' issues make sense from the player point of view, but it's just not reality and never will be. Teams will always cut high priced vets in favor of cheaper youngsters. And the minute Rodgers can't perform on the field, he'll be cut too. It's a ruthless place. Always has been and always will be.
@CUPackFan posted:I think Rodgers' issues make sense from the player point of view, but it's just not reality and never will be. Teams will always cut high priced vets in favor of cheaper youngsters. And the minute Rodgers can't perform on the field, he'll be cut too. It's a ruthless place. Always has been and always will be.
Keep in mind Rodgers voted No on the latest CBA as a player rep because he thought the players were giving way too much power to the owners, and he seemed pretty pissed when it passed and people weren't listening to his rationale.
While this isn't the NBA, perhaps his thinking is if he can force the org to give him some say in GB, like Brady got in Tampa, it could start a trend league-wide to take some of the power back from the owners that the players lost in the CBA. Given he always thinks 8 moves ahead, I wouldn't put it past him that this is one of the other goals here.
All the ups and downs, he considered retirement, was anxious about post 2021... and nothing has really changed, but he does have Cobb back.
6 months, and the Packers remain with total control of where Rodgers plays in 2022.
He gained nothing through all this.
He did say he really enjoyed this offseason. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
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I feared all the way up until the last couple of days that Rodgers was about to try to sabotage the Packers organization like Favre did in 2008. I’m glad he didn’t.
When he didn’t show up for minicamp and never bothered to tell anyone he wouldn’t come, I thought it was pretty disrespectful to the organization. Hell, they probably would have excused him if he asked, but to just not even bother asking and then go galavanting around Hawaii was not a good look.
Oh well, I’m happy he’s back, the damage was minimal, but I am at least slightly disappointed at what he put the organization through this offseason. It makes me trust him a little bit less going forward.
@H5 posted:All the ups and downs, he considered retirement, was anxious about post 2021... and nothing has really changed, but he does have Cobb back.
6 months, and the Packers remain with total control of where Rodgers plays in 2022.
He gained nothing through all this.
He did say he really enjoyed this offseason. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
In fairness, he made some succinct points from a veteran player's perspective. If we go by his word, certain things he said are admirable in that employees are underappreciated and many times coldly dismissed. It IS about people, and that far too often gets buried or omitted from the story. So in terms of his vote on the players' contract, I believe he has the health of the players union in mind when he speaks. He's bright enough and has been around long enough that nothing he said today was surprising. It's a player's perspective from a guy that's been around.
I think the fact that he knows mgmt really won't say any more worked to his advantage in the points he chose to make today. I think he's probably a bit disingenuous in what he said regarding leaks. He says there's wisdom in silence, which is true. But he said nothing about watching storylines run amok and silently being ok that it worked in his favor. Whether that makes him somehow complicit is debatable. He's not obligated to correct any record, but he sure didn't shy away from the subtle jabs on social media.
I see value in his effort. I think his head and his heart are probably in the right place. I hope both sides heed this stupid drama and make corrections accordingly. But I also can't help but wonder why he couldn't publicly say.."hey, guarantee more of my remaining years or let's cut this short." It was amid all the drama and unknowns and confusion and speculation that the dirtiness was able to rear it's head, and he should understand his own culpability in that way. He may not be a diva, but he sure didn't avoid using that card at times to his advantage.
Looked and sounded good, but I don't see where he actually gained anything, commitment wise - which this was about.
Sure he highlighted some player appreciation issues, etc... but come next March, if the Packers want to trade him they can, and he has no say in where. If they want to keep him for '22, they can do that too.
Long, strange trip it's been.
I thought he made several good points. I still say the front office looks bad in all this. When you have a HOF QB in his 17th season it makes good sense to me that you really need to have constant communication and at least CONSIDER his opinions on other players, including potential free agents. After all it worked pretty well for Brady last year. I’m not saying you give the QB veto power over personnel decisions, but we’ve all had bosses who were on power trips who didn’t consider how we felt; this sounds like a similar situation. Granted, we certainly don’t know the whole story and likely Gutey sees things differently. I can only go by what I’ve seen and heard, and Gutey’s few statements since the draft have been boneheaded gaffs, imho.
He gained perspective once he was no longer under the McVince School of Macho. He actually got a coach that treated him like an equal rather than a subordinate. This is the first time in 17 years he'd done anything resembling a muscle flex. The franchise got fucking lucky in that regard.
All he wants is a little respect. That's an easy ask to fulfill, and yet Dumb and Dumber couldn't figure that shit out.
“The Packers won here … we’re just not there with player empowerment … if the elite of the elite can’t force a better resolution than this, who can? @AndrewBrandt on the @RossTuckerPod
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) July 29, 2021
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@H5 posted:Looked and sounded good, but I don't see where he actually gained anything, commitment wise - which this was about.
Sure he highlighted some player appreciation issues, etc... but come next March, if the Packers want to trade him they can, and he has no say in where. If they want to keep him for '22, they can do that too.
Long, strange trip it's been.
And if that's what it took to be all in, so be it. All in whether anyone likes it or not.
@Goalline posted:All in???😂😂😂 How?
As in anything short of a trip to the SB will determine everything. He made his play. He compromised to whatever extent in coming back. Will another exit in a title game be acceptable for anyone? FO, staff, team, fans? If they don't take that next step, there's no reason to keep a fractured relationship going, for anyone.
I am glad to see what is being said here. It’s how I felt watching it tonight. Why not come forward with this in 2018, Aaron? How about 2019?
The answer of course was leverage. He tried to strong arm the organization after an MVP season where he thought he had the most leverage. The “the right way to treat players” bullshit doesn’t the work the same way that giving final personnel decisions to the Coach doesn’t work. They’re too emotionally attached to make a rational, logical decision. And NFL front offices cannot afford to make those kinds of mistakes.
Giving Rodgers a say in the personnel decision room was akin to Gutekunst doing film work with Rodgers and critiquing his decisions on the field after a loss. Neither has any business doing it. Giving players say on personnel matters is in my opinion a very bad policy.
The Packers made tough, hard skinned decisions. The VAST majority of their decisions to let guys go have worked in the Packers’ favor. For him to lament the loss of his friends on the team is fine… I get it. But the right decisions were being made most of the time, and that’s why he’s wrong for complaining about his lack of input.
You wanna win a ring? Stay here and win the fucking thing. Your little leverage play was a bluff… it was called, now get to work.
The Olympics would not allow that type of helmet.
I think he wants the same control and influence that he saw Brady and Manning get when they left their original teams. He knows he’s not going to get that in GB but there are several other teams that would be more than willing to bend over backwards and give him whatever he wants.
The problem is he’s several seasons away from that happening, or at least his contract says so.
I’m not sure GB gives him the best shot at another title either. If he were a free agent, he could pull a Brady and leave for a team with a strong young defense that needs a HOF QB to get them over the hump. There’s not much reason (if any) to believe that this season’s Packers defense will be any better than the weak link it’s been for most of AR’s career.
I’m glad he’s back because the Packers are obviously a much better team with him than without….And I don’t disagree with a lot of what he said today, but he could have said most of these things when the story broke in April. I think he more than enjoyed stringing the media, his coaches, fans and the FO along for the last several months which was a BS move as far as I’m concerned.
@Grave Digger posted:I also think throwing a dead guy (TT) under the bus, when you’ve touted previously what a great relationship you had with him, is pretty shitty. Much of these decisions were on Ted’s watch, if we’re looking for the culprit for who wasn’t listening to Aaron, it was Ted. Ted was old school, we’ve already heard his mentor (Wolf) complain about diva QBs this off-season. No doubt in my mind Ted wasn’t taking real input from players.
Exactly this! I get it he lost some team mates who were really good friends and I am sure that hurts. But, he has been around this game for a long time and by now he has to know that this is a business and those tough decisions have to be made. Sometimes you have to let a player go who is banged up and on the wrong side of 30 in order to pay an up and coming player.
Like some of you have said the majority he was unhappy about was during the previous regime under ROTTT. I also believe that most of the moves that were made were made before the player fell off drastically or was washed up.
Have the Packers always made the right choices? hell no they haven't but who does? But if you look at it for AR they rebuilt the roster after a couple of down/average years, shown the willingness to pay the LT who protects you, the RB who balances the offense for you, trying to pay the #1 WR in the game, and have paid some good money on the defensive side of the ball.
@vitaflo posted:He should have said all this four years ago, it would have actually had an impact. Instead he waited until it affected him before he took a stand.
I can appreciate what he's saying and he makes some good points, but a real man would have stood up for his teammates before his own job was on the line. As such it rings a little hollow and self serving.
I'd be surprised if he didn't make his feelings known internally in the past. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to keep his opinions to himself.
He did make a point that he didn't want to get into a pissing match publicly with his employer back in May when all the leaked info was swirling around. The same was probably true in the past.
my only impressions are this:
- its not about the $, so leave his contract alone; all of a sudden there's a 'lame duck' option...convenient.
- its about the people and how they are treated...only when he's in a spot to be affected, why not mention this after mccarthy
- why not go public with this at draft time
- he backhands WI by saying nobody comes here for vacation, etc. last time I checked plenty of folks travel the world to come visit lambeau - at all times of the year...didn't like that comment at all - good way to piss off your fan base - this is not the 70's packers org...
- the analogy about being a worker and looking for extra $ when you 'do your job' or 'excel' at your job; I think that applies to everyone - and is true, IF you are a minimum $ worker or some kind of piece worker - the guy gets paid millions (literally) and uses that analogy is ridiculous and insulting.
- someone here said it - he's a good qb, but he is delusional and cannot think of himself like the everyday man, he's a multi-million $ asset. so now that he's treated as such, it's about the people...convenient.
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2 thoughts this morning.
a) this became an issue for Rodgers now, because he sees his departure in the near future, and he wants to be treated better than he saw others treated.
b) if Cobb didn't want out of Houston, this trade wouldn't have happened. Playing for the worst franchise in the NFL I'm sure played a huge part in this for Cobb. Rodgers helped out his friend.
I’m cool with him wanting input or the FO reaching out to him. He has earned that right.
But there’s a fine line between alignment and decision making. I didn’t particularly care for him rattling off names of guys they should have kept and then basically insinuating it was a mistake for not keeping those dozen or so guys. Was it? For some of them, perhaps.
Him reporting this season gave us a lot more reason to believe and hope because obviously he’s still elite. But he’s going to have a lot of pressure now given how last season ended and what the future may bring.
Communication is a two-way street and it's really unclear to me that AR made his desires for input adequately known to the organization (comments by Gutey would seem to suggest that wasn't the case).
Just win the fucking Superb Owl and then they can all go their separate ways and tell each other to fuck off.
Sick of the junior high bullshit all around.
@pkr_north posted:- he backhands WI by saying nobody comes here for vacation, etc. last time I checked plenty of folks travel the world to come visit lambeau - at all times of the year...didn't like that comment at all - good way to piss off your fan base - this is not the 70's packers org...-
He might not be talking about your average tourist, but what is appealing about GB to a professional athlete. but we all need to get offended, amirite
@pkr_north posted:- he backhands WI by saying nobody comes here for vacation, etc. last time I checked plenty of folks travel the world to come visit lambeau - at all times of the year...didn't like that comment at all - good way to piss off your fan base - this is not the 70's packers org...
Excellent point! People are coming here all summer and fall. Lambeau is on a lot of non-Packers fans bucket lists.