Welcome to this year’s round of Green Bay eulogies, where they come not to praise the Packers, but to bury them. Look for heavy doses of well-earned criticism, and nobody should be immune.
There’s the unit that’s masqueraded as a defense and its soon-to-be-unemployed coordinator, Bob Sanders. There’s head coach Mike McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson. And yes, there’s quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Especially Rodgers, who’s the easiest target to hit, and not just because his offensive line stinks. Not only did he dare to replace Brett Favre, and not only did he sign a $60 million contract extension, but he has the audacity to look like a rookie starting quarterback. Which, of course, is basically what he is.
Over at OnMilwaukee.com, Dave Begel basically labeled Rodgers a loser. He lays Green Bay’s lost season at the feet of the quarterback while questioning his leadership ability and intangibles. He even advises the Packers to start looking for another QB now.
I know Dave’s been around here a lot longer than I have. Heck, the guy got death threats for taking shots at Bart Starr, while my generation’s Bart is a Simpson. And I don’t question his extensive knowledge of the Packers.
Still, I like to give talented quarterbacks at least a couple of seasons, not to mention a defense that can tackle, before kneecapping them.
Go hit up the great quarterbacks at pro-football-reference.com and check out their early seasons. Troy Aikman was 0-11 as a rookie starter in Dallas. Joe Montana went 2-5 in his first extended action. Rookie John Elway was 4-6 (and once lined up to take a snap from his left guard). Favre threw 24 interceptions as a sophomore starter in Green Bay.
All of those guys are Hall-of-Famers. And at one point in their careers, all of them pretty much sucked. So even if Green Bay’s 5-9 record was all because of Rodgers (and it’s not), it’s just too early to make lasting judgments on him. Yes, Rodgers has to get better. So does every other young quarterback on the planet.
As for his leadership ability, where Begel sees problems, I see promise. Rodgers has played through injuries and handled the Favre circus like a pro. And while discussing his inability to bail out the Packers with fourth-quarter comebacks, Rodgers didn’t sidestep the subject.
“I get paid to make plays and I need to make plays,” Rogers said. “I haven’t been doing that as often as I want to be or should be. I take it upon myself.”
These don’t sound like the comments of a loser, but of someone taking responsibility for his actions. Terrell Owens is a loser. When something goes wrong, it’s never his fault, always someone else’s. But when something goes wrong with the Packers, Rodgers is quick to shoulder blame, even if someone else screwed up.
Like on Sunday, when right tackle Tony Moll played swinging gate with defensive end Reggie Hayward. And even though Hayward had a free shot at Rodgers, the QB took Moll off the hook, saying he should’ve thrown the ball sooner.
That’s the kind of guy I want for a teammate. You watch my back and I’ll watch yours.
Hey, maybe Begel’s crystal ball is properly tuned and Rodgers will ultimately prove that he’s a loser. But it looks to me like he’s a just guy still learning how to win. There’s a difference.
Team Irrelevant
Here’s a sign of how far the Green Bay Packers have fallen. Peter King wrote more than 9,000 words in this week’s wide-ranging Monday Morning Quarterback column. Not one of those words even remotely referenced the Packers, not even to mention how bad they’ve been. King even touched on the St. Louis/Seattle game, and you can add up their win totals on one hand. But not a single syllable about Green Bay. This from a guy who may still wear Brett Favre Underoos.
The point is this. In the span of one year, the Packers have gone from celebrated to controversial to intriguing to inconsistent to inadequate to irrelevant. That’s an Olympic-sized ski slope.
People around here will dissect the Packers for a couple more weeks, perhaps longer if nothing else comes along to distract them (like Randy Johnson to the Brewers). But on the national stage, Green Bay is long-forgotten. More attention will be paid to the Detroit Lions and their quest to avoid winlessness.
Which brings up another sign of Green Bay’s sorry status. It’s now a realistic notion that Detroit just might stave off historical embarrassment by beating the Packers in the regular-season finale. Somebody get Favre’s phone records.
Cowboy Up?
Memo to anyone surprised that Terrell Owens is blowing up yet another locker room. That thing rising in the east is called the sun, and it’s there every morning.
In calling out teammates Jason Witten and Tony Romo, word is that Owens has divided Dallas’ locker room in half, just like he’d done before in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Of course, you’ll find more sympathy for Rod Blagojevich than the Cowboys, because they did this to themselves.
Jerry Jones didn’t just give the undeserving Owens a third chance, he compounded the mistake with a four-year, $34 million contract. Moreover, coach Wade Phillips is defending Owens by saying he’s a victim of the media. Right. And poor Gov. Blagojevich was victimized by ethics.
Lest you think this type of thing is anything new in the land of Cowboys, I direct you the excellent book Boys Will Be Boys. It’s written by Jeff Pearlman, who might best be known for exposing John Rocker’s “class” in Sports Illustrated. And it might be the perfect gift for a Packers fan who needs some holiday cheer. Because what better way to forget this corpse of a season than staring at the skeletons in a rival’s closet?
After all, the book doesn’t just chronicle the rise of Dallas’ dynasty days during the 1990s, but also examines the fall. In fact, it opens with a tale of Michael Irvin stabbing a teammate in the neck with a pair of scissors.
“In a fit of rage, Michael Irvin nearly killed a teammate with those scissors,” says Pearlman, who was even brave enough to sign books in Dallas. “So what do the Cowboys do? They try their best to hide the whole thing.”
So maybe things aren’t that different in Dallas these days. Receivers are still stabbing teammates there. Owens is just doing it in the back.
Milwaukee Wave: Alive and Kicking
Somehow, the Milwaukee Wave played a soccer game Saturday night. Not bad, considering all that’s happened since their last one.
Since April, the Wave watched its longtime home, the Major Indoor Soccer League, disband. Then it found a new home – the Xtreme Soccer League. Then it watched the creation of the rival National Indoor Soccer League. And several former players left via retirement, defections or cost-cutting measures. And several current players suffered a rash of preseason injuries, including star players Marcio Leite and Nick Vorberg.
Not exactly a relaxing summer vacation.
Still, there was the Wave scoring an 11-4 win over the Detroit Ignition at U.S. Cellular Arena. And there was an announced crowd of 4,224 watching them do it. Just like old times.
While the fans were cheering, I couldn’t help but wonder just how close the Wave had come to not suiting up for their 25th season. So afterward, I asked coach Keith Tozer if he’d ever worried that his time with the Wave was done.
“There was a little concern,” admitted the man who’s coached the Wave since 1992. “But what my owner told me on four separate occasions was that we will play. And that really helped.”
So did seeing his team on the field again.
“It’s in the past now because this game has actually been played, because like we said, there was a little doubt that we wouldn’t,” Tozer explained. “Not only did we have doubt, I think a lot of fans, when they heard this guy wasn’t coming back or that guy wasn’t coming back, [they wondered] who they were actually gonna be watching. And I think now they see that, wow, this can still be a pretty good team.”
The Wave still have some challenges. Later Saturday night at the Milwaukee Bucks game, I told some people that I’d watched the Wave play earlier. Their response? They thought the Wave had folded.
Not true, I told them. Against the odds, they’re still kicking.
Tune in every Tuesday morning during the 6 o’clock hour when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault. And don’t forget to check out our new fitness column, Training with Tim.
