Aaron Rodgers Griping About NFC Pro Bowl Performance
Added on Feb 01, 2012 by Jack Thurman in
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Everyone knows a guy that gets hyper competitive in inappropriate situations–like a guy who is blitzing and running over little kids in a family flag football game. Were he not playing in the NFL Aaron Rodgers would clearly be that guy–the guy who puts eye black under his eyes before a company softball game.
Rodgers is complaining about a lack of effort from his teammates. Not his Green Bay Packers teammates, but his teammates in the least relevant of all pro sport All Star Games, the Pro Bowl. Apparently not realizing that this is a glorified scrimmage where the goal is to not get hurt and enjoy a free trip to Hawaii, Rodgers is criticizing his teammates–eg: the rest of the NFC–for their shoddy effort:
“I’ll be honest with you. I was a little bit disappointed. I felt like some of the guys on the NFC side embarrassed themselves.”
ESPN aka ‘NFL PR Central’ grouses that the game ‘drew boos’ for its ‘lack of intensity’. Clearly these people have been living under a rock for the past decade or so and don’t realize that the Pro Bowl is synonymous with a ‘lack of intensity’. Rodgers sounds like he’s as clueless as anyone with this comment:
“I was just surprised that some of the guys either didn’t want to play or when they were in there didn’t put any effort into it.”
He continued to say that he was ‘surprised’ that Mickey Mouse was just a human in a mouse costume and that pro wrestling has a predetermined outcome.
Rodgers tried to backpedal someone, coming up with the silly suggestion that his concern was for the well being of others:
“I’ve always found that when you’re going that tempo, that’s when the injuries are going to happen, not if you’re going full speed. You’re more likely to get an injury standing around a pile or just going through it half-speed.”
A couple of Pats players–eg: guys who are playing in the Super Bowl–all but called Rodgers a moron starting with Logan Mankins:
“I don’t know how you fix it. You’re going to give a little effort, but you’re not going to get out of control. Some guys are free agents over there. You get hurt in a Pro Bowl and it’s going to affect that contract with another team. Who would want to get hurt in a Pro Bowl and not be able to play the next season?”
Vince Wilfork added:
“Guys play a full season, they play physical through a full season, and you get rewarded. The last thing you want to do is go out in a game like that and hurt yourself. That is not good for the individual or for the organization.”
Rodgers will reportedly spend his offseason coaching little league baseball players in how to go after the knees of a second baseman when breaking up double plays.
Seriously, I like Aaron Rodgers–he’s one of the good guys in the NFL. He’s a hell of a quarterback and has always come off as a cool dude off the field. He just sounds silly griping about ‘intensity’ in the Pro Bowl.
