We already know that Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers are not the best of friends. They most definitely won’t be getting together to share a turkey leg during Thanksgiving. And any idea of them riding on a horse together can pretty much be thrown out the window.
But the two greatest quarterbacks in Green Bay Packers history have found a common ground recently. They will hang out with one another when the football world and their own on-field success meet. Outside of that, it’s a whole bunch of nothing.
Favre may have added yet another dimension to this with recent comments on SiriusXM NFL Radio following the Packers’ most-recent loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
“Mike (McCarthy), Aaron (Rodgers) being the leader, rather than talk about it afterwards, we’ve got to figure out a way to be excited about playing. Because bottom line, even after this loss, they’re no different than they were before,” the Hall of Fame quarterback said. “They’ve got just as good a chance and probably will win … their division. It’s a tossup. No one gained any ground on anyone. So they’re still the best team, in my opinion, and they need to play like it.”
Favre’s criticism is in direct response to Rodgers calling out his own teammates following Green Bay’s disastrous overall performance against an inferior Colts team at home on Sunday.
To be fair here, a lot of those associated with the Packers, fans included, are not happy with the team’s performance thus far this season. After all, Green Bay currently sits in third place in the NFC North heading into Week 10.
Now, are questions regarding Rodgers’ leadership legitimate? We saw a split between the quarterback and other members of his offense earlier in the season (more on that here).
That’s not necessarily the sign of a united locker room.
For his part, it doesn’t seem like Favre was looking to throw his former teammate under the bus.
“I just felt like, four quarters of football, they were outplayed by the Colts,” Favre continued. “And there were times where the Packers were virtually unstoppable. Then there were other times when there was three-and-outs, three-and-outs, three-and-outs, and they got it in gear a little bit too late.”
These are obvious trends those who have followed the Packers closely this season have seen. Not only does Green Bay sit at a mediocre 4-4 on the season, it ranks 19th in passing offense. This comes on the heels of the same unit ending last season in the bottom quarter of the NFL in the same category.
Either way we put it, there’s something going on here. Whether it’s Rodgers’ inability to lead or a rift between the quarterback and head coach Mike McCarthy remains to be seen. Though, Green Bay must fix this in short order to get back in the NFC Playoff picture in the second half of the season.