It’s fair to say that Aaron Rodgers did not have his best game this past weekend. The Green Bay Packers got absolutely blown out at the New Orleans Saints 38-3 and it was pretty clear that the team looked bad in all phases. Rogers finished the game with 133 yards on 15-of-28 passing and two interceptions, one of which he blamed on a “double nut shot” he’d received on an earlier play.
There are plenty of people out there second-guessing Rodgers and the Packers this week, especially given all of the summer drama that followed him into the season. But not many of them used to play alongside him. Former Packers tight end Jermichael Finley appeared on ESPN’s KJM recently and he went as far as to say that he doesn’t see the “hunger” in Rodgers to compete anymore and that he thinks it might just be time to let backup Jordan Love take over.
“I just don’t see the work ethic in Aaron Rodgers that I have in previous years,” Finley said. “And actually, you can see it right through his helmet. The eyes and the face tell everything about the personality. And I don’t see that NFL hunger and that hunger to go win another championship.”
While those are some very strong comments, taking shots at Rodgers isn’t something new for Finley. So much so that a lot of Packers fans and NFL folks take his opinion about Aaron with a heaping helping of salt.
ESPN really had Jermichael Finley on and sent out this notification. You can’t make this stuff up 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/P5bMMbeEiB
— Hogg (@HoggNFL) September 15, 2021
Every time Jermichael Finley decides to publicly take shots at Aaron Rodgers, I think of 12's reaction from a few years ago: pic.twitter.com/PVmbqyEMdK
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) September 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1438174417738207247
https://twitter.com/B8kOfELo/status/1438126935754825736
Finley’s bias aside, Rodgers and the Packers really do need to reset and get back on track if they want any chance of returning to the playoffs and competing for an NFC Championship. If Green Bay can’t right the ship in the coming weeks, the drumbeat of critics is only going to get louder. And, we presume, so will Finley.
[ESPN]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.