Good points. My reaction to this piece was that it inherently assumes stasis. Rodgers will be a Hall if Fame QB and deservedly so. That said, whether he is at this moment in time is far less certain. Only hindsight will speak to that, but the assumption that he is permeates everything in this piece.

It is really hard to judge Rodgers. We have been through over half a decade of roster decline so significant that we had to retool not only our pipeline of talent but the top of the roster in various positions. I would argue that that continues. As a result, we have to play less proven players due to the need to draft and are close to the cap.

In addition, MMs scheme and it’s just beat your man philosophy is totally unsuited to a weak roster and also has started to look stale: predictable. Teams were anticipating successfully.

Through all this, Rodgers has played well and helped us remain contenders. He deserves credit for that. However, there are reasons to be concerned. His aversion to the middle of the field and the stats about missing open receivers are not good signs. No doubt the lack of talent helps explain these in part as do schematic failings, however, they do not go the whole way. An elite QB finds open receivers. Rodgers used to be the best in the league at that. Arguably he was one of the worst last year based on stats ( I think that overstated it).

It could be attitude: risk aversion, but attitude isn’t an excuse. If it hampers you’re efficacy, it is just as detrimental as a loss of physical prowess if uncorrected. Rodgers is not as elusive as he was. Hardly surprising at his age. At some point his arm will decline. It’s possible the struggles hitting MVS are indicative of that. If he is risk averse one might assume that would deter him from that option. It could be MVS. We have no way of knowing.

What we do know is that decline will set in and that it’s usually not clear when till after. We do know that Rodgers isn’t hitting open receivers and it looks pretty clear that he is less elusive, which suggests some decline.

He is still a darn good QB. I increasingly think that a bit of a shake up and a system that helps players get open will be good for him. A bit of a reset might freshen things up. That said, clinging to a belief that he is untouchable will only blind the believers. Father Time touches all. He is Darn Good Man not Superman now most likely and we need to be aware of that. I don’t think this piece recognizes that or that the Good Man phase is somewhere ahead.

This change in approach by the team, though I didn’t favor it, is likely to help Rodgers not hinder him. If he will let it. A less predictable system that attempts to scheme players open and doesn’t rely on big passing plays out of necessity as opposed to opportunity helps his teammates and thus should help him. The more I look at what they are trying to do, the more I think it’s actually a boon for Rodgers as much as it would be for any successor.

1. HCs and star players have to have a good relationship or the team isn’t going to win in any sport. It’s usually cheaper to eat the coach’s contract but we just fired the coach and his replacement has the leverage in the relationship after 14-4 and getting Love on the roster. If Rodgers pouts like Favre did in 2005 we’ll have a bad year, but if Rodgers is the guy I hope he is we’ll have a real powerful offense this season.

3. Rodgers is a veteran who is very good at protecting the ball and executing in the red zone. Those are important qualities. He’s not going to nut up in the clutch and throw the season away. He’ll make a good throw most of the time and an exceptional throw in the clutch every now and then.

4. How long have you followed the NFL? “The Lions were unlucky “??? They are the Lions. They’ve been unlucky since I can remember. Because their front office isn’t very good, ever. They waste talents like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson and Donkeykong Suh. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and the Lions are never prepared when opportunity arrives.

7. I want you to take a Tardis to two years from now. Love under center (Jenkins). Dillon, Deguara, Sternberger, plus some free agents we’ll be able to afford. Wagner and Turner. Maybe Lazard or one of the others. That’s the offense...no Rodgers, no Jones, noAdams, no Bakhtiari. Younger, cheaper guys or FAs will replace them. We’ll pound and throw play action. We’ll block people, the offense will work, and this draft is going to be the one where we got three good starters at the skill positions.

Mike Sherman inherited a QB in his prime and (somewhat understandably but ultimately tragically) pandered to him, while still controlling the team. Ahman Green and that power running attack in the early 00's was the calling card of MS's offenses. While Mike was a travesty as a GM, what cost Mike was Favre choking in the playoffs (shocker) 3 times during his tenure.

And what makes you assume that MLF is like Mike Sherman? Where's the evidence? You have to let these things play out. You can fairly judge Sherm (although I think your conclusions are wrong) because that book was finished long ago. MLF's book is yet to be written. Unless you have evidence that no other fans have?

I don’t understand the comment ML “is afraid”, either. He has taken a very aggressive path to becoming a head coach and he is nothing but courageous for wanting to change the offense to run more to open up opportunistic passing for Aaron.

MM always gave lip service about the run game then passed 70% of the time out of predictable formations.

I actually think this new approach will help #12. Instead of carrying the team, he can now lead it as the Field General and not have to take all those body blows.

No new toys for #12? He will have Dillon, Deguara, a healthy Sternberger, Funchess and Begelton as well as a healthy ESB to play with. Taking Graham and Allison off the field and replace them with the above and 3 good RBs makes the O better, doesn’t it?

Lastly saying having a a first round QB sit for 3 years makes one wonder if he was worth it...how long did Aaron Rodgers sit after drafted late first round? Was he worth it?

"LaFleur is afraid of losing that delicate balance, so Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur opted to go all-in for the future."

So what you're saying is that a team that won 13 games in 2019--whether you believe them to be of 13-win quality or not--has been deemed a loser in the short term and the "all in" mentality that seemed to drive the FA acquisitions of 2019 has been shit-canned for the long term? You've got to tell me whether Dillon is a short or long-term building block. Is Deguara? The real issue is the quagmire of messages being sent by the front office. If anything is going to dump this team, it's a lack of consistency in approach and player acquisition.

Absolutely true, just about to get around to this guy. Moved from the high school ranks to the Canadian League last I heard , then shit-canned before the 2019 season started. Just a sham how that guy was elevated to a HC job in the NFL much less given GM duties. That's on Wolf.

Murphy hired LaFleur. It raised eyebrows at the time because of it being him not the GM. Here is a representative summary from Demovsky on Sept 4 2019.

“ Murphy introduced LaFleur on Jan. 8 after a whirlwind weekend of interviews. Several of the 10 candidates -- LaFleur included -- thought the Packers would narrow the field to a few finalists, according to sources close to more than one of the interviewees. Instead, after Murphy, general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball concluded the last of those interviews with LaFleur in Nashville, Tennessee, Murphy made up his mind before the wheels of their private jet touched down at Green Bay's Austin Straubel International Airport.”

Gute had identified LaFleur as a candidate as he had all the 10 listed. Ball was also present and involved. Once Murphy had made that decision he moved fast.

“ "I was anticipating having to come up here and meet with more people," LaFleur said.

That turned out to be unnecessary.

"I think there might be an advantage in a second interview," Ball said. "I don't know that it's a requisite."

But before Murphy offered LaFleur the job, he had quarterback Aaron Rodgers call him, which was an indication to LaFleur that he was the guy.

Later that day, Murphy offered the job to LaFleur.

"One of the questions was if we didn't think we interviewed the right candidate yet or we could've brought people back for second interviews, but I think we just felt strongly enough about Matt that we found the right person. Let's move ahead of it," Murphy said.

Perhaps in retrospect what we all missed despite it being referenced several times is perhaps best summed up by a comment from Ball: “"I see a confidence in him that was in the interview," Ball said. "It's not an arrogance, but it's a quiet confidence that he has a plan."

Murphy hired LaFleur because he had a vision. I heard that but did not appreciate its significance. We are very clearly starting to see the outlines of what that plan involves and the degree of support Murphy gave him to bring it in. It was a large part of why he was hired so suddenly. If you think Gute is driving LaFleur and that a Love type pick was driven by Gute (beyond the identity of the individual), I think you completely miss the significance of why LaFleur was hired and by whom and what that means. I know I did at the time, despite it being in plain sight.

Everything after that is Gute and Ball trying time give flesh to what LaFleur was hired to do.

I agree with most of your post stockholder and I don’t think most on here think Rodgers has enough pass catchers of quality.. it’s kinda like last year where we’re hoping this guy or that guy steps up at receiver, and it really hurt our offense in season, and the championship game.. When your’e down by multiple scores and running out of time that’s when you need good receivers to close the gap quickly.. That’s what Kc did in the Super Bowl(plus a good game plan on defense late), but I don’t see this offense being that capable, I guess we’ll see.. That’s why I thought this was a good year to draft a wr early, because everyone says they take time to grasp it at this level.. Now we’ll be another year behind if there’s no jumps.. That’s on Gute, and I’m not sure I trust him either..

"When you are paying someone the amount of money that Rodger’s is currently you are not taking them for granted. "

That's a winning statement right there, '61.

I would add the 2015 defense carried the team that year. (Strange season, losing so many skill position player's, leaving the Packers to JANIS!... :-)

"Change is hard.
Even when it's the right thing to do.
And I'm not talking about the offense.
I'm talking about QB."

I agree. Pro sports is a cold business. It's not about loyalty, it's about money and winning football games. Jordan Love was drafted because the front office believes that at some point in the next 2-3 years, he'll give the team as least as good an opportunity to win on a weekly basis as ARod and for less money. Not because they think he's better right now. At some point, the ledger tips against a veteran player. You can honor a player after he retires, but hanging on shouldn't happen.

Sorry, can’t agree with your opening statement. After Jones and Adams the rest of the skill players that you mentioned are nothing more than question marks or JAGS at best. Dillon and Deguara haven’t even taken a snap in an NFL game and you are apparently assuming that they will become quality NFL players because the Packers drafted them.

As for the OL which you describe as deep and talented, where is talent after Bak and Jenkins? Linsley is a good center but we have also seem him be pushed around by better DLs. Turner is a turnstile at RG and Wagner can only be considered a question mark at this point. Behind them are a bunch of question marks and JAGS. Again the draft picks have yet to take a snap in the NFL and may not even make the team.

The performance of most of these players just don’t back up your assumption that they are more than enough for any 30+ year old QB.

Yes, change is difficult but it becomes even more difficult when you build it upon unsubstantiated assumptions, hype and hope versus solid players who have performed well in the past. If Jones and Adams go down, what is there left for the QB to work with and more importantly succeed with?

As for Rodgers expect him to play well unless injured and if or until Love is ready to take over. He knows the deal, he has accepted the deal and no one is worrying about him. He is a big boy and has proven it over his career. The question will become is Love a big boy and will he be able to deal with what comes as an NFL QB.
Thanks, Since ‘61

Agree. But there is one very important metric in which he’s the best ever.....,protecting the ball. He doesn’t hurt the team with turnovers, and that’s hugely important. The six teams will th the fewest turnovers all made the playoffs last season.

If I wanted to put an offense on the field built to grind out 20-25 point per game, he’d be my guy.

AR has been taking way too many sacks - I agree. He has also thrown the ball away way too many times. There is a problem with an over the top risk aversion - that is too many sacks and too many throw aways. I would just prefer him to do more of taking the earlier and easier throws than waiting for the big play. Waiting for the big play also has the consequence of making the defense keep on coming - they know that he holds the ball - this leads to more holding penalties and also to some of his injuries. He needs to be more like Brady - who does not take the hits as he gets the ball out. I hope that Lafleur gets Sternberger and Degura into the mix more as well as use Lazard as more of slot receiver to get the ball out as well as using Jones out of the backfield. All of this will still lead to less interceptions, less sacks and less throwaways and keep AR healthy.

The big difference between Lazard and MVS or ESB is that Lazard had three college seasons that were on par with or better than MVSs or ESBs best seasons. In other words: consistent production in a power conference. Even as a college freshman, Lazard's least productive season, he caught 45 passes. That's remarkable. I think he came to the Packers more prepared, he just doesn't have the athletic pedigree of MVS or ESB...who we should expect to come along slowly.

Lazard doesn't have the ceiling that ESB and MVS have, it's just that his floor is so much higher.

"I watched Brett Favre throw to Terry Mickens, MarkIngram and Anthony Morgan in the NFC Championship game vs Dallas yesterday."

That game was played 20+ years ago. Times are different. Not to mention they lost that game. They proved last year they had enough weapons to lose in the NFC CG. I'd like to win the Lombardi.

Like you, I've watched some historical games recently from the last decade. It didn't watch every game but a fair few from a sample of years. They were dangerous on offense when they had 2 legit WRs. They were not dangerous on offense when they had less than that.

You need therapy. Oren Burks is not worthy of this kind of obsession!

As to the contract, I think that you are probably right, or before the ramifications of the plan that got LaFleur hired had sunk in. They needed security also at that time amidst the turmoil.

It looks like a possible mistake at this point. That said, if he plays a couple more years as starter, maybe a storm in a teacup. If you take them at their word, that’s the plan.