Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is never shy about sharing his opinion. His regular weekly guest spot on The Pat McAfee Show has become something that all football fans look forward to on Tuesdays. Through this platform, Rodgers has been able to share more of himself and his opinions in a less formal setting. Of course, some of these opinions have been controversial in the past. Today, however, Rodgers shared an opinion on the targeting rule in college football that many fans may agree with.
Aaron Rodgers Believes College Football Has Gone Too Far on Targeting
Pat McAfee and AJ Hawk were chatting with Rodgers about the taunting penalties in the NFL. Rodgers talked about how feels that the NFL may have gone too far with it. When talking about the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts, everyone on the show agreed it may have been too much to call a taunting penalty that helped the Colts win the game. Of course, McAfee was not too upset about it as the Colts are his former team.
"What College Football has done with targeting is ridiculous.. we gotta be careful with how far we go with some of these rules" ~@AaronRodgers12#PMSLive #ART pic.twitter.com/6XBafnAREP
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 27, 2022
Rodgers talked about, though, that he does not feel like taunting is necessarily that big of a deal. “When someone does the belt over me, do I want them flagged for 15 yards? Of course not,” he said. “I think we have to be really careful [with how far we take these penalties].”
This led him to bring up the targeting penalties that have made headlines in many college football games. To be sure, intentional helmet-to-helmet spearheaded tackles by defenders is dangerous and worthy of an ejection. However, as Rodgers and McAfee pointed out, many times offensive players initiate the head-to-head plays by lowering their own helmets. McAfee suggested looking at the intent of targeting plays, and Rodgers agreed that replay can go a long way in indicating what a defender was trying to do.
Conclusion
The thing that I really enjoy, personally, about Rodgers on Pat McAfee is his subtle jabs at AJ Hawk. When discussing targeting, Rodgers said, “…or spearheading like what AJ used to do to me in practice.” These kind of jokes are what have made his appearances on this show so enjoyable. We get to see a side of Rodgers that we normally do not get to see from professional athletes.
In regards to the rules, as fans we should hope for two things: a well-played game and that no injuries occur. Yes, targeting should not happen for the safety of all players on the field. However, the NCAA needs to be careful who is punished when helmet-to-helmet hits take place. Sometimes, the defender flagged is not in the wrong.
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