Is Rodgers Responsible for Team Woes?

[Dubz41]

Aaron Rodgers leads the league in bad plays. But only two interceptions. Lol.

Told y'all we should have at LEAST made him play out those final two years on his contract. He is robbing us and most of us don't even know or can't even accept that he's robbing us.

What Rodgers is doing this year is walking into a bank vault, walking out with bags full of money and telling everyone in the bank he's not stealing it and everyone believing him.

What is it? Do people just not want to believe? Do they watch him and convince themselves that it's a bad OL, bad coach, bad players... Davante Adams is arguably better than any receiver Favre had other than Sharpe and people complained that Favre never had the talent around him. Favre had the equivalent of a healthy Bulaga at LT, Rodgers has Bakhtiari. Favre had a year where Samkon Gado was the lead back with Rod Gardner brought in and that one Cobb-like receiver and Koren Robinson as his top three receivers.

I'm just sick of people not accepting that Rodgers is having a really, really, really bad year. It's bad. It's not just bad by Aaron's standards, it is a bad year for him period. Don't know how you can watch the Cardinals game and a handful of other games and point your finger at his lack of help when he's got players streaking open on every single play that he doesn't throw to or he over throws or throws the ball at their feet.

Here's the THING. He's had a bad year, no doubt. He had the one heroic moment when he came back and beat the Bears. But since that game he's not been right. Didn't practice, which cut down on crucial reps with the young WRs and TE Graham. That started the snowball rolling down hill. Kept hoping that THINGs would start to even out, but it never came around. Tough to watch as the offense seemed disjointed and there was seldom a feeling like they were improving. The THING is that this was on top of an offense that was predicated on 'chunk' yardage. It has been the driving thought for MM and our 'scheme' for years. Take that shot downfield, hold the ball a little longer and the big shot becomes available. NOT happening. Our WR corp was getting older and the parade of WRs TT brought in (sans Adams) was rather pathetic. THINGs were going south long before 2018.
While the offense was steadily declining TT was actually drafting some decent defensive picks. Then we took those square pegs and tried them in all the round holes. TT would draft them and we had to guess what position they might play. Circumstances and injuries turned the whole thing to crap. (imagine a backfield with Shields, Randall, Hyde and Hayward? TT found them all) Anyway, the THING is that's all water under the bridge. I think our OL is mediocre overall, but it looks worse because we're looking for the 'chunk' play too much.
The single THING I see with Rodgers is he's lost his confidence. Over simplified? Maybe, but he doesn't hit the tight window any more. He doesn't even try it unless it's Adams or Cobb. He lacks confidence in himself and his young WRs. If we get rid of the 'chunk' priority and just take it when it's presented we'll do better. Rodgers deserves his share of the blame, but it is a team sport and there's plenty of blame to go around. One off season and the right Coach, I think/hope this ship rights itself.

 

[HowardK4]

Will see how it plays out. Because I'm hearing from different sides (not singling you out RB) that the team is crap and Arod can't be blamed for things because of his contract, but also that the team is only a few pieces away from being a contender and it isn't a major rebuild.

It can't be both.

My thoughts - like most issues, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
1) I don't think a major rebuild is needed, but there are a handful of positions that need to be upgraded. If you look at teams around the league, and if you've been watching the top teams recently, many of them have shown areas of weakness as well. We may not be the most talented team in the league, but we are not devoid of talent. Which leads to . .
2) It appears that we haven't hit as well in recent drafts, as we did in the past. I know teams always put a lot of time into the draft (obviously we are no exception), but with 2 first round selections in 2019 we HAVE to make them count. Our coaches and management (front office) obviously are well aware of where the talent need is - more so than us fans.
3) Relative to talent level, it's also quite obvious from recent games that our coaching had gotten stale. We've been grumbling for a couple of years now how we can't get receivers open; we've been running the same offense for so long, that teams know how to defend us. Seems like I also heard that MM had his fingers on how the defense was going to be schemed with extra d-backs . . . my point is, I have doubts that our coaching staff has been able to get the best out of our recent selections - so not sure we know how good/bad some of them really are.
4) Aaron Rodgers. I'm sure he's well aware that he has not played up to expectations this year - and has made some poor decisions. He has not developed good chemistry with the rookie WR's; and you can see the frustration on his face after every missed throw (regardless of fault). He needs to get better at not showing those emotions all the time. Another thing with this chemistry - another issue I had with MM is that he gave AR a very, very light workload in training camp (and preseason), and concentrated on trying to develop the backups (because he thought the veterans didn't need it). Every year we start out slow . . . and this year once Cobb and Allison got hurt . . . he only had Adams. So . . . I guess I'm saying MM is part of the cause of Aaron's issues. But if Aaron is the consumate professional, and "best QB in the league", he needs to be better. Period.

 

[Crease Creature]

Was it on this board or the older one that I did a year by year breakdown of the drop-off in talent on the defensive side of the ball? I think I started that from 2009.

I'm actually in the middle of doing one for the offense, but that side of the ball has been predicated on Rodgers' ability to be his 2011-14 self. But there's still been a drain on that side.

Here's the link to the defense chart
https://wisconsinsportstalk.net/threads/packers-defense-since-2010.7576/

Here's the offense
https://wisconsinsportstalk.net/threads/packers-offense-since-2010.7508/

I don't need to update them to show that we haven't gotten much better personnel wise the last few years

 

[Terranimal]

It's some type of rebuild period for reasons that been said many times over and over here.

 

[rpiotr01]

I was just thinking the other day, isn't it funny how on opening night Rodgers suffered a serious knee injury, and everyone said, yeah the season is still shot, he's not going to be the same... and then all season long when he's not the same, we're scratching our heads and saying "what's wrong with this guy?"

 

[Budman]

Will see how it plays out. Because I'm hearing from different sides (not singling you out RB) that the team is crap and Arod can't be blamed for things because of his contract, but also that the team is only a few pieces away from being a contender and it isn't a major rebuild.

It can't be both.

Exactly. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out but it can't be both. Also, the criticism of Rodgers is fair. Favre was crucified. As Packinatl said, it comes with the territory. I'm hoping he heals up in the offseasons so we can get a better idea going forward.

 

[Half Empty]

Will see how it plays out. Because I'm hearing from different sides (not singling you out RB) that the team is crap and Arod can't be blamed for things because of his contract, but also that the team is only a few pieces away from being a contender and it isn't a major rebuild.

It can't be both.

Which is why this is a sports discussion forum.

 

[oakleaf]

Oh boy you guys really wanted me to let go so here it is 6 months worth of staying somewhat quiet and upbeat out the window. Let me preface all of this post by saying I've been around the game a long time played it..coached it and had the opportunity to learn from some HOF people at 3 levels in 4 states.

With that said this about NFL football, where players are paid/employed to play this game. Aaron Rodgers is an outstanding football player and will be in my book one of the top 3 QB in Packers history. (Starr and Favre the others) He IS the face of the franchise and the highest paid QB in the league.

When your that guy Oak then you take the good with the bad. It may seem harsh to you and RB and a few others but that's how it works.. Regardless if there are other factors at play part of that role and part of being a $ man is to take the hit for the team when the chips are down.

Here's another piece and again I am sorry if it's harsh but part of the problem from a perspective stand point is threads like this and all the articles trying to coddle the man... he's just a man. Stop putting these players on a pedestal. GB fans are especially bad about seeing their players through and need to start looking at them as stated above .. well paid employees doing a job for their employer the Green bay Packers.

Rodgers hasn't been right in 2 plus yrs. Why ? Not 100% sure.(Injuries are a big factor) The Packers waited 3 yrs too long to fire TT and 2 yrs too long to fire MM and staff. Is that on Rodgers ? Nope, but when your in a leadership role then you get the poo. QB...CEO or manager it's part of the deal.

Last thing and it's a bit off topic but it's time for me to say this. This IS a Wisconsin Sports forum. Everyone has an opinion. Most of those opinions stink to the next guy. If that fact bugs you.... well I'll be blunt I can't help you overcome it.

Dang it Oak..... good topic

I agree with 100% of what Mark wrote! (Especially the part about it being a good topic! )

There's a lot of piling on by fans and sports media and I started this topic feeling it appropriate to consider perspective. Do I believe Rodgers stunk this year? Absolutely and he should NOT be coddled. Do I think injuries played a role? Yes. Do I really believe he is lacking weapons and that played a role in Rodgers performance? I do. Do I believe Packer management failed in getting him adequate tools through draft and FA? Strongly. Other than Adams, arguably no one on offense has consistently performed well or been consistently used. Do I believe a healthy Rodgers can return to elite status? Possibly, but it will be hard with the weapons he has. The past seven drafts have been HEAVILY defense-biased with little to show on defense and an offense now in considerable decline. It's time to put equal focus on the offense in the draft and FA.

This does not mean we draft based solely on need. I always scratch my head over the "BPA" vs. "Need" argument when it comes to the NFL draft. People view it black & white as if they are mutually exclusive. I believe a successful team drafts based on both. You assign a value to a player based on player ability ("BPA") and appropriately weighting that ability to the value to the team ("Need", current and future). It seems TT drafted by heavily weighting current team need and his own gut feel on a players potential... resulting in the mess we have now.

 

[Mark87]

Example of said problem that's causing a lot of the perception is today's statement ~

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he’s playing Sunday in New York: “Yes - It’s about leadership, how can I stand her and say these games don’t matter...that’s not the way I lead. I’m super competitive.”

First off Aaron, Leadership is about handling this question with tact.... it's NOT about you or what you want. This answer makes him look guilty as hell in what coaches and other players have accused him of being.... a selfish overbearing diva.

The medical staff and HC should decide who plays in GB. Not the fans..... not each player and not Murphy or Gute. Just say simply "Those things are out of my hands but I am hoping to start and play" Short and sweet.

 

[HowardK4]

Example of said problem that's causing a lot of the perception is today's statement ~

First off Aaron, Leadership is about handling this question with tact.... it's NOT about you or what you want. This answer makes him look guilty as hell in what coaches and other players have accused him of being.... a selfish overbearing diva.

The medical staff and HC should decide who plays in GB. Not the fans..... not each player and not Murphy or Gute. Just say simply "Those things are out of my hands but I am hoping to start and play" Short and sweet.

A selfish, overbearing Diva would have said "since we're out of the playoffs, I don't think I should play any more and risk injuring myself." However, I do agree he didn't answer the question in the best possible way.