Aaron Rodgers needs to adapt or move on
Amari Rodgers seemed at home with the Houston Texans offense Sunday. The Texans need another wideout, as they were without star wide receiver Brandin Cooks against the Dallas Cowboys. The Texans plugged in the wide receiver the Packers discarded midseason. Amari Rodgers’ performance calls into question Aaron Rodgers’ assessment of the second-year wide receiver.
Amari scored his first career touchdown against the Cowboys’ stingy defense. He caught the 28-yard bomb from backup quality Jeff Driskell. Amari finished the game with four catches on five targets for 57 yards. The Texans used him in an area the Packers worked tirelessly to refuse him, the wide receiver position.
Aaron didn’t seem to like Amari in Green Bay. It wasn’t until the Packers’ injuries at wide receiver forced Aaron to look his way in Week 6 against the New York Jets that Amari caught his first pass of the season. With all of the injuries the Packers have had this season, Amari finished with just eight targets before he was waived. Aaron treated him more harshly than he has his rookie wide receivers this season. And he’s probably blown the Packers’ postseason chances because the old man refused to adapt to the youth on the offensive roster.
Rodgers doesn’t trust the youth
Aaron Rodgers came into this season with the vibes of the old man in the block who questions the next-door neighbor’s son about why leaves from his yard might have ventured onto the old man’s lawn. Reports came out early in training camp that he was worried about the rookies and wanted to pass the ball to Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon.
His attitude in the early season stood in contrast to the new-agey open-minded persona the future Hall of Fame quarterback tried to market this offseason. Aaron threw a deep pass to rookie Christian Watson against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. Watson dropped the pass, and Aaron pouted in a way that he could use leverage to not have to look his way for a while.
This shouldn’t have been a surprise. Aaron hinted he wanted to use his veteran receivers before the season started. Aaron began the season mainly by hitting Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, and Randall Cobb when they were healthy and on the field. (He did look some at Romeo Doubs before his injury.)
This makes sense for the 39-year-old coworker. He dines with the Cobbs and Crosbys for Thanksgiving dinner. Aaron doesn’t have time or patience for the youth. At least until the injuries and losses started piling up. Aaron held out for a trade, but when none came, he started using what he had.
Watson has been exceptional this past month
Aaron has been forced to look Watson’s way the past month. And the Packers’ offense has been better for it. The second-round pick has scored seven touchdowns since November 13th, when the Packers scored a much-needed win against the Dallas Cowboys. With his explosive play, Watson has saved the Packers’ ability to stay in the playoff hunt.
One wonders where the Packers would be at their bye week if Aaron had a better attitude toward his young wide receivers before the season. Sure, it hasn’t helped the reigning MVP that his thumb has been broken since the last play of the New York Giants loss. But the offense was terrible before the disastrous finish in London.
Amari showed Sunday that maybe he should have more opportunities as a wide receiver. As Zach Jacobson with CBS Sports pointed out, Amari’s quarterback is much less talented than Aaron.
Amari Rodgers producing with Jeff fucking Driskel but the Packers couldn’t figure out how to make it work with Aaron Rodgers. Unserious team
— zach jacobson (@itszacharyj) December 11, 2022
Aaron Rodgers is part of the problem going forward
Packers fans are going to have a hard time if Amari has success with the Texans. The Packers chose to use their talented third-round wide receiver as a kick returner. It was evident early on that Amari was not suited for that duty. Amari was failed by the Packers for not allowing the First-Team All-ACC wide receiver to have an honest shot with the offense.
This appears to be an issue with Aaron more than other NFL quarterbacks, as we’ve witnessed Sunday. The Packers were blessed to have Aaron as a franchise quarterback. Franchise quarterbacks get to have more responsibility in decision-making than average NFL players. But now he’s in the waning phase of his career. Aaron might have the most touchdowns in a weak NFC, but he’s tied with Geno Smith and Jared Goff. Two quarterbacks who wouldn’t get the say that Aaron does.
It’s time to let head coach Matt LaFleur actually be a head coach. Rodgers doesn’t know the rules coaches must adhere to. He can’t play general manager, as Rodgers requests for trades well after the deadline. He’s an aging quarterback that will look more like the part of Drew Brees in his final season than the quarterback who led the Packers to the postseason 12 times. His stubbornness cost the 2022 Packers a spot in the playoffs.
The Packers need to see what they have in Jordan Love
LaFleur needs to see what he has in Jordan Love. The Packers management must evaluate what LaFleur can do with an Aaron-less team in the future. LaFleur and the offense should see how they gel and if they can work together to create the synergy they’re not getting from Aaron this season.
Why LaFleur couldn’t make Amari work in the Packers’ offense is also on him. The coach appears not to have put Amari in a position where he could succeed. The Packers’ best move going forward might be to let Aaron go to compete in San Francisco. Aaron can still play at an elite level, but he probably needs elite players to do so. Tom Brady needed special weapons in Tampa Bay to win a Super Bowl after 40 years of age. Aaron can still do that with a team full of exceptional players.
The Packers won’t be there for a while. Their cap space is too small to bring in the types of players Aaron has shown this season he needs to compete with. He refuses to elevate the youth when the Packers need him to. They’re 5-8 with the past. It’s time for the Packers to look toward the future. Amari should have been there.
29 Comments
Except Amari couldn’t hold on to the ball. Fumble-Ruski does not make it in GB or A_Rog. Injuries were the bigger issue.
Amari Rogers!!!! Really, this has to be one of the BIGGEST BS articles ever written about a guy who clearly makes BAD DECISIONS with the football , not to mention he turns the ball over way to much
to be a first string player on any roster.
Amari Rodgers had plenty of opportunity to gain the trust of Aaron Rodgers and the coaching staff but he dropped the ball way too often. I cringed every time he had the ball. I hope him the best in Houston.
Wow, hands down dumbest hot take I have ever seen. I challenge you to post this publicly on your FB page. 5 fumbles vs 1 TD in 2022 and that is a reason to get rid of #12? Seriously, the author of this should be put on suspension or executive leave. 🤣🤣🤣
Forreal!
Yea, he says he did look SOME at Doubs ….Doubs was the freeking leading receiver when he got hurt…. and he says Rodgers didn’t go enough early to Watson…. would that be the Watson that missed half of those games with injuries??? Sigler, you are a tool…..
This article should signal the end of you as a Wisconsin sports journalist. Maybe the dumbest article I’ve read in 2022.
Tyreek Hill success should signal end of Patrick Mahomes era in KC. The fact that Tyreek Hill is setting records in Miami and was only really good in KC shows that Patrick Mahomes needs to be replaced. The old man can’t recognize talent and he needs to move out of the way for young blood. That Mahomes single-handedly allowed Hill to leave KC is unforgivable. His QBing days are clearly done since he didn’t work a deal to keep Hill and keep throwing to him.
See how this sounds?
Aaron had nothing to do with his fumbles. Just another dumb pretend “writer ” or pretend “analyst ” trying to crucify Aaron.
For whatever reason, he was hardly even on the field for Rodgers to try and get him the ball.
Did he say 28 yard BOMB??? 🤣😂🤣😂 Amari Rodgers got In his own way! 12 didn’t knock the ball out of his hands, he fumbled on his own.
I suppose Rodgers caused the fumbles and drops as well? You just dropped this one Sigler!
He fumbled more times in a two year career returning than any returner in modern NFL history. Clearly Aaron Rodgers is done because Amari can’t hang on to a ball. How many random ass WR have had one good game in NFL history because of injuries. Don Beebe had 220 yds in a game for the Packers so clearly Jim Kelley sucked.
Who is this guy? This article has to be the dumbest take I have ever heard. First of all, ML gave Amari more chances than ever to make plays and stay with the team. The problem was, time after time he failed to produce. Then the biggest issue was he fumbled constantly. You can’t stay in the league, much less a team, if you continually put the church’s money on the floor!!!
So are you A Bears fan or Cowboys? You despise Rodgers so much it comes right thru the page.
Pitiful
Wow, really? Amazing Rogers dug his fate. The fumbles were the end all. Why didn’t he break out as a reciver? Bad route running? Not willing to do the dirty work in the run game? Dropped passes during practice?
Definitely not on 12
Gossip column at best. The guy couldn’t hang on to the ball or run good routes. As if.. OMG..
The back to back MVP should be discredited and discarded because a receiver we cut had four catches for 57 yards. This is some high brow stuff , very intelligent and profound!
Wait until he coughs up the ball and loses the game for ya…. Then we’ll see how you feel
This is the stupidest fucking article I have ever read. Give your head a shake, dolt.
I mean, a better way to put this article together would be to look at Amari’s immediate contribution to Houston and then point out how Davante Adams and MVS are also doing perfectly fine without needing Aaron Rodgers.
I do think Rodgers is part of the problem and we need to move on but this article doesn’t frame why properly
I actually thought this was some sort of spoof after reading the beginning, but now I realize you are serious. Amari Rodgers was definitely not good in GB… and now, after just one good game, you sound like he is all-pro caliber. He ran bad routes in GB, and dropped passes that were catchable in GB. I won’t even get into his fumbles on special teams, and the success Nixon is having with the very same teammates. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted Amari to succeed in GB, but not every player succeeds on every team. Sometimes players emerge successfully by changing teams, and it isn’t always someone’s “fault” why they didn’t do as well before. The pieces aren’t all interchangeable, and sometimes the best players look average when they change teams… and it is often just how players mesh, or don’t mesh. It isn’t always someone’s fault. Sometimes it is a coach helping a player improve with how they interact, or a player simply not understanding something and being too proud to ask, or the design of plays, or the play calling itself, or the hone field conditions, or the teams they go against most often, or something in their personal life, etc, etc. I saw perfect passes thrown to Amari last year, and he didn’t catch enough of them. I am guessing that you must have attended almost every GB practice over the past two years, otherwise you wouldn’t know how he truly did in those practices… as I am sure you can’t be only going by game time success or failure. My advice is that maybe you should try writing about a sport you actually understand.
WOW!
If we go back just two years ago, what was it that made Rodgers angry. Although a lot of ink has been spilt over the Jordan Love pick, Aaron was pissed they let go of Kumaro. Rodgers has nothing against young players.
Meanwhile, it was boneheaded special teams play that gave Amari the boot.
Nice try using a pseudonym writing this article Amari….. we figured that out. Biggest clown article this side of the onion.
Just a hack trying to get clicks…….
I will not read another wisportsheroics.com article until Jordan Sigler is fired.
You need to quit writing green bay articles and move to Houston yourself. Not one part of this fell within 80 yards of making sense…whatsoever. were all dumber now from even reading it. Thanks for 4 minutes of my life ill never get back. You should be charged for our time of reading this honestly
Comments are spot on. The editor better fire this guy or praise him for creating click-bait. Either way it’s still pretty low brow.
You Jordan are an idiot. Great insight on a field you know so much about. Maybe get into politics. You have a knack for bullshitting. You puke!