Steven A's point is that this has nothing to do with football. That means it is NOT about personnel decisions. It is NOT about getting him a receiver. It is NOT about perceived shortcomings of the team or how they addressed them or didn't.
That's his point. Interestingly enough, as Steven A is a huge Rodgers backer; it's our point, too. All along we've said if Rodgers is complaining about football, he is dumb and he is in the wrong. All along we've said if Rodgers is complaining about his contract, then he's complaining more about the way the NFL works in general than the contract he signed with the Packers.
But Steven A. thinks that Rodgers has been "disrespected and dismissed." He also thinks that "feeling disrespected" is a valid reason to act as Rodgers has been acting.
When Rodgers did speak, he said it's about the people--that the people make organizations special and the team seems to forget that. It jives perfectly with the rumored concerns about guys who have been shown the door (or maybe how guys have been shown the door). And it jives perfectly with Rodgers seeming confidence that he was simply next in line to be unceremoniously released or traded and moved on from, on a set timeline.
That's why I, at least, have continued to say all these side arguments (which I have participated in, certainly) are beside the point. All this stuff about the team in 2011 or 2014 or 2015 and 16 are beside the point. Sure, we can still fill an offseason debating how much of 2018 and 2018 fell on Rodgers' shoulders for playing poorly when he could have played better or fell on TT and MM's shoulders for not setting the team up for success. But that is ALL beside the point.
What IS the point is that Rodgers seemingly believes that the team doesn't treat its players with the importance Rodgers thinks is merited; that they act on the business side like a business, and not like a family for lack of a better word. Most players and most superstars completely understand this about the game. They accept it about the game. Rodgers is livid about it. He railed against the CBA and quit his role as player rep.
And then Rodgers, like many here, like many national reporters, viewed the drafting of Jordan Love as a path-dependent, set timeline, for Rodgers' dismissal. I believe Rodgers misinterpreted that selection. I believe the team was taking a gamble to give them a possible successor in the event that Rodgers doesn't reclaim his old glory. The day of the draft, Gutey said himself that if Love reaches the end of his contract without having taken over it would be "a great thing for the Green Bay Packers because it means they have maintained high level QB play for the next four years."
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I believe that, of course, he was drafted with the idea that in 2 or 3 years he would be capable of becoming the starter, and in 2 or 3 years, Rodgers may or may not be capable of winning a championship anymore. But the eventual OUTCOME of those decisions was never set. It could end like Rodgers, with 3 years on the bench and then the starter is traded; it could end like Garrapolo, who after showing off some ability in spot duty, became a valuable trade asset while the starter remained. It could end up any host of ways.
But Rodgers is convinced the team was shoving him out the door, and he feels like it fits a pattern of disrespect for departing veterans, and Steven A (and apparently Shailene Woodley) think that path dependence is an egregious event, worthy of evoking rage and protest and withholding of contractual services.
The point of it all is fairly logical. But it's still true that at the end of the day, my OPINION on it is that Rodgers is being a huge toddler, overreacting to a fact of the NFL, unable to cope with his age or accept any fault for his or the team's shortcomings. And eventually, he just broke down and blamed it all on some bs that was easier than self reflecting or accepting the status quo of the NFL.
The team never traded him. They never entertained it. We have MANY reports saying the team has not even listened to offers, coming from the teams that inquired, not just from the packers sources. So again I state that Rodgers is making a preemptive strike. The drafting of Love created an option. Rodgers decided to strike before that option was exercised or even before it was entertained. If he finds that SO disrespectful that he can't imagine possibly playing for the team again, then he's just immature, weak, and as he hates to be called, sensitive. When this happened to Tom Brady, Tom Brady made sure the team kept him and sent his successor packing. And he did it on the field. Rodgers reacted like Carson Wentz, who was roundly criticized for taking it too personally. He's being a baby.
