Aaron Rodgers: He'll 'get on the same frequency' as Packers' young WRs
Aaron Rodgers has trust issues. That much has been clear about the Green Bay Packers' legendary quarterback for years.
It takes a while for wide receivers to gain his trust. When they do, you end up with Jordy Nelson, prime Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams. It's a special thing to watch.
When Rodgers is frustrated, though, it clearly gets in his head and makes life harder for the wideouts trying to catch passes from him. Just look at how Week 1 played out for the Packers.
Rodgers had a wide-open touchdown throw to rookie Christian Watson in the bag, but the young man dropped it. He barely saw the ball again after that.
Rodgers did build a little bit of chemistry with another rookie wideout, Romeo Doubs, but far too often he leaned on what he knew rather than the raw talent and play-making ability of the young wideouts he hasn't gotten to know much yet — and it hurt Green Bay's offense.
The result was an ugly 23-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings that saw Rodgers complete 22-of-34 passes for just 195 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. He also fumbled the ball in the second half while doing too much to try to make something work.
It was a terrible game from Rodgers — he had a 67.7 quarterback rating — but even he with all his trust issues seems to understand that the key to offensive success in 2022 and beyond is him getting more involved with the young and talented wideouts.
“It’s not (the same as) throwing to older guys out there,” Rodgers said, according to Jason Wilde. “It’s young guys who are very talented who are going to make some great plays sometimes, and there’s going to be times when they don’t make the right reaction. (It’s about) just having patience with that. Because I think by the end of the year, they’ll have it figured out.
“There’s a standard I’m going to hold these guys to because I believe in them, but also there’s a patience that comes with the inexperience," Rodgers continued. "I think I’ve learned how to balance that. But the direct conversations are the best way. These are good kids. They really are. They want to please, they want to do the right thing, they care about it.
“I’m going to figure out a way to continue to get on the same frequency with them, and at the core of it is just communication. … At the end of the day, that’s how that trust is built, through that direct communication.”
Rodgers is known as a great teammate in the very same breath that he's known as a quarterback with a very short leash. It will be interesting to see if he's able to grow together with both Watson and Doubs and if so, how Green Bay's offense develops over time in 2022.
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