Earlier this week, Aaron Rodgers’ annoyances with his Green Bay Packers teammates spilled into the public eye. On Wednesday, he took a moment to explain “the truth.”
Through their first seven games, the Packers are 3-4 and 20th in both points scored and yards gained. Regarding the young wideouts becoming used to the offense, Rodgers has been transparent. He claimed earlier this week that too many errors are being made by players and that some “shouldn’t be playing.”
The two-time MVP-winning player stood by his comments, telling reporters on Wednesday that “people in this society have a hard time hearing truth sometimes.”
Rodgers said he has had the same discussions privately and did not think it was a problem his teammates hearing critiques and that everyone hears the scrutiny and processes it in their own ways.
“I’m not going to be a robot up here. I don’t understand why people have a problem with things that are truthful,” Rodgers said, via Pro Football Talk. “You know, I’m calling things the way I see it. If people don’t think I need to air that stuff out, that’s their opinion. But I’m doing what I think is in the best interests of our guys, and I’ve tried a lot of different things from a leadership standpoint this year. And I was relating my personal feelings on the situation. I didn’t call anybody out by name.”
When it comes to their performances, Rodgers said he was putting everyone on high alert. If someone had an issue, he left the door to his office open, and he enjoyed having those kinds of chats to clear the air with everyone and anyone.
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“I enjoy any type of conflict like that, because I know the resolution on the other side’s gonna make us a better unit, better friendship, better cohesion on the field,” he said. “But nobody’s come to me and said, ‘I’ve got a problem with what you said.’ I think everybody knows, Matt LaFleur includes, that everything’s got to take a little uptick, get a little better.”
Sammy Watkins of the Packers, a wide receiver, was one among many who defended Rodgers.
“This is a business and if you’re not performing or executing or doing the things you’re supposed to be doing, then I’m with Aaron,” Watkins said of the quarterback’s remarks about players getting their in-game reps cut over poor performance. “If I’m not playing well or if I’m freaking up and busting plays, get me out of the game because that’s not helping the team.
“I think that’s a wake-up call to everybody. A wake-up call to myself. I try to limit myself to having one MA a game. That’s my goal. The goal is to have none, but things happen.”
