Partial
08-21-2007, 01:03 PM
Packers' Rodgers adds humility to list of personal improvements
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 20, 2007
Much of Aaron Rodgers' improvement this summer has been evident in the physical art of quarterbacking: accuracy short and long, anticipation and touch, setup and delivery, decision-making, avoiding pressure and making plays on the move.
But there's another element of his game that Rodgers knew needed attention. In short, he wasn't humble enough.
"I came out as a 21-year-old kid still wet behind the ears thinking I had all the answers," Rodgers said Monday. "I think I started believing a little bit too much about this No. 1 draft pick and all the other stuff.
"Definitely, I think I've grown up the last two years. And I've still got some ways to go."
Back then, Rodgers did come across as almost too full of himself. He portrayed a self-confidence that bordered on egotism. He talked a much better game than he played.
When Rodgers did get on the field, it looked as if he wasn't willing to assume responsibility. He was prone to wild swings of temperament, and his body language wasn't positive in the least.
"He's got a lot of negativism to him," one personnel man said of Rodgers early last September. "Looks like he's always looking for someone to blame for his shortcomings. Whether it's protection, receivers running wrong routes, whatever. He just gets so disgusted."
When Rodgers came back to the Green Bay Packers' training camp last month, he didn't seem nearly as strident. Here was a young man who had seen the error of his ways and was seeking a return to the basics.
"I'm trying to do that," he said. "Spiritually, that's what God calls me to be. As a player, I think it's attractive to the other guys in the locker room to stay humble."
Rodgers' entrance into the National Football League left him defensive and angry. He couldn't escape the skeptics who kept throwing the failure rate of University of California coach Jeff Tedford's quarterbacks into his face. Plus, his fall to No. 24 in the draft opened wounds that would be hard to close.
"I felt like I always had to justify myself," Rodgers said. " 'I'm a good player, I can do this, I can do that.' In hindsight, being honest, I felt like maybe coming out I didn't give the best impression of myself.
"A lot of that was maybe because of the advice I was given. I was told I really had to sell myself. That was their main strategy. Personally, that's not the way I operate. It was really hard for me to do.
"When I look back, I felt like I probably didn't handle the situation well. That's why I think it's been a good learning situation not playing right away. I have been humbled through not playing. I have been humbled through my poor play my first year.
"It's been tough but I think I've learned a good lesson: that I need to stay true to myself and continue to realize that there's bigger things than yourself out there. That's true in life."
Rodgers came in 2½ years ago all slicked-up and cutting a dashing figure. Today, he's sporting a rather wild beard, the mousse is gone and his wardrobe is a lot more jock than young executive.
Clearly, Brett Favre has rubbed off on him. The Packers hoped that would happen.
Still, Rodgers had to be the one who finally accepted the fact that humility, modesty and culpability were essential in the development of a professional quarterback.
"I'd rather deflect credit and give credit to other guys on the team and realize my place on this team," he said. "I'm kind of, like, 'Hey, I'm a cog in the wheel. I need to do my part, but everybody does as well.' And when it goes right it's not always because I'm such a good player."
It's probably human nature for a struggling young quarterback to want 70,000 fans to realize that it's not all his fault. Rodgers fell victim to some of that behavior as a rookie.
In the last year, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin had several long conversations with Rodgers about this very subject. He wanted to make sure that Rodgers understood the impression he was leaving.
"It's just being cognizant of other people's feelings and realizing people are always watching," Rodgers said. "I'm glad that it's starting to show up a little bit. I feel like my body language in general, practice included, has really improved."
Actually, Rodgers said his frequent displays of exasperation in the past were more his own disgust with himself than any attempt to show up teammates.
"I've always been a perfectionist on the field," he said. "When I have been demonstrative in the past, I'm mad at myself. The problem is it can be misconstrued that I'm mad at the person who ran the route."
On Saturday night, Rodgers took a frontal shot on a blitz that led to an off-target pass that Ruvell Martin caught beyond the end line on what would have been a 6-yard touchdown. Rather than swing his fist or thrust his arms into the air, as he probably would have done in the past, Rodgers stifled his emotions.
"The response I've got from my teammates, just the encouraging words saying I looked poised out there, is where I want to get," he said. "So the guys on the team have confidence in me. Guys can rah-rah and say whatever they want, but it's the consistent guy who shows poise is somebody who they're going to follow."
Rodgers' passer rating of 105.3 offers a statistical measure of his improved play. As a rookie, he failed to score a point in his first 19 series. In 14 series (80 plays) the last two weeks, he has produced three touchdowns, three field goals and 27 first downs.
But Rodgers knows there's a world of difference between exhibition and regular-season defenses. He made three or four mental mistakes against Seattle. He still has much to prove.
Yet the Packers now have more than blind optimism to think Rodgers can become at least an adequate starter. He has a contract lasting through 2009.
"I think I can be successful," Rodgers said. "I hope it's here, I really do. But I don't know what Brett's going to do. If it's not here, I shall meet that road when I get there."
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 20, 2007
Much of Aaron Rodgers' improvement this summer has been evident in the physical art of quarterbacking: accuracy short and long, anticipation and touch, setup and delivery, decision-making, avoiding pressure and making plays on the move.
But there's another element of his game that Rodgers knew needed attention. In short, he wasn't humble enough.
"I came out as a 21-year-old kid still wet behind the ears thinking I had all the answers," Rodgers said Monday. "I think I started believing a little bit too much about this No. 1 draft pick and all the other stuff.
"Definitely, I think I've grown up the last two years. And I've still got some ways to go."
Back then, Rodgers did come across as almost too full of himself. He portrayed a self-confidence that bordered on egotism. He talked a much better game than he played.
When Rodgers did get on the field, it looked as if he wasn't willing to assume responsibility. He was prone to wild swings of temperament, and his body language wasn't positive in the least.
"He's got a lot of negativism to him," one personnel man said of Rodgers early last September. "Looks like he's always looking for someone to blame for his shortcomings. Whether it's protection, receivers running wrong routes, whatever. He just gets so disgusted."
When Rodgers came back to the Green Bay Packers' training camp last month, he didn't seem nearly as strident. Here was a young man who had seen the error of his ways and was seeking a return to the basics.
"I'm trying to do that," he said. "Spiritually, that's what God calls me to be. As a player, I think it's attractive to the other guys in the locker room to stay humble."
Rodgers' entrance into the National Football League left him defensive and angry. He couldn't escape the skeptics who kept throwing the failure rate of University of California coach Jeff Tedford's quarterbacks into his face. Plus, his fall to No. 24 in the draft opened wounds that would be hard to close.
"I felt like I always had to justify myself," Rodgers said. " 'I'm a good player, I can do this, I can do that.' In hindsight, being honest, I felt like maybe coming out I didn't give the best impression of myself.
"A lot of that was maybe because of the advice I was given. I was told I really had to sell myself. That was their main strategy. Personally, that's not the way I operate. It was really hard for me to do.
"When I look back, I felt like I probably didn't handle the situation well. That's why I think it's been a good learning situation not playing right away. I have been humbled through not playing. I have been humbled through my poor play my first year.
"It's been tough but I think I've learned a good lesson: that I need to stay true to myself and continue to realize that there's bigger things than yourself out there. That's true in life."
Rodgers came in 2½ years ago all slicked-up and cutting a dashing figure. Today, he's sporting a rather wild beard, the mousse is gone and his wardrobe is a lot more jock than young executive.
Clearly, Brett Favre has rubbed off on him. The Packers hoped that would happen.
Still, Rodgers had to be the one who finally accepted the fact that humility, modesty and culpability were essential in the development of a professional quarterback.
"I'd rather deflect credit and give credit to other guys on the team and realize my place on this team," he said. "I'm kind of, like, 'Hey, I'm a cog in the wheel. I need to do my part, but everybody does as well.' And when it goes right it's not always because I'm such a good player."
It's probably human nature for a struggling young quarterback to want 70,000 fans to realize that it's not all his fault. Rodgers fell victim to some of that behavior as a rookie.
In the last year, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin had several long conversations with Rodgers about this very subject. He wanted to make sure that Rodgers understood the impression he was leaving.
"It's just being cognizant of other people's feelings and realizing people are always watching," Rodgers said. "I'm glad that it's starting to show up a little bit. I feel like my body language in general, practice included, has really improved."
Actually, Rodgers said his frequent displays of exasperation in the past were more his own disgust with himself than any attempt to show up teammates.
"I've always been a perfectionist on the field," he said. "When I have been demonstrative in the past, I'm mad at myself. The problem is it can be misconstrued that I'm mad at the person who ran the route."
On Saturday night, Rodgers took a frontal shot on a blitz that led to an off-target pass that Ruvell Martin caught beyond the end line on what would have been a 6-yard touchdown. Rather than swing his fist or thrust his arms into the air, as he probably would have done in the past, Rodgers stifled his emotions.
"The response I've got from my teammates, just the encouraging words saying I looked poised out there, is where I want to get," he said. "So the guys on the team have confidence in me. Guys can rah-rah and say whatever they want, but it's the consistent guy who shows poise is somebody who they're going to follow."
Rodgers' passer rating of 105.3 offers a statistical measure of his improved play. As a rookie, he failed to score a point in his first 19 series. In 14 series (80 plays) the last two weeks, he has produced three touchdowns, three field goals and 27 first downs.
But Rodgers knows there's a world of difference between exhibition and regular-season defenses. He made three or four mental mistakes against Seattle. He still has much to prove.
Yet the Packers now have more than blind optimism to think Rodgers can become at least an adequate starter. He has a contract lasting through 2009.
"I think I can be successful," Rodgers said. "I hope it's here, I really do. But I don't know what Brett's going to do. If it's not here, I shall meet that road when I get there."