Admit it, Green Bay Packer fans: We're a spoiled lot.
Back-to-back Hall of Fame quarterbacks will do that. In the 31 years of Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have posted a 314-182-2 record (winning 63.05% of those 498 games). There's been 23 playoff wins, three Super Bowl appearances and a pair Lombardi Trophies put in the display case at 1265 Lombardi Avenue.
There are NFL franchises that would sell their own mothers for just half of that success. Hell, the Chicago Bears have gone through 37 quarterbacks in. the same stretch.
So here we stand on the brink of another off-season filled with uncertainty.
Rodgers seems to be playing the will he/won't he game with his (and our) future. The four-time MVP noted on "The Pat McAfee Show" (his usual soapbox) that "Do I still think I can play? Of course. Can I play at a high level? Yeah. The Highest. I think I can win MVP again in the right situation." (Italics here are mine.)
So, what does that mean for Packer Nation? Just what is the right situation? Is the MVP award more important than winning another Super Bowl? Has Rodgers gone down the me path, forgetting that there is no "i" in t-e-a-m? Yes, if the QB plays well, odds are the team is winning. I get that...
WTH, Aaron? Either you want to be back in the Green & Gold -- and the powers that be, head coach Matt LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst, have made it crystal clear they do want Number 12 back -- or you don't. He's promised not to hold the team hostage like Favre did, but to make his decision soon.
Will believe that when I see it.
If it's not about the money (Rodgers has indicated he could comfortably walk away from the nearly $60 million payday in 2023) then cut the team some slack and re-do the deal to free up money for other players to help the team win.
Especially if Rodgers is adamant that he get several of "his glue guys" back. That list includes cronies like Randall Cobb, Mercedes Lewis, Mason Crosby and David Bakhtiari as well as Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan. Note those are all guys on the offensive side of the ball.
So, how much glue do the Packers need to invest in to keep Rodgers happy? If they can wrangle contracts and push money to the future -- and Green Bay has been doing this A LOT lately -- then am all for bringing back some of them. Contracts go both ways. If players want to be in town with Rodgers, they'll do a team-friendly deal to stick around.
Packer Nation has split into two camps, it seems. On the one side, the let-him-walk-or-trade-him camp makes a good argument. Is a 39-year-old quarterback who sees himself as a GM as well worth the hassle? Perhaps it's time to see what former first-round pick Jordan Love brings to the table. After all, all of the teams left in the playoffs are being led by guys in their mid-20s. The last greybeard, 45-year-old Tom Brady of Tampa Bay looked his age as Dallas romped past him and the Bucs in the wild card round.
Then there's the feeling that Rodgers brings Green Bay it's best chance at playoff success, that his past season, mediocre by his standards, was an not the norm. That injuries (broken thump on his throwing hand, etc.), injuries along the offensive line and a young group of receivers all contributed.
Can see the sense from both sides. And in my opinion, if Aaron is ALL IN on being with the Packers, making the off-season treks to Green Bay for the OTAs, etc., then am all for bringing him back and riding No. 12 as far as he takes us.
THE NFL SEASON was so odd. Ties, lots of overtime contests among the 271 games. Have a group of five friends that, for the past 31 years, we've been picking the outcome of the games (straight up, no point spreads) for bragging rights and the coveted Pick 'Em Trophy. This year four of us finished tied for the top spot at 173-96-2, and the fifth was just a game behind.
Can't get much closer than that!
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