Q: You could have gotten more money if you wanted with your new contract. Do you agree with that premise and, if so, why didn’t you attempt to get more money?
Rodgers: I don’t know if I agree with the premise. I think that when we went through the process, we wanted it to be a process where both sides felt good about the way the negotiations went, the way the contract was. Obviously, we wanted some fair-market value, but we wanted to make sure that this team was still in position to be successful and to be competitive. So in the end, I was extremely happy about the contract and I think the Packers were happy about it as well.
Q: Has money or fame changed you at all through the years?
Rodgers: I think so. I think it has to. I think you have to be aware of how a contract like this changes the way you’re looked at both on the team and outside the building. In general, when you have success on the field, you’re more popular and you have that fame that comes with it. You realize you’re in the public eye more and you’ve got to be a little bit more careful about some of the things you’re doing out in public and make sure you’re smart about the things you say. You’re still going to make mistakes from time to time, but you represent an even greater population and people are that much more looking for you to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or fall down or say something really stupid that’s going to get you in trouble.
Q: Does playing in the NFL’s smallest market and the fishbowl existence that comes with that ever get to you, and how do you adapt to that?
Rodgers: I think being recognized more is something you have to get used to, whether it’s here or in California or when I’m traveling. It’s more a part of my life. People recognize me from my play or a commercial I’ve done. It’s just a normal part of life now. I think it helps being in Green Bay where it’s more of a first-name-basis type of a feel. People are happy to see you but, it’s kind of, I guess it’s more normal for them than maybe in a big city where you never expect to see somebody and when you do see someone, maybe they go a little bit crazier than here. The people know I’m going to be down at the Piggly Wiggly or at Chives or at another place I like to go to. That’s just, they’re expecting almost to see me there.
Q: Can you go out in public and relax, or do you always have to be “on?”
Rodgers: It depends. I don’t ever feel like I have to always be “on.” However, some people when they see you, there’s an expectation that ‘oh there’s the quarterback, I’ve got to go talk to him about football or this or that, or get an autograph or picture.’ I try and be as courteous as possible and sometimes try to tell these fans that as much as I appreciate their support, there are times where I need to be able to have an uninterrupted dinner or not have to take a bunch of pictures or just be able to do some of the normal things.
Q: How important is it to be able to get away in the offseason?
Rodgers: The thing you realize as you get older and you play, that you don’t really understand when you’re a backup the first few offseasons, how important that mental rest is. It’s a grind physically during the season every week, dealing with the hits and the physical pain that goes with playing in this game. But mentally it’s probably more taxing, so you need that ability to find that escape. For me, San Diego is often the best vacation I go on in the offseason. It’s just being home because it’s very relaxing. I need that time to really download and mentally kind of debrief about the season and kind of get ready for the next challenge.
Q: Will you be ready to retire after your new contract expires following the 2019 season?
Rodgers: I said (in the past) eight more. I played eight (seasons), I think I can get eight more. But this contract, the way it’s set up, it’s not comparable to some of the other similar contracts where the cap number becomes so large at the end of three and four and five (years) where they might have to re-do it. I think we can legitimately see this all the way through seven years. Now that would take very consistent play from me, for me to be worth those numbers for the next seven years. But I fully expect to play well and if I can play seven more good years and we can have some more success and win a couple more (titles), then it might be time to hang it up.
Q: Maybe you would keep playing?
Rodgers: I’ve always said as long as I can be (a) 100 percent offseason contributor and be here for the OTAs and want to be here and continue to want to put in the time in the offseason, then I’m going to be playing. As long as I have my legs and that commitment to the team, then I’ll keep playing.
Q: You will turn 30 in December. Does that number mean anything to you?
Rodgers: I was actually just asking Tramon (Williams) about it the other day. I said, “How does 30 feel?” He said it feels like 28, so I’m feeling OK about it. It is interesting to look around and see how the locker room changes. My locker hasn’t but I’ve seen a lot of friends and teammates go over the years. Nobody here from my draft class, obviously. But it’s fun to be on the other side, to have a greater leadership role, to be able to help out some of these young guys, but also kind of see the stuff that they’re into and the stuff they’re doing, and the way they’re spending their off time and remembering some of the things I liked to do when I was younger. It’s an exciting time for those guys and for myself as well. We’ve got a lot of great young players. I think our window is continuing to stay at that four or five years with the kind of guys we have.
Q: Do you ever ask yourself where the time has gone? You’re the longest-tenured player in this locker room.
Rodgers: I really do. I mean it’s crazy to think about some of the conversations I had as a young player, remembering how five years seemed like such a long career, and eight years, and the guys who were at 10, and Brett (Favre) was at 15 and I’m just like, “I hope I can get through five, that would be fun.” But I think you learn along the way what it takes to be successful and stick around this league. That’s some of the knowledge that I have to be able to pass along to some of these young guys who I see are either struggling or maybe figuring it out and just reminding them what it takes to be successful and stick around for a long time. I hope I can be an example of that and continue to stay healthy and play at a high level.
Q: How do you see your role as a leader in this locker room, and what actions do you take to carry that out?
Rodgers: I think it’s got to be very authentic leadership, genuine. It can’t be forced or contrived. It has to be your personality. That’s the fun thing about seeing these young guys come in, seeing how they adapt to the guys in their position group and myself, how they treat me. It goes from them calling me “sir” at times to them being able to joke around a little bit, be able to peel back some of the layers of that cake and see kind of what’s underneath. It’s exciting to see how the team comes together. But I think my leadership continues to expand every year. I’m kind of like an assistant coach in meetings at times because I’ve been in this offense as long as anybody’s been here, since the coaching staff, before this coaching staff was here. They give me a lot of opportunity to speak up in those meetings. I’ve always felt like it’s important if the guys see and hear kind of what I’m thinking and how I view these plays and our offense. I take a lot of pride in my leadership style and I think that is appreciated.
Q: Do you go out of your way to make young players feel welcome?
Rodgers: I think so. I like to mix it up with them, and tease them a little bit, kind of see what they’re all about. It’s interesting to see once you spend a month or month and a half with them kind of how they respond to different ways of approaching them. If they’re very straight laced or if they like to relax a little bit or like to joke around. Just kind of see how the personalities start to come out of the team because really it’s a new opportunity for those guys to kind of reinvent themselves as a teammate and as a player going from college to the pros, where they know everybody, they’re the big man on campus. Now they don’t know anybody, they haven’t proven anything and they have an opportunity to gain the respect in whatever they deem necessary. So it’s fun to kind of play with those guys a little bit. I’ve always felt like making those guys feel welcome is important. I had a bunch of guys who did that for me when I was a young player: Javon Walker, Walt Williams, Na’il Diggs, Grey Ruegamer. Those were guys who really made me feel real welcome when I was a rookie. They picked on me at times, which was fun but I remember how they treated me and I try and do the same to these guys.
Q: You used to invite teammates over to your house. Do you still do that?
Rodgers: We haven’t done a whole lot of that. We haven’t had a whole lot of good weather around here. But we had a bunch of guys down at Whistling Straits a couple weeks ago and had a good time down there, a good competition. We’re always doing things as a group. We’re a tight-knit group so we’re doing dinners every week. It’s not usually structured but a lot more guys have been sticking around here on the weekends and been getting together. It’s a fun team. We spend a lot of time together.
Q: On the offensive line, not one person will be in the same spot since the start of last season? How do you feel about that? That’s a major turnover.
Rodgers: I like the way those guys are playing right now. I like the attitude. I think we’re in a lot better spot this year as far as personnel-wise, the depth that we have. We have Don Barclay who played a lot for us and Derek Sherrod coming back from an injury, and Greg Van Roten who has really improved himself and put himself in a position to be a very important backup for us. The guys who switched spots, there’s an expectation they’re going to be able to pick that up quickly. I think it will help once we put the pads on and they really get to see how their stance affects their weight distribution and their blocking ability. But I love what Evan (Dietrich-Smith) has done being the center, leading with his energy and his intelligence. I think he’s grown a bunch in the last couple years. I think he has a really bright future for us. It’s going to be important that the rest of those four guys get to a quick comfort level with their new position and I think when they do, you’re going to see an improved line and we’re going to do a better job eliminating some of those sacks.
Q: Do you think the 51 sacks given up last season was the impetus behind the changes on the line?
Rodgers: I’m sure it had something to do with it, but I like the direction that we’re going with Evan bringing that energy and that fire at center. Brian (Bulaga) I think has been re-energized moving over to the left (tackle), and good to have him back from his injury. Josh (Sitton) and T.J. (Lang) are both so talented, they can flip flop and play both those positions. And I think Marshall (Newhouse) knows he’s got some competition now and I think he’s had a really good spring.
Q: How would you describe your relationship with Mike McCarthy?
Rodgers: I think it’s a good one. I think we have a lot of respect for each other. We’re good friends off the field. We have a great relationship on the field that often involves some funny conversations at times. But I think there’s a lot of trust that goes into every week of planning. He trusts me with a lot of things that I can do at the line of scrimmage and I trust him with the preparation and the way that him and his coaching staff put together a game plan. I think he does a great job of calling plays. He’s gotten even better in the last seven years of figuring out what I like and how to get me into a rhythm where I can really get comfortable in a game. That’s one thing I really appreciate from him is he understands kind of how to get me going. He knows if I can get going early then our offense can find that comfort zone and that rhythm quickly and that’s when we’re at our most effective operating.
Q: Does that relationship go beyond the professional level? Do you socialize with him?
Rodgers: Oh for sure, we’ve done that on many occasions. We spend a lot of time together during the week. We have some specific times we’ve carved out for football conversations. And it can’t help but go to life conversations when you’ve been around each other for so long. This is our eighth year together. Get to know him and his family and that’s the exciting part. We’ve played a lot of football together and been in a lot of battles together. I’ve always appreciated his leadership and the way that he’s led this team and also given me the freedom to be myself.
Q: Pressure doesn’t seem to bother you. Is that something that comes naturally or did you have to work at it?
Rodgers: I think part of it is natural but I think you can train yourself to block out some of that pressure and replace it with confidence. For me, it’s always been about preparation, and the more prepared I can be each week, the less pressure I feel and the more confident I am. As your confidence grows, it’s only natural that the pressure you feel diminishes.
Q: How excited were you on draft weekend when the Packers selected two running backs fairly high?
Rodgers: I’m always excited to see what Ted brings in. When you bring in Eddie Lacy, who had a ton of success in college at Alabama, and Johnathan Franklin, who can really move. You see him in person, he’s very impressive, and as an older player, it’s fun to know you’re going to be able to have an impact on helping those guys see the game the right way. They’re going to be very well coached and I’m going to help them as much as I can.
Q: If those running back picks work out, will defenses be forced to change their looks against you?
Rodgers: We hope so. I think that’s one thing that you have to hope for is (that) bringing in those guys will give us an opportunity to see some more one-on-ones outside and a lot less of the drop seven (in coverage), play two-high man against us and spy a little bit. Teams last year figured out the way, a couple years ago, the way to beat the Packers, which is really the way to beat any team in this league. If you have a pass rush and you can stop the run with your front seven, you’re going to beat a lot of teams. If you can be a little more effective in the running game with those guys and with DuJuan (Harris), it should give us some more opportunities outside.
Q: It wouldn’t bother you if you ran the ball more?
Rodgers: Not if we’re winning.
Q: Can this offense get considerably better?
Rodgers: I think we set the bar really high in 2011 and couldn’t help but come a little down from that. We can go back to some of those levels. I think we can be even more effective running the football, which gives us a balance and gets our third-down numbers up and that gives us more opportunities, more yards and decreases our sacks. This offense has a lot of potential. It’s just about being better at executing, especially in those areas.
Q: You lost a lot of seasoned veterans, including Charles Woodson, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Is that going to hurt this team and how do you make up for that?
Rodgers: Experience-wise, it does hurt the team. You’re taking away some playmakers, definitely. But I think what you lose in experience you gain in that ignorance almost, that these guys bring in a hunger. They don’t have the experience but they have the strong desire to be great and that hunger kind of penetrates the team. You’ve seen that this spring. There’s a different energy about this team. We’ve gone from kind of a middle-aged to veteran feel at times last year to now I feel like we’re kind of a younger team again. Part of that is we have different guys up front in different positions, but the other part is we did get rid of some older players and there’s a young feel to the team, especially the defense. That brings naturally an energy that kind of permeates throughout the entire ball club. It’s exciting being around them. Makes you feel a little older at times, but it’s exciting to see the young talent and the excitement that these guys have.
Q: It’s been said that successful people are never satisfied. Is that the case with you?
Rodgers: Yeah, I’m a perfectionist, always have been. Been able to work with some incredible people from high school, junior college, Cal-Berkeley working with Jeff Tedford, coach taught me a lot about preparation and striving to be perfect all the time. I’m the kind of guy that lays in bed at night after a win when I had a 100-plus quarterback rating and a bunch of touchdowns and thinks about the ones that I missed or the ones I was a little bit off where I could have given the guy a better chance of getting more yards after the catch. Never satisfied, I’m always looking for ways to improve. Thankfully, I’ve got a quarterback coach, an offensive coordinator and head coach who feel the same way. They push me. I ask them to and they do. They push be to be better in a bunch of different areas. Sometimes it’s frustrating because expectations go so high but I like to challenge myself.
Q: Can you ever be fulfilled or is that something for after you’re done playing?
Rodgers: Yeah, not while I’m playing, I don’t want to be content and stay the same. When I’m done playing, I hope I can look back and feel really good about the way that we played and the things we accomplished. Until then, I’m going to keep harping on myself and trying to get the most out of my teammates.
Q: Some have said the 49ers have overtaken the Packers in the NFL pecking order. How do you view the Packers and where they stand?
Rodgers: I think we’re right there now. We have to be considered one of the top contenders. The NFC is very deep. I think we have a lot of teams that we’ve seen in the last few years that are talented and a lot of things can factor into that and happen throughout a season. We think we’re right in the mix. There’s some good young teams, good young quarterbacks that showed up last year, but I like our chances and I like them even more if people are talking about other teams along the way.
Q: What do you think you would you be doing if you didn’t play football?
Rodgers: I’d have to be competing in something. Whether that’s part of a military team, or coaching. Being involved with sports because I love the competition.
Q: What will be your routine between OTAs and training camp?
Rodgers: I’m going to go back and hit the training very hard. I’m training for football and for Lake Tahoe (golf tournament). Those are my two things, so I’m going to get my football training out of the way usually in the morning, play golf in the afternoon. I’ll be doubling up at night, do some more training.
Mike Vandermause wrote: