A Decade Of Packers Playoff Pain, Addendum
You know I had to do it to ’em
The Packers last dance is complete. This was likely the final time we will see this squad as we know it. The franchise is woefully far over the cap and will have to be stripped for parts to move on, and the biggest part that can be stripped is Rodgers. Rodgers already held the team hostage last year and flirted with retirement. He doesn’t want to be part of a rebuild. That was likely the last time we see Rodgers in a Packers jersey. The Packers put everything they had into this season and they came up with nothing. It ruled.
Before this year, Rodgers was a pretty well-respected guy. We knew he was egotistical and petty and stuck with competitor’s brain, sure. But he seemed smart and I would have had a beer with the guy. Then he held the Packers hostage out of petty spite that he wasn’t being consulted with roster decisions. He caused a load of drama, but the season started and it looked fine again. Then it all went up in smoke in an instant when he caught Covid and his entire persona as that annoying libertarian contrarian dickweed in your freshman college dorm got exposed. Oh, he’s not smart, he’s actually just Football Kyrie Irving. A guy who has spent his years being very good at one thing and thinking that skill transcends him into a higher plane of human. I knew a few Aaron Rodgers in college. The one that stands out most was a guy in my first-year literature class who did a presentation report on, you guessed it, Atlas Shrugged. The bible of every insufferable dweeb who has read about 3 books but is convinced he’s actually one of the great men of the world.
Later in the year, Rodgers went on the Manningcast and when asked about the bookshelf behind him, he pointed out Atlas Shrugged, first. A few weeks later he pulled a Kyrie Irving and claimed he did that on purpose, to rile up the media and reactions for his own amusement. The classic internet puppetmaster defense of “spout bad opinion, get called out for it, claim it was a con job all along“. This is the same guy who deliberately used misleading language when asked about his vax status because he knew he’d get roasted for his actual answer, but now he’s toying with the media on purpose to make himself look worse as a joke? Fuck off, Throw Rogan. Rodgers went full heel and watching the MVP eat nothing but shit in the divisional round, at home, in the weather that supposedly favors the Packers, to the team that was his childhood dream and has beaten him 4 times now, was the greatest schadenfreude of the season. I had more fun watching Rodgers get owned than I had watching Brady lose. The few hours after the loss were some of the most fun I’ve had online in sports circles. The shitposting was supreme. The world came together to laugh at this knob getting his butt kicked.
As for the Packers themselves, I doubt Jordan Love is going to be the next HoFer and they will probably regress to the mean if not plummet below it. Rodgers and the Pack should count their blessings they got a ring out of him early, because this past decade has been choke after choke after choke, saving maybe one of the funniest for last. 2 rings out of 30 years of Hall of Fame QB play is actually a terrible track record. I like to joke that Eli has more rings than Rodgers does. A more damning stat is that Rex Grossman has won as many NFCCG as Rodgers has. The Packers have been an obnoxiously constant presence in the postseason for 3 decades and I cannot wait till I no longer have to see that yellow helmet take up a playoff seed with such irritating consistency. I can’t wait till this entire generation of Packers fans faces the same problems the rest of us face when our teams have question marks under center.
Rodgers right now reminds me of myself when I was 11 and first discovering the internet in the early 2000’s. I used to troll people by saying the earth was flat, and laugh at people who got annoyed when they tried to correct me. But I grew out of it.
Also I personally believe Atlas Shrugged is the 1950’s softcore version of 50 Shades. Except instead of a rework of a Twilight Fanfiction, its a rework of a self insert fanfiction with rich American Businessmen.
Texty Rexy?
A lot of blame is going to go to Green Bay’s special teams, and rightfully so. But the reality of this game is that special teams only ended up being the difference because Rodgers and GB’s offense as a whole put up a complete stinker. If they just hit 20 like they normally do, they win. Couldn’t even do that.
Exactly this. Shannon Sharpe made a nice point… special teams has, what, maybe ~5-10 snaps a game, depending how things go? According to ESPN, the Packers ran 59 plays in that game. An elite MVP QB should – without fail – be able to overcome a few bad special teams plays. But this is who Fraudgers is. He can stack wins and pad stats when the games don’t matter, and then in the biggest of moments, vanish inside of them. Say what you will about Eli, but that MFer stood tall in the moment. Kaaron Fraudgers, the Discount Double Choking Covidiot, Esq. just melts, like superglue left out on a hot day in Florida.
At least with Peyton, you could explain a lot of the early failures on the Colts going, like, 13-0, all the starters sitting for a few weeks, and then they were stone cold when the playoffs started. And he faced the Patriots a lot. Fraudgers just loses to some of the worst teams, and I friggin’ love it.
I was talking with a friend about this so I’ll just repeat what I said here:
To me, the difference between Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers is that Peyton was willing to be the reason his teams lost. For as atrocious as some of Peyton’s performances were, you could never say the dude wasn’t giving it his all out there. When things got bad, he’d start taking risks, making tougher throws and doing damn near everything else to get his team back in it. If it led to 4 picks, so be it, at the end of the day he could say that he was trying to win the game for his guys. Same can be said of Eli, Brady, hell even Rivers and Roethlisberger and then some.
I just don’t get that vibe from Rodgers. When things go bad, he holes up and stubbornly sticks to what he always does. He won’t take those risks and seems perfectly content with letting the game get way out of hand so he can start padding his numbers once the defense softens up. It makes the box score look good and it means that people can go back, point to whatever the defense surrendered and say, “See! Rodgers didn’t lose, it was all his defense’s fault!” even when Rodgers himself didn’t do much until garbage time. Games like the one on Saturday just prove that it doesn’t matter how the defense plays. If things get tough, Rodgers most likely won’t get it done.
That’s not an uncommon criticism of him. I read a piece once (maybe on 538?) where the author was arguing that Rodgers doesn’t limit interceptions by making good decisions and better throws, but by playing too conservatively. It argued that he’s rarely willing to make his own play, instead always taking what’s given to him, and then bombing out only when he knows there’s no risk, like after an offside flag.
Yeah, it’s a valid criticism that people tend to overlook because Rodgers is really, really good at passing the eye-test. He’ll make an eye-popping throw into a tight window that looks impossible until you realize that he only threw it because the defender was completely turned around and there was no chance they were going to make a play on the ball. Doesn’t knock the throw since it still requires pinpoint accuracy and timing, but it is less impressive when you’re aware of that fact.
I know it sounds insane to say this, but like, Aaron Rodgers has an abnormally low INT rate for a reason and it’s not because of him having better decision making skills than Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. It’s what that article said, he’s just significantly more conservative and will absolutely refuse to risk throwing an interception, regardless of the circumstances. Unsurprisingly, this tendency tends to bite him in the ass come playoffs, when the competition is better and quarterbacks have to start taking those calculated risks more often. Looks great in the box score (until it doesn’t), doesn’t translate to wins.
In short, he’s on the opposite side of the spectrum from Favre when it comes to INTs and taking risks
The article made the Favre comparison too.
It is incredibly hilarious and ironic that Green Bay went from a guy that routinely cost them playoff games due his stupidly reckless tendencies in clutch moments to a guy that routinely costs them playoff games due to his stupidly conservative tendencies in clutch moments. Something right out of a bad comedy.
I believe, because Favre threw so many interceptions including his last pass as a Packer to knock them out of playoffs, is what led Rodgers to develop the risk aversion brought up here.
Throw Rogan? Yeah, that hits dead on.
I also enjoyed watching the inevitable failure. I was rooting for Giant Meteor because I didn’t want SF to win either, but Meteor never comes through. A Rodgers chokejob in the playoffs, though? You can just about set your watch to that.
My favorite so far has been Breitbart Starr.
Ohh that’s good!
I also like “Q-aaron”…
Kharyn Aaron
Jimmy G with a combined 19 completions in the two victories, you love to see it.
Even as a Hawks fan, I was delighted to see the Pack lose, especially the way they did.
The Rams however, that one was disappointing. I wanted the 27-3 memes, damnit!
I’m positive that the Bucs fans were all designing “27-3” shirts in their heads midway through the game…
Rodgers had completions to just three different WR (and a RB) Davante Adams and Aaron Jones combined for 18 out of his 20 completions that is not a recipe for playoff success.
That might be the worst MVP performance in a playoff game since Rich Gannon. Rodgers missed plenty of reads including a crucial one where he threw it downfield to Adams instead of hitting Lazard on the crossing route.
Out of all the QBs in the divisional round, I could argue that Rodgers played the worst below the likes of Grappolo and Tannehill.
Plus the Packers were never going to win the Super Bowl with a 32 ranked special teams, Special Teams may only play for 5-10 downs but a game can change in one play as we just saw. It was a recipe for a playoff choke.
In Gannon’s defence, Gruden knew everything about the Raiders. They were foolish to keep their plays and audibles intact, but they obviously figured the chances they would end up playing the Bucs in the Super Bowl were pretty low and it would be more of a hassle to change everything up.
Exactly this. Plus that was the last year they only had a week between the championship game and the super bowl. Not enough time to completely change their scheme then. Your pro bowl center no showing the game because he had a Tijuana bender also doesn’t help.
I was trying to draw a comparison of a veteran MVP Qb being terrible in a playoff game but you guys bring valid points
I understand, but Gannon crushed the Dolphins in the Divisional Round and the Titans in the Conference Championship. He wasn’t one and done, like Rodgers. If the Raiders had played any other NFC team in the Super Bowl that year, they probably would have won.
Yeah. Whenever Adams had been out the last couple years, tjey found ways to pass the ball around and win. One time was lots of passes to running backs out of the backfield. I guess that’s back to Jones. But there were others. Why couldn’t have coaches put their foot down and demanded more passes to others?
I think it comes down to Rodgers’s inability to be clutch if the offense is cold. If the Packers had Mahomes, Brady, or even Russell Wilson they win that game because those guys are capable of heating up at a moment’s notice even if they’ve been playing like shit the whole game.
Heck the 2014 NFCCG is the definitive example of what I just decribed.
I’ve seen jokes that guys wives or GFs wish that they stared at them as much as Rodgers stares down Adams. I saw several times, including the final terrible throw where other WRs were open. Lazard was wide open with nobody within 15 yards of him, but Rodgers throws a heroball at Adams into double coverage and it goes incomplete. His defense allowed only 6 points, but Qaron Fraudgers still can’t make up the difference.
I can’t believe Aaron Rodgers missed Allen Lazard on that play it’s inexcusable for a guy that has much experience as he has
The 2011 receiving squad spoiled him
Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson have as many Super Bowl rings as a starter.
People make a big deal about the seamless transition from Favre to Rodgers, but I contend that Packers fans have had it good since THE MERGER.
Ok there was a significant gap between Bart Starr and Lynn Dickey, but not nearly as long as many teams have had to go without finding a long term starter. Starr… to Dickey… to Don “The Majick Mon” Majkowski… to Favre… immediately to Rodgers.
If you were an OG Packers fan you got to see a run of dominance that rivalled the latter day Patriots then 5 straight decades of competitive quarterback play with only brief interregnums of crappiness. Must be nice.
I dunno, I don’t remember ever being envious of Packer fans until Favre (I’m too ‘young’ to remember Lombardi) . 2 playoffs in 25 years, “Bay of Pigs” vs Tampa twice a year, etc…
Between Lombardi to Farve the Packers were actually not all that good
Just looked up the Packer’s historical record — I didn’t fully appreciate just how bad they were from basically Lombardi to Homlgren. From ’68 to ’91 inclusive, just 5 out of 24 seasons above .500.
For you and Phxgator, I’d like to clarify that my comment was specifically regarding the quarterback position. The Giants weren’t always good during Eli Manning’s career, but they had stability under center for almost a decade and a half. The Packers have had a similar type of stability far more often than not.
The packers are a rare case of a position being stable even though they sucked at that position, Lynn Dickey is a watered down version of Alex Smith, and the Packers had some of their worst years under him.
The Don was a one year wonder, and quickly became irrelevant after that miraculous year.
Wouldn’t you rather have Tom Brady for a year rather than Mitchell Trubisky for 8 years?
“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.”
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/366635-there-are-two-novels-that-can-change-a-bookish-fourteen-year
I read Atlas Shrugged in early college to impress a girl I had a crush on. I did not have a crush on her by the time I finished.
came here to find this quote. I think of it every time Atlas Shrugged comes up
This post is how we know you’re a secret Vikings fan at heart!
I’ll add one thing. It’s not just 30 years of HoF QB play. It’s 30 years of play from two guys that are TOP 10 OF ALL TIME. Sure, you made it to the top of the mountain twice, but to fall so consistently short of your abilities over 30 years!!!! That’s pretty shameful.
Aaron Rodgers is for sure a first ballot hall of famer, but I love how everyone is staring to question his legacy now. I love how Packers fans are starting to feel the upcoming dread of being ass. I love the sneaking suspicion that their golden boy Matt LeFleur isn’t shit without the best (not greatest) QB of all time. I love watching Captain Hammer feel pain and not knowing how to deal with any of it.
I think Rodgers is not Top ten all time.
But Definitely a HOF
Rodgers is definitely top 10 all time, but I’m just glad to see people stop ranking him over Peyton Manning in some weird attempt to give him the nod over Tom Brady. He’s not in that convo and has never been in that convo.
I’m pretty sure the top ten qbs all time are in the 100 year all time team and rodgers didn’t make the cut
The 100 year all time team isn’t exactly the fairest measure given that their criteria basically forced them to limit the number of QBs from the 21st Century to 3(?) guys. I understand the reasoning and why they need to respect the legends of the past that are under-appreciated today, but Rodgers is easily one of the best to ever do it, even if he withers come playoffs. From a statistical standpoint to simply judging raw arm-talent, I don’t think you can reasonably name 10 quarterbacks that are better than he is.
I’m honestly kind of disappointed the Buccs didn’t pull off the comeback. Not because I wanted to see Brady win, but because I was so hype for the 27-3 memes that would’ve followed. Having another almost 28-3 to laugh at LA for would have ruled.
That collapse would have been even more embarrassing given how quickly it happened, and the narratives would have probably destroyed Matthew Stafford’s legacy, even if it wasn’t at all his fault.
I was at work for most of that game, and got off right around the 4 minute mark, when it was still 27-13 and the Rams had the ball. I was keeping tabs on it but put my phone away as I was scraping snow off my car while it heated up. Finished, got back in, checked the score and holy shit it’s tied????? Would have been one of the most insane comebacks of all time if Bowles didn’t try to get cute at the end. Even 28-3 was a gradual process of New England getting hot and Atlanta going cold. That game would have been an epic collapse for the ages.
Only reason Rams won that game, and the Super Bowl was because the NFL is so desperate to make the Rams relevant in the LA market, and what better way than to let the hometown LA team win in their own backyard, which is why every single dubious call in a Rams game in that post season just happened to go in the Rams favor, it was nauseating to watch.
The sad part is that despite the rigjob, the Rams are still afterthoughts in their own market, and it took one good USC season to kick the Rams back down to 5th or 6th in the LA sports pecking order.
In the last 30 Years…
The Packers are 3-6 in NFCCG while 23-20 in the playoffs overall,
Despite averaging 10 wins per season and having 43 playoff appearances they only have 2 super bowl wins
20 of the 25 Packers playoff losses came during this time period
Have won the Super Bowl in .07 Percent of the time
Had only 4 losing seasons during the Time Period
Both QBs combined for 7 MVP Seasons, 7 All-Pro Seasons and 21 Pro bowl Seasons
Both QBs are on all decade teams
A bigger badder giant than anyone if it wasn’t for that tiny head.
As a Vikings fan, all I have is Packers schadenfreude. And it is glorious.
For personal reasons I enjoy watching the Packers implode each year. Then I Grinch grimace in evil joy because I know that somewhere that bloated ego cheddar head that wronged me so many years ago is swallowing piss. I really need to let it go now.
No, wallow in it. I could still give a police sketch description of the Packer fan in Roanoke who decided that because I’m white and a midwestern transplant that must mean I enjoyed being as virulently racist as he was and wouldn’t take the hint when the other Browns fan in the bar and I kept changing tables to get away from him. Ten years ago.
I can 100% understand enjoying Rodgers failure after the way he acted for the last year plus. But I’m not sure I get rooting against the Packers BEFORE that (unless you’re a fan of a rival team, and I’m not aware of a Giants – Packers rivalry). I grew up in the Detroit area, so I should hate Green Bay, but I always thought they were one of the more likable franchises – from the early Super Bowls and Lombardi through Favre and how genuinely great Rodgers was to watch play on the field for much of his career, plus the whole “this town is too small for a NFL franchise by any modern stats” and the “owned by the people” thing. Why the pre-2021 hate for them Dave? Do you just not like any team that makes it routinely, and prefer turnover and chaos?
I wonder what A-Rod’s numbers would have been if he plays in the 1980s with LT and White roaming the field.
While it doesn’t fit the continued script, Jimmy G saying “better QB wins lolololol” would have really made me laugh.
Friday better have one last Hobo Payton
Yeah I definitely rolled my eyes at the “Atlas Shrugged” callout. And I used to be one of those insufferable annoying libertarian contrarian dickweed dweebs.
I could be wrong but could have sworn Eli did a bit of an eye roll too.
Knob perfectly describes Rodgers. He still isn’t as cringe as serial-woman-respecter Rapelisberger. Once he retires O can finally not hate the Squeelers.
I’m just going to sit here and enjoy this.
Imagine losing to Kaep and Jimmy GQ twice (each) in the post season… LMAO
It is bizarre how salty Ayn Rand makes people lol
because she sucks and her superfans are ruining the world.
Just wanted to say how happy this makes me, and will continue to make me until Rodgers disappears forever. Thank you.