last season in the Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady MVP race, the debate became a quintessential measure of success in the face of perceived weakness.
Rodgers’ best argument for MVP was that when you looked at Brady’s surrounding pass-catching pieces and offensive line, the collections were far better than anything Rodgers had in Green Bay.
One NFC head coach put a finer point on it, labeling the assortment of Rodgers’ wideouts and tight ends one great player and a bunch of guys.
That is, if you could accurately read the lips of the Packers quarterback during Sunday’s stunning 15-9 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Arguably no other defeat in Rodgers’ career featured such a demonstrative display of anger and frustration.
In a postgame news conference that was strung together by sighs and painful pauses, Rodgers sounded close to defeated, even in the moments he was trying to project something positive.
I had some sh**** throws for sure, he said.… Yeah, pretty disappointed. Uh, that about sums it up. Just disappointed.
This is a lot of life lessons, for sure, this year. But luckily it’s not over. There’s still a lot of games left.
Frankly, I don’t know how many would count the Packers lucky when they see the remaining schedule.