Aaron Rodgers’ former teammate Greg Jennings doesn’t like his recent comments, but why?
Though the reigning league MVP made observations about the team that are correct, perhaps he should look at his own role in the whole affair first.
It’s never a good look when a player criticizes his team in public, but that’s what Green Bay’s signal caller did and as expected, that didn’t sit well with everyone, including former teammates.
Greg Jennings didn’t like Aaron Rodgers comments about the Packers
Heading into NFL’s Week 8, it’s safe to say that the Green Bay Packers are in a bind. Currently 3-4, following three consecutive losses to the New York Giants, New York Jets and Washington Commanders, the Packers are tied for second in their division. Needless to say, this is unfamiliar terrain for the Packers and most definitely for their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Indeed, Green Bay’s signal caller has been quite open with his frustrations about the current situation and moreover, his teammates as well. Speaking recently on The Pat McAfee show, Rodgers went as far as to say that some of his teammates should get less minutes if they’re struggling, though he did not call any by name.
It was at this point that one of his former teammates, Greg Jennings, took real issue with the quarterback’s words. An exceptional receiver who played for the Packers between 2006 and 2012, Jennings pushed back on Rodgers’ decision to throw his teammates under the bus in a public forum. “You can’t do this. ...You can’t sit down on a show and start talking about who should and shouldn’t be playing because of mental errors,” Jennings said of the reigning MVP’s comments.
What did Aaron Rodgers actually say about his teammates?
On Tuesday, Rodgers said, “We had so many just mental errors and mistakes. It’s not the type of football we’re used to playing over the years...I think guys who are making too many mistakes shouldn’t be playing. Gotta start cutting some reps. And maybe guys who aren’t playing, give them a chance.” Rodgers didn’t stop there either, in fact the Packers signal caller got more detailed with his critique. “It’s definitely not just one play here or there. It’s 20% of the time. If we have 50 plays and we have 10 missed assignments or mental errors, that’s 20% of the time. That’s way too high. In the past we’re looking more like, less than 10%, so that gives us a really good chance to be successful. Twenty percent, that’s way too high. That’s one play a series where you’re really making it tough on yourself. So we’ve got to fix that.”
Is Aaron Rodgers right or wrong?
Here’s the thing, the Packers struggles are no secret to anyone at the moment. Torched by both fans and the media, it goes without saying that the team itself is well aware that they need to do better. In light of that, one has to imagine that Rodgers’ comments probably weren’t well received and even less so, since they were made in a public forum and not behind closed doors. What’s worse is that this season has quite frankly been his worst. If you didn’t know, Rodgers has the fewest points per game of his career, the lowest QB rating of his career, is in the middle of his first ever three-game losing streak and last but not least, Green Bay’s points hall of 18.3 points per game is the lowest across seven starts in his career. This is all to say, that even if Aaron Rodgers is correct about his teammates, football is a team sport, which means that his own shortcomings are part of the problem as well. The question now is, whether that’s something he can admit to.