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We talked about this on the pod yesterday, but whatever your feelings are/were about Aaron Rodgers off of the field, his play on the field will forever be remembered a joyous period of Packer football. Yes, playoff heartbreak* is a part of his legacy, just like it is for Favre’s legacy, but when Rodgers took the field on a Packer gameday, we ALWAYS thought we were going to win that game. It didn’t always shake out that way, but that was the type of talent he brought to every game he played for the Packers. We had WAY more fun on Packer gameday’s during the Rodgers Era than we had misery.
And even though many Packer fans have soured on him with his off the field drama, his ayahuasca** tea, his darkness retreats, dating certified witches, tinfoil hat conspiracies, immunization versus vaccination, etc., this post he made yesterday brought me back to how we all felt about him for the first 15 years of his career in Green Bay. Before he became a walking/talking Reddit thread, he was beloved by most of the Packer fan base. Not as much as Favre was at his height, I don’t think Jesus was as big in Green Bay as Favre was in 1996, but Rodgers was close.
At the end of the day, it was time. It was time for the Packers to make the move to Jordan Love, and it was time for Aaron Rodgers to find a new opportunity. It’s still wild to me how similar his career arc is to Favre’s. The Packers shock the NFL world by drafting a quarterback in the first round when they have a HOF quarterback who still has gas left in the tank, the young quarterback is the backup for exactly three seasons, the young quarterback shows signs against a good team on the road in year #3, that offseason the Packers trade the aging HOFer to the New York Jets. Poetic.
In terms of, ‘WHO WON THE TRADE,’ I’d say both teams did. I realize that that take is about as hot as a tepid*** cup of coffee that’s been sitting around for 20 minutes, but I also think it’s true. The Packers move up a few spots in the first round this year, the Jets retain a first round pick this year, the Packers get a 2nd this season, the two teams swap a 5th and a 6th rounder, and the Packers get a 2nd rounder next year that becomes a first if Rodgers plays 65% of the snaps. Feels like that contingency next year probably has a 95% chance of hitting. Packer fans can feel good about getting 2 premium picks and moving up a few spots this year, Jets fans got a little compensation late and welcome a quarterback that is instantly the most talented in franchise history and gives them a shot at a playoff run this season. Win/win.
Now we’re on to the Love Era. I expect a lot of growing pains (remember, Rodgers went 6-10 in his first season at the helm in 2008), but there are reasons to be optimistic. Is it likely that the Packers are going to get back-to-back-to-back HOF level quarterbacks?? Nope. But he doesn’t need to be a HOFer to be successful. I’m excited to see his skillset and I’m probably more excited to see the Matt LaFleur offense actually run as it’s intended to be run. Understandably you give a quarterback like Rodgers the room to be creative, but my guess is we’re going to finally see the run game featured, and we’re going to see passes coming out WAY quicker on initial reads. Should be fun! Right?? Right.
*Maybe at some point in the future we can really break this down, but not all of that playoff heartbreak was on Rodgers. I’m not saying he’s totally without fault, but the runs from 2011-2016 I would put primarily on a HORRIBLE defense and braindead special teams. More recently? I can see more finger pointing at Rodgers. Especially in 2020-21 and 2021-22. The defense had it’s issues in the first half against Brady in that 2020 NFC Title Game, but they also picked him off three times in the second half and a Rodgers/Adams led offense couldn’t cash in. And the 2021 playoff game against San Francisco might have been the best defensive performance I’ve seen from a Packer team in a playoff game since 1996. Special Teams gave up 10 points on it’s own, but that offense with Rodgers/Adams/Lazard/Jones was missing in action all day. But if you give Rodgers some of the Brady/Patriots defensive units in that 2011-2016 run, I bet Rodgers ring-hand weighs considerably more.
**I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I don’t even need spellcheck for that word anymore.
***Put it in the ticker file for future blogs: Tepid Takes. Everyone has a hot take or a cold take, we’ll do tepid takes.
PS: What a world:
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