Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
That reason might be that he was playing on one leg against the NFL's best defense. He didn't have a great game, but he wasn't the reason the Packers blew a 12 point lead in the last 5 minutes.
Via EarlThomas.com:
Right from the start, the Packers did a great job of keeping us off rhythm, especially Aaron Rodgers. I have to give Rodgers a lot of credit. Going into the game, after watching the tape of their game against Dallas, I honestly didn’t think he was that injured. I was preparing for the real Aaron Rodgers, not the hurt Aaron Rodgers.
But that guy was really hurt out there. Going against him in the game, I could tell immediately that he was really in pain. And it sounds funny, but that actually caught me off-guard. Now that I’m dealing with an injury of my own, I have even more respect for him and what he did. A tremendous amount of respect.
Statistically, Rodgers didn’t have a stellar game — 19/34 for one touchdown and two picks — but Thomas goes on to say that he managed to keep the defense off balance all afternoon with his cadence amd that he wasn’t fazed by the Seahawks’ aggressive tactics. Basically, he played well enough to win (at least through three and a half quarters), despite a debilitating injury:
He used a lot of quick-strike plays against us, and he attacked certain spots on the football field. It played to his advantage that they were playing an aggressive team like us. We were flying all around, but he was moving so slow and smooth. His focus was on point. I think that gave him an edge in the game.
He also used his cadence to disrupt our rhythm. He was double counting, triple counting and the ball wasn’t getting snapped until two seconds were left on the play clock. They did a great job of controlling the game in that aspect. When you talk about a football game, the game is always won up front. We have a great secondary, but our front allows us to have a lot of leeway, and all of us were just off rhythm early on.
This is precisely the 20,000 ft. view I'm talking about. Let's go to the ground level and examine the individual plays. Was it injury and good defense that caused him to miss Cobb deep over the middle, or on the slant? Or Nelson on the out route? It didn't seem that the defense was a factor on those misses - he was getting good protection, and the receivers were open. I couldn't tell you if it was the calf, but Rodgers himself had said that because the injury is not on his plant foot, his accuracy isn't affected.
I've noticed some unforced misses from him in the playoffs - things that don't happen as much during the regular season (it seems).
(It should go without saying that he's still the best in the business, but I don't think he's immune to questioning)
It's his responsibility to glance to the side, or notice a flag peripherally before just chucking it up. I'll ask in a different way...is it a sound decision as a quarterback to assume anything in the way of penalties? Have you ever seen a qb giftwrap a turnover, simply because he THOUGHT there was a defensive penalty? And you really would think well, aw shucks, he thought there should be a flag so it's not his fault. If Sam Shields thought he saw a hold on the offensive line, then let his man blow by him for a touchdown would you consider that his fault?
There is a lot of grey area in this game with the calf, play calling, and scheme. But if you can't admit that pick to Sherman was a mistake on Aaron's part, then I think you just have to own you are blinded by some agenda that I don't understand.
How the calf affects accuracy can really never be proven. I am of the opinion that the calf injury didn't cause him to throw the inside and a jumpball, instead of towards the corner where the throw needed to be. But again that can never be proven. I just think you have to overcome adversity....whether it's a gimpy leg, rain, loud conditions, physical defenses, etc. Some of you see a million excuses, I see a million opportunities to rise above and succeed. Aaron's performance looked more par for the course in the playoffs, rather than some aberration due to injuries.
Rodgers likes to take a shot at a big play when he thinks he has a free play. He's done this throughout his career and has had some big plays off of it. This time it backfired. That happens sometimes. The next time in one of these situations he throws into tight coverage and hits Jordy for a 50 yard TD because he thinks he has a free play, will you say he shouldn't have thrown it because he couldn't be sure the flag would be thrown? I know I won't.
I hate straw men like these. Of course it was a mistake on Rodger's part. no one is denying that. The question is how culpable Rodgers is: that is, whether the gamble made sense or not, how justifiable it was, whether the wind contributed to the errant throw, the effect of the defense and the refs, etc. etc. So you disagree with some of us. What of it.But if you can't admit that pick to Sherman was a mistake on Aaron's part
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck
Sorry it's been pretty difficult for some to admit it was a mistake. Mistakes really only are mistakes with culpability attached to it. Other wise it's just bad luck. Aw shucks my calf, aw shucks the refs, aw shucks it's rainy in Seattle, aw shucks Richard Sherman....oh well maybe next year. In my opinion it is just a losing mentality to not expect Aaron to overcome these things. I am not claiming those are your beliefs per se, but I just see too many excuses that do remove culpability from a large contingency on this board. Sorry if I rub you thew wrong way, I have just been dealing with this argument for years.
He's discussing that one play in that one game. A poor throw by Aaron Rodgers. Not as much the decision to make the throw.
At the time of the throw Aaron Rodgers wasn't thinking:
'Ohh boy a defensive offside 'a free throw'... so I'll just let it go right there inside and uncatchable.'
That was a bad throw. That throw could 'only' be picked and it was. End of story.
Is that fact so hard to admit as the truth?
** Since 2006 3 X Pro Pickem' Champion; 4 X Runner-Up and 3 X 3rd place.
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I'm pretty sure everybody knows it was a bad throw. Whether or not Rodgers should have thrown the ball is I believe exactly what we were debating. Yetisnowman said It's his responsibility to glance to the side, or notice a flag peripherally before just chucking it up. My position is that is that I believe Rodgers has made big completions before without knowing if the ref has thrown the flag, so I was okay with him taking that chance.
If I have misrepresented Yetisnowman's argument, I apologize.
Yeti has made two claims;
1. That Rodgers should be certain a flag has been thrown before assuming he has a free play. Assuming the flag will fly is foolish.
2. That the INT throw itself was a poor play, along with several other bad throws from him in the game.
Of course parsing both yeti and th87 is tough because one keeps responding to posts responding to the other.
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
Because it has been more successful than any other play the Packers run regularly. You might as well argue that running left is a bad idea because the Packers once fumbled on the left side.
You want a Rodgers criticism? The throw was late (or should have been thrown deeper/outside) or it beats Sherman for a TD.
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
Last edited by mraynrand; 02-01-2015 at 11:10 AM.
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck