Random thoughts on what's happened in recent days.
I think AR is partly upset because he didn't pull a Favre and speculate about retirement. I think he believed he could avoid the same scenario. It didn't work because in the end, organizations fundamentally need to look past the here and now. Maybe too much at times. The Packers as an organization are bigger than AR (or Jordy, or Farvey, or ?), like any other large organization. He has a hard time coming to terms with that.
I really think the trade-up for Love is what amplified the situation. If Love just "falls" in their lap, it's easier for everyone involved to say that is was just a BPA situation in the draft. It happens. A much more passive situation. Targeting Love told AR that they were actively looking to replace him.
Calling out the organization's character and culture while absolving everyone but the FO is just manipulating the situation to stay in fans and teammates good graces. Where and when exactly did the change take place? Seems to me the organization took care of Kenny Clark, BakhT, AJones, etc., etc. They take care of their people it seems, as much as any team. Rarely does a coach or player get a quick hook. The Packers, if anything, seem to value their own too much at times.
They also accumulated enough talent that had the players (and coaches) taken advantage of their chances against the Seahawks and Bucs, Aaron should have been in two more Super Bowls. Those weren't FO failures, those were on the field failures for which he bears his share of the blame.
It's kind of a trite and accepted statement that "people" make the organization great, not the corporation. Only partly true. The end truth is that "people" leave all the time. I know first hand that solid organizations move on even when really excellent people decide to leave or are forced to leave. That includes the people at the top . . . and the bottom . . . and everywhere in between. There may be stumbles and set-backs but if you have decent leadership you find ways to get back on track.
You value your employees so they buy in to making things work but that doesn't mean things stay the same. All the time the FO is being cognizant of the fact that nothing last forever and people need to be replaced at some point. Over the decades, the organization is still there, still getting things done, while the people that made it great at points in time have moved on, and new people are there making it great. Everyone is replaceable in the end. AR is having to come to grips with this at a younger age than many.
Lastly, if he thinks character and culture are gone from the Packers, I wonder how he'll feel in a couple of years if he's traded to the LV Raiders.
