Green Bay quarterback Rodgers expresses frustration on field
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel Dec. 8, 2010
Green Bay Peyton Manning does it often. Tom Brady does it once in awhile. Brett Favre almost never does it.
Getting on your teammates for mental mistakes is something every quarterback has done, but only some can actually do it and not risk mutiny within the ranks. Guys with the cachet of Manning, Brady and Favre could take a belt to offenders at the 50-yard line and no one would blink an eye.
On Sunday against San Francisco, Aaron Rodgers was very demonstrative in pointing out mental errors, dressing down fullback Quinn Johnson, chirping at tight end Andrew Quarless and in one instance, seemingly getting irate with wide receiver Donald Driver.
Many a quarterback has blown off steam, but most have been careful to contain it.
"I think as a quarterback and as a leader, you have to find ways to get through to your teammates," Rodgers said. "Some guys do better with a confrontation, some guys with a pat on the butt, some guys a one-on-one sit-down. I'm an emotional player, and sometimes I share my emotions on the field, sometimes I share them in public.
"But I think some of the mistakes we've been making are so correctable, it's often most frustrating when I know those are mistakes that shouldn't happen. And when you're playing a tight game, you can't have alignment mistakes."
Rodgers was speaking more of the mistakes Quarless, a rookie, and Johnson, a second-year player made. Rodgers patted Johnson on the helmet after chewing him out.
As for the other instance, it turned out the swinging of his arm in total frustration was not aimed at Driver, an 11-year veteran who was unable to catch up to a ball thrown over his head in the corner of the end zone.
But it sure seemed that way from afar.
And sometimes perception is as bad as reality. It's not a good idea to show up a guy as revered as Driver, even if that wasn't what you intended to do.
Rodgers wouldn't say at whom he was gesturing, but receiver Greg Jennings was on the same side as Driver, was a little late off the ball after going in motion and may have taken the route inside instead of outside. So it could have been Jennings. And if it wasn't Jennings, then it was someone on the sideline.
On the very next play, Rodgers had to call a timeout because Quarless apparently wasn't lined up right.
"Sometimes I say things," Rodgers said. "I guess it's frustrating when it's a little thing and it shouldn't be an issue, I think. You're probably talking about me getting on Quinn a little bit when he couldn't line up in the right spot. To me, that goes back to preparation.
"To me, physical mistakes are going to happen. They just are. I'm going to throw a bad ball, guys are going to drop passes, might not be able to make a play at some point. But the mental stuff, I just have a really hard time with that. Because I just feel like the preparation should be the most important thing for these guys."
Driver said he accepts Rodgers for the kind of person he is. He admitted Rodgers is cocky, "but in a good way."
"I'm cocky," Driver said. "It goes hand in hand. I think I'm one of the best. He thinks he's one of the best quarterbacks. That's pretty good."
When he first got to Green Bay, Rodgers had to learn some hard lessons about humility and respect. He has admitted that he probably was too cocky and that it was important for him to pull back on some of the bad body language he displayed when things went wrong.
Remnants of that guy are visible at times, sometimes with the way he'll argue with officials trying to get calls. He's not the only quarterback to beg for an opponent to be called for a hit to his head or pass interference downfield.
It's possible officials don't give him the calls they give veterans because he hasn't earned it. At his peak, Favre could have someone brush against him after he had thrown the ball and a late hit would be called.
Rodgers hasn't reached that stature.
It stands to reason that if the Packers were 4-8 instead of 8-4, teammates would be less accepting of Rodgers' demonstrations on the field. But the Packers are 8-4, and Rodgers said he's trying to display the leadership people expect from a star quarterback, even if in some cases it has more to do with how you play than what you say.
Rodgers wants everyone to be as prepared as he is.
"Guys know what they're going to get with me and they know how hard I prepare and how bad I want to win," Rodgers said. "I just have a hard time with a lot of mental mistakes. I'm going to try not to be demonstrative, but it's frustrating at times when there are correctable things and there's things that can affect the game's outcome that a lot of times go back to practice and preparation."