In Green Bay, going “all-in” means signing a pair of veterans off the street. In LA, going “all-in” means trading high picks for an elite pass rusher. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the Packers play the Rams later this month, in what could be the first of two meetings between teams with very different ideas of how to build a championship roster. Anyway, here are more Packers-related thoughts that ran through my mind in recent days:
1) Aaron Rodgers should be ashamed of himself. Not only did he make the selfish choice to be unvaccinated, but unlike fellow quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Lamar Jackson, and Carson Wentz, he didn’t even have the guts to admit it. Instead, he told the media he was “immunized” when asked about his status in August. To make matters worse, an unmasked Rodgers attended a Halloween party last weekend. Now, the supposed leader of the team will miss Sunday’s game at Kansas City and possibly next Sunday’s home game against Seattle. The Packers, who have won seven consecutive games and are currently the No. 1 seed in the loaded NFC, will have to face the defending AFC champions with Jordan Love at quarterback. The 23-year old from Utah State will be making his first career start. As for Rodgers, that yellow letter C on his uniform should be ripped off and replaced with a scarlet letter A – for asshole.
2) After beating the Cardinals last Thursday night, Green Bay is now 7-0 and averaging over 30 points a game without Davante Adams since 2019. And while everyone from Rodgers to coach Matt LaFleur is quick to point out the Packers are a better team with No. 17 on the field, that this even has to be said is telling. Whether you agree or disagree, one thing is clear – Adams shouldn’t be extended. The free-agent-to-be wants $25 million a year, and even if the Packers weren’t in cap hell in 2022, that’s way too much money for any wide receiver – let alone one the team can obviously win without. Come March, general manager Brian Gutekunst needs to thank Adams for his outstanding work these past eight years, and then gladly accept the third-round compensatory pick in 2023 that will come his way once Adams is dramatically overpaid by another team looking to win the offseason.
3) The signing of De’Vondre Campbell in early June barely made a ripple at a time when free agency was all but over, and the Rodgers drama was all anyone was talking about. Who would’ve known that four months later, the journeyman inside linebacker would be playing his position better than it’s been played in Green Bay since the 1970s? Certainly not me. I watched hundreds of snaps from the past couple of years, and while fully expecting Campbell to be better than last season’s starter, Christian Kirksey, I never saw this coming. And to be fair, who would have? Players aren’t supposed to improve in their sixth season, but that’s exactly what the ex-Falcon and Cardinal has done. In fact, I can’t recall something like this happening with any veteran acquired by the Packers. How good has Campbell been? So good that it’s hard to imagine more than a handful of inside linebackers being better.
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I don’t know what Rodgers was thinking the first time he went on McAfee to talk about his positive test. Maybe he thought he could talk his way out of the situation. Had he just said what he said two days ago, the blowback would’ve been so much less severe. Sometimes thinking you’re the smartest guy in every room gets you in trouble.