The best Packers head coach of all time rightfully got the most prestigious trophy in all of American sports named after him. Even if American football never took off in his ancestral Italy, where sport fans are more into Serie A soccer and skiers like the downhill star Dominik Paris or the biathlon ace Lisa Vittozzi, the Green Bay Packers would be wise to heed his words regarding the evolving Rodgers saga:
“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”
Vince Lombardi
Aaron Rodgers has been crystal clear, he is not playing another game for Green Bay. It is obvious that he has no enthusiasm whatsoever to offer the Pack. The situation has been developing for a while already. The Green Bay management have made several flights west to rectify the situation, but failed.
As things are, the only viable option is to accept the situation make the best trade available and move on. The Packers could stock the fridge with a boat load of picks and if the Jordan Love pick hits be back in Super Bowl contention in relatively short order.
The ongoing discussion of who is to blame for current debacle is mostly pointless, but as is the case with stories about relationships there are at least two different stories to be told.
Aaron Rodgers feels he has never gotten the required support by the Green Bay organization. Dan Orlovsky’s tweet is accurate:
“The Packers last 10 first rounders have been 9 defensive guys and the QB selected to replace Rodgers?!?!??”
Even if he is a superb player he is also a player who needs to have top notch receivers around him to maximize his potential. That Rodgers have been vocal about what he feels is a lack of support only amplifies the problem. Moving up to select Love as his replacement last year hardly made things better.
Some Packers fans are getting a bit fed up by what is seen as the same “you don’t love me enough, you don’t you realize how indispensable I am” attitude year after year. The relationship between the player and the organization has been complicated for years, even going back to the Mike McCarthy years. Rodgers did not mince his words after Matt LaFleur’s controversial decision to kick a field goal with 2:05 to go in last year’s NFC Championship Game, making it very clear that he expected to get another chance on 4th down and that kicking the field goal was not his decision.
If Rodgers does not come back it seems logical that Green Bay’s short term prospects takes a turn for the worse, but the Lambeau crowd is more than likely ready to show Jordan Love some love.
The opinions of the pundits are already starting to come in. One of the more successful tipster websites the last few years, Deepsportanalysis still seems to have plenty of faith in Green Bay.