The Aaron Rodgers Grief Phase: Acceptance

[Gopackgonerd]

7 hours ago, FAH1223 said:

 

 

[pgwingman]

14 hours ago, mikemike778 said:

 

What busts me up about this game is that if we won, I would be confident, MLF would fix the offence next week and we'll never know. 

Rodgers and the Offense fluffed their lines badly. But the defence bailed them out big time. It was a light out performance from them better than anyone could have hoped for. If we had the 31st best ST in the league then we would have won. 

I mean seriously.  In a 23 point game,  the ST cost us 13 points.  Its staggering to think of now.  No excuses for the offence who were bad but sometimes it happens and teams get shut down. 

 

I think you're right, but one thing that grinds my gears about this team has been the lack of consistency on offense. Whether that's a product of MLF calling the game wrong or Rodgers play remains to be seen. I do feel like the defense made a big step toward consistent play this season, even if it wasn't always high level play, it was seldom low level.

[incognito_man]

9 hours ago, FAH1223 said:

 

Wait...he has to be pursued?

[Smidgeon]

33 minutes ago, incognito_man said:

Wait...he has to be pursued?

 

"We'll pay you minimum salary, but you have to provide snacks.  What do you say?"

[40Year Pack Fan]

16 hours ago, Refugee said:

I don’t know what number of people that was but no one in my immediate circle, and I doubt many on this forum had us at .500 even after laying an egg in the opener. I think the real questions were about the defense and that picked up early on. We overcame a ton of injuries and still had a great record but our biggest flaws were apparent all season and we didn’t correct them by the playoffs. Even with those flaws we were a top contender. 

We weren't aware of how our health would play a part either.....Last season, with the exception of the untimely injury to Bakh, we enjoyed really good health.....So one would have to be clairvoyant to see us winning thirteen games after having the number of injuries we sustained in 2021..... 

There was also the AR component....No one could for sure foresee how he was going to play after holding out and missing OTA's.....Missing OTA's not being as big of a deal, as the question as to whether or not AR would give his all....He does seem to be lacking the same sort of funk he was in after losing last year's playoffs game....Even though things are better with management, this leads me to believe he now feels he can leave GB with a clear conscience....

Edited January 27, 2022 by 40Year Pack Fan

[Mazrimiv]

I can't be the only one who notices that GB's low quality receiving weapons behind Adams don't seem to be an issue when Adams doesn't play.

[Refugee]

18 hours ago, 40Year Pack Fan said:

We weren't aware of how our health would play a part either.....Last season, with the exception of the untimely injury to Bakh, we enjoyed really good health.....So one would have to be clairvoyant to see us winning thirteen games after having the number of injuries we sustained in 2021..... 

There was also the AR component....No one could for sure foresee how he was going to play after holding out and missing OTA's.....Missing OTA's not being as big of a deal, as the question as to whether or not AR would give his all....He does seem to be lacking the same sort of funk he was in after losing last year's playoffs game....Even though things are better with management, this leads me to believe he now feels he can leave GB with a clear conscience....

Sure, but health is always a caveat to any prediction and many people, including myself, thought DB would be back by the half way point of the season.  My only point is that I believe the majority had us pegged as a top contender and definitely above .500. AR drama aside, I didn’t think missing preseason and OTAs would affect a long standing veteran very much.  The team as a whole, yes.  They would have benefited from reps with 12 but in some ways it’s good that we got an extended look at Love.

Anyway, the debate is all water under the bridge at this point. We were a strong, but flawed team who weathered the storm of injuries, fielded a pretty good defense, inconsistent offense and truly awful ST that predictably cost us games including the last one. It was a hell of a way to flush a season that had a very good shot of going all the way. All that matters now is what we do to prepare for next season, the team will be very different that what we had this year. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Refugee

[squire12]

10 minutes ago, Mazrimiv said:

I can't be the only one who notices that GB's low quality receiving weapons behind Adams don't seem to be an issue when Adams doesn't play.

Those players get a talent boost naturally when Adams is out.

[NFLGURU]

24 minutes ago, Mazrimiv said:

I can't be the only one who notices that GB's low quality receiving weapons behind Adams don't seem to be an issue when Adams doesn't play.

Probably some sort of mental block with Rodgers spreading the ball around.  I think the Packers are going to try to upgrade their WRs in this draft.  It could be an incentive for Rodgers to stay, it would also help Love down the road.  Yes, I know it goes against the Gute grain, but he was reportedly looking at Justin Jefferson and Aiyuk when he drafted Love.  You also need SOMETHING there if Adams leaves.   

Edited January 28, 2022 by NFLGURU

[Leader]

1 minute ago, NFLGURU said:

You also need SOMETHING  there if Adams leaves.   

Waddle when we trade Adams to MIA and swap the two  HA!
I heard that Owner Ross's second man-crush (after Watson) was Adams. So feed the beast!
Give him his tiger....but take back the steak

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Leader

[Pugger]

On 1/25/2022 at 12:02 PM, StatKing said:

If Rodgers comes back, which is looking ever more likely, barring injury Jordan Love will never see the field. You don't take QBs in the first round with no intention of playing them. Name one QB in the last 10 years that sat their entire rookie contract on the bench. You cant because teams don't do it. They bet against Aaron Rodgers and it didn't work out, I dont understand whats so hard to understand about that.

You guy's can delude yourself into believing the Packers are playing some advanced 4D chess game all you want, they are already admitting their mistake. They know what you guys don't want to admit, Jordan Love cant play and if they had any sort of realistic options to get out from under Rodgers they would have done it by now instead of letting him hold the franchise hostage and begging him to come back.

Not 10 years but Rodgers sat behind another HOF QB for 3 years before he got his chance to start.  Yes, most of the time QBs that are high first round picks start right away because the teams that draft them need them to start on day one.  

[ThatJerkDave]

I will be cheering for draft position if we sign Marcus Mariota.  

[Pugger]

On 1/25/2022 at 1:13 PM, NFLGURU said:

 

Listen Up

What is it you hope to get from Rodgers over the next 2-3 years?  Seriously, what's He going to bring you..   He hasn't won a Super Bowl in 10 years, and is 7-9 in the playoffs.  He isn't taking this team anywhere with a gutted team.

Tell me again, what is it that prevents you from trading him for a significant trade package??

His trade value diminishes every season, and you are at his whim each year waiting to see if he's going to retire.

Kevin Greene's words never rang more true.

"IT IS TIME"

 

The one thing that might prevent Gute and company from trading him away right now is if Love isn't ready to start full time yet.   

[Pugger]

On 1/25/2022 at 9:27 PM, AlexGreen#20 said:

How would anybody know that? 

Let's give people the benefit of the doubt and say they have elite memory and you have to be about 16 to understand QB characteristics. 

To remember Starr's prime would make you 70. 

Considering the lack of televised games of that era, you would basically have to be a season ticket holder.

That person doesn't exist any more.

I'm 68 and I remember Starr in his prime.  One thing that Starr was that Rodgers isn't at times is decisive.  He was never hesitant.  He didn't throw it as much as QBs do today either.  Without forcing Rodgers to take truth serum we may never know why he is so hesitant in these big game.

[Smidgeon]

5 minutes ago, Pugger said:

Not 10 years but Rodgers sat behind another HOF QB for 3 years before he got his chance to start.  Yes, most of the time QBs that are high first round picks start right away because the teams that draft them need them to start on day one.  

I went through all the first round QBs in the Super Bowl era, and the following is the list of QBs that had one or fewer starts in their first two seasons out of a grand total of 127 QBs drafted in round 1:

• Don Horn (1967) - drafted by GB - started 5 games in '69 for GB, 1 in '70, and 9 in '71 for Denver.
• Tommy Kramer (1977) - drafted by Minnesota - full time starter for the Vikings from '79-'82 and '85-'86 - 2nd team all pro in '86
• Rich Campbell (1981) - drafted by GB - started no games in his four year career.
• Andre Ware (1990) - drafted by Detroit - started 6 games in his four year career.
• Jim Druckenmiller (1997) - drafted by the 9ers - started 1 game in his two year career.
• Chad Pennington (2000) - drafted by the Jets - full time starter from '02-'07 (excluding injuries)
• Philip Rivers (2004) - drafted by the Giants (traded to San Diego) - full time starter from '06-'20 without missing a game - 8x pro bowler
• Aaron Rodgers (2005) - drafted by GB - full time starter from '08-'21 (excluding injuries) - 4x MVP
• Jordan Love (2020)

So in the last 20 years (QBs benefiting most from the 2004 rule changes favoring the offense), it's been Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, and Jordan Love.  That's the entire list.  One sure fire, HOFer, one sorta borderline, and a QB who just finished his second year.  This is not to say Jordan Love is a sure thing (far from it).  But the argument that "if he hasn't played by now, he's no good" literally has no contemporary examples. 

Jim Druckenmiller in '97 is the most recent one fitting the criteria who bombed out, but before 2000, Tommy Kramer is the exception to the rule of "they sit so they suck", whereas there are no examples since 2000 of "they sit so they suck".  (If you expand the list to more than one start, Paxton Lynch is the other one in this era, but even he got a chance with 4 starts over his first two years).

The other really interesting thing is of the 9 1st round QBs with one start or fewer in their first two years, GB has drafted 4 of them.  This isn't an NFL thing.  This is a GB thing.