Aaron Rodgers defends his public criticism of teammates

The Green Bay Packers and legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers have struggled this season. On Sunday, Rodgers appeared to take out a bit of his frustration on his teammates. Wednesday, when confronted about his public criticism of his teammates, Rodgers was quick to defend his words. 

“I did do it privately,” Rodgers said. “I’m not saying anything [publicly] that I’m not saying to those guys. So, maybe that’s talking about a conversation that’s behind closed doors in public, but the level of accountability is the standard here."

In 2022, words can be spun in many different ways, especially when an athlete is speaking to the media. But even three days later, Rodgers stands by what he said, saying that his teammates need to take his criticism and improve. 

"Again, I don’t think it should be a problem to any of those guys to hear criticism, he added. "We all hear criticism in our own ways, and we’ve all got to be OK with it and take it in and process it. And if it doesn’t fit, then it doesn’t fit. But if it fits, we’ve got to wear it and improve on those certain things."

“People in this society have a hard time hearing truth sometimes,” Rodgers said. 

The original criticism was about the Packers offense oversimplifying things on the field. So was Rodgers wrong? 

His team has underperformed this season. They sit at 3-4 through seven games and are coming off three straight losses to the Giants, Jets and Commanders. 

Despite Rodgers struggling along with his team, it was a sign of leadership from the longtime NFL QB and one that could potentially kick some players into gear. 

"I think when the players really take over, then you're going to see the possibility of us making a run," Rodgers said. "I'm not talking about the players usurping power from coaches. I'm talking about we take over. We take ownership of what we're putting on the field. Now, some of that might be in the plan. Some of that might be, 'Hey, I really want to do this,' offense, defense, (special) teams, whatever it might be. But the other part is taking ownership of your daily habits and your routines. Just cause we're a young team, we just can't write that off."

Rodgers and the Packers will head into Buffalo on Sunday night as a double-digit underdog, the first time Rodgers has faced such a point-spread in his career.