What is wrong with Aaron Rodgers?

     As some may know, I like to devote my time towards writing about my beloved Milwaukee Brewers and all that happens surrounding them. However, there has been a hot topic surrounding the sports world in the state of Wisconsin that has been focused on for what seems like a whole year now. It’s an issue that virtually every green and gold faithful seems to have some sort of opinion on and I am really no different. So take it for what it’s worth. Whether you may agree with it, disagree, feel like I am leaving out something or hit every nail on the head, here is the general consensus as to what, I feel, is wrong with the most talented player on the Green Bay Packers.

     One can pick apart every bit and piece of why #12 misses a throw to Randall Cobb in the end zone or, *gasp*, throws an interception. In the end, one could very easily see it’s essentially a two step process as to why Aaron isn’t the same Aaron the fans, the coaches, the team, and Aaron are not used to seeing. With that being said, one could begin to understand that perhaps one factor effects another. Here’s the in-depth look at what the major contributing factors are:

1) Attitude

     In sports, whether it’s playing tee-ball at the age of five, shooting hoops for the freshman basketball team one is on in high school, or quarterbacking a top-caliber NFL team, it takes some sort of mental toughness to succeed in sports. Now, I’m not here to say that your five year old is going to be bad because he or she grounds out one time to the second baseman because there are different levels of mental toughness that is required to certain sports and the level of play. However, quarterbacking the Green Bay Packers is a position in sports that requires some of the highest mental toughness by an individual. When Aaron Rodgers was first drafted in the 2005 NFL draft, he was projected to go first overall. Instead, the Packers were able to pick him with the 24th overall pick. Why such a drastic slip in the draft? Attitude. Many NFL scouts and coaches believed he would not be coachable enough to be selected so high. When he came to Green Bay, his relationship was not very good with Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre until the day Favre was gone. Why? Part of it anyway had to do with Aaron’s attitude. His rookie year, Aaron did not mesh well with Brett and a lot of the older guys due to his attitude. Recently, even a former teammate, Greg Jennings, spoke out about Aaron’s attitude being quoted saying “he carries this mantra about himself, this arrogance to where he deflects it” when being criticized. At this point it is not my personal opinion. Teammates and other people around the league can be quoted on criticizing Aaron’s attitude about the game. In 2014 when he was named league MVP, he was on top of the world. The job of being Green Bay’s quarterback was not considered as a job to him. It was something he truly enjoyed doing. However, when one succeeds there has to be some questions asked as to what happens next. I don’t mean any disrespect to Rodgers’ work ethic. I know full well he works hard. With that being said, one has to wonder if from that point on he has not been working as hard as some of his teammates have let alone opponents from around the league. Why would he have to? He won league MVP, he won a Super Bowl a couple years earlier, he has a nice contract, he has a girlfriend and friends he enjoys spending time with. This is by far the reason I had the most trouble writing about because you always hate to assume the work ethic of any professional athlete let alone Aaron Rodgers. With that in mind, there are athletes all the time around sports that get complacent with their talent level. Some of this has to do with signing a contract, winning a plethora of awards, or even signing endorsement deals. Why would the person have to work any harder if he or she has everything he or she has ever wanted? This may play a factor, it may not. I was talking with a buddy on this and he brought up an excellent point. Aaron has a girlfriend and friends in California in which he enjoys high quality luxuries with high quality people. When he gets booed and ridiculed by Packer fans, how would it not hinder his attitude about playing the game? Thoughts could easily creep into his mind thinking “I don’t need this” or “I don’t need to prove anything more to these people.” The hardest thing to do is to go inside the mind of another person. However, it can be pointed out that Aaron’s attitude since he has entered the league has not been liked by a lot of people. One has to wonder if that attitude is effecting his play in the present day.

2) Play Calling

     This is a topic I have a much easier time talking about. It might be because I have a strong opinion on this. Mike McCarthy, head coach of the Packers, has been in Green Bay for what is now his 11th season. To date, he has one Super Bowl with a roster that, on paper, is a top five team virtually every year since he has taken over (with the exception of the first few years he came to Green Bay). He has abandoned offensive play-calling duties and then has taken them over again showing that there arguably is not a clear cut guy-to-go-to when calling the offensive plays in Green Bay. He boasts being a coach that focuses on winning field position and time of possession. So far in 2016, the Packers rank 18th in the league in time of possession, 25th in yards per game, 24th in yards per play and 14th in in first downs per game. These are not offensive juggernaut numbers from the Green Bay offense. To his credit, Green Bay does rank first in the league in third down conversion. Some may say “but Ryan, what about the field position?” Green Bay ranks one of the worst in the league in that department as well. Green Bay’s punter, Jacob Schum, ranks last in gross punting average, 22nd in net punting average and last in gross punting yards. Green Bay is not even average at two facets of the game that McCarthy focuses on. To make matters worse, it could be argued that when Green Bay does get a lead, he takes his foot off the gas pedal when calling plays and lets teams back into games. One could go back to the NFC Championship game in Seattle or even this year against Detroit in Green Bay to understand where I am coming from. To me, Mike McCarthy is a decent at preparing a team during the week. When it comes to in-game managing and play-calling, I find myself criticizing a lot of moves he makes. In my opinion, he is not a NFL head coach. He is a coach masked by an elite roster. When that roster does not perform, McCarthy’s ability to transform that top five roster into a top five team on the field is exploited. Furthermore, if one analyzes Green Bay’s passing schemes on offense he or she will be able to see there is a central theme. The passing schemes to the offense rely on 1-on-1 isolation routes where the receivers are being asked to beat their guy (go’s, curls, comeback routes, etc.). The secondaries around the league are too smart and too talented to get beat on routes like that. A good passing attack in the league bases their plays off of crossing routes where two or more receivers will cross and create chaos and confusion to the defense to free a receiver and get open. I look at a team like the Arizona Cardinals who are coached by Bruce Arians. The Cardinals have Carson Palmer at quarterback and a receiving corp that includes Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Jaron Brown, Michael Floyd and J.J. Nelson. Is that a good offense? Sure. Is that a better tandem than say Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, and Jeff Janis among others? I would argue they are not. So, why exactly do the Cardinals put up better offensive numbers than Green Bay? Because their offense is based on their receivers running crossing routes and quick-hitting routes like slants, posts, drags, etc. in bunch and trips formations (plays with two or more receivers on one side of the field). This is not to say that the Packers do not ever run plays like this because they do and they actually have success. With that being said, they do not base their entire passing attack on that and they should. Instead, they ask a lot from their receivers who have a hard time getting open because of the routes they are running. When the receivers beat their guy? It takes a perfect ball by Aaron Rodgers to complete the pass whether that is a nice “back shoulder” ball or a ball that is threaded right over the defender. Even in 2014 when the offense was at its best it was not crisp. It produced results because Aaron Rodgers was throwing perfect balls to receivers that were able to do just enough to get open. Now, that is being exploited. Although Mike McCarthy has proved to be very successful throughout his 11 year career as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, I think there should at the very least be some questions as to what is going on with the managing of the Packers.

     One could attribute other reasons as to why Aaron Rodgers has been struggling so much. Aaron, himself, has been quoted it is accuracy. I would not even disagree with that. When I watch a Packer game and watch how he throws a ball he is not the quarterback I’m telling a young boy playing quarterback to watch at home. Aaron has great arm strength and accuracy but he rarely sets his feet to throw the ball. He has done it virtually his whole career. Over time, arm strength and arm accuracy start to deteriorate even to the best players. Do I ever see Tom Brady or Drew Brees throw off-balance or Peyton Manning when he used to play? Nope. They always set their feet when they throw and trust their talent even after all the success they have sustained over their careers. The accuracy issue really is not going to change unless he decides to change his attitude and realize he is not above the fundamentals of quarterbacking that so many other quarterbacks around the league are doing game in and game out. Is this an easy issue to fix? Absolutely. I’m not suggesting it takes a great deal of expertise for this to change. But it starts with the coaching staff that is coaching him and the attitude that #12 has when playing the game. With that in mind, one could also pick apart ideas but between play-calling and attitude, I think those are the two underlying problems Aaron is going through right now.

     Simply put, these struggles are frustrating for fans, players, coaches, and Aaron to see and go through. It is frustrating because everyone is aware of what this team and this quarterback is capable of. I, in no way, mean to take a jab at Aaron Rodgers. Ever since he has taken over as quarterback for the Green Bay Packers I have been very blessed. I will continually say Aaron Rodgers is one of the most gifted quarterbacks the league has ever seen. Some of the throws he has made throughout his career are throws I have never seen from any quarterback ever before. There was a play in Chicago a couple years back where he dropped back, immediately had pressure from virtually every angle in the pocket, escaped it, and as he threw, got hit and fired a strike 50 yards to Davante Adams in the end zone that just grazed over a defender. The play later got called back because of a holding penalty. Even earlier this year there was a play in Green Bay against Detroit where he rolled out to his left and threw a ball 65 yards off balanced into the end zone that could have arguably been caught by the receiver if the defender covering him was not called for a pass interference penalty. I truly have not seen a quarterback ever make some of the throws that Aaron Rodgers has made. In any case, it’s safe to say that at this point in time there are major problems in Green Bay and with the man quarterbacking this team. One can say “R-E-L-A-X” or “calm down” but the fact of the matter is that these problems are different from the ones two years ago. These are problems that have been occurring for a year and a half now and will not go away unless something is changed. One of my favorite quotes can be taken from a high school basketball coach, Tim Notke, that states: “Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.” It is going to take some dedication and hard work from the quarterback and the coaching staff if we want to see these struggles disappear. As a fan, you just have to trust the two parties will be able to see it through. 

[Aaron Rodgers nullified but still amazing TD pass]