“Just win, baby” is a famous quote attributed to the late great owner of the Oakland Raiders, Al Davis, but it’s a quote that Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers need to plaster on every wall in the locker room and in team meeting rooms.
This offseason has been a circus in Green Bay, and that’s not terribly surprising. The Packers always attract media attention. They’re like the Dallas Cowboys, except they’ve actually won a Super Bowl since the start of this millennium.
Throw in the fact that long-time head coach Mike McCarthy was fired and he and star quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly had a big rift between them, and it makes sense that all eyes are on the Packers. That’s not even mentioning the fact that they hired LaFleur, a first-time head coach.
There’s been a lot of noise surrounding Rodgers and his temperament. There’s been a lot of noise about how LaFleur and Rodgers will get along. And yes, that’s going to be vitally important for the Packers moving forward, but somehow that relationship has been put under such a bright light that we’ve been given “audible-gate” and now “joint practice-gate.”
Frankly, it’s getting ridiculous, even by the low standards of national sports punditry.
Colin Cowherd, of course, can’t wait to take any shot at Rodgers he can, and he’s one who doesn’t need a situation to be real in order to have a “hot take” on it. And then there’s Mike Florio, who’s already talking about the Packers dumping Rodgers – this despite the fact that they are one preseason game into the LaFleur era.
It should also surprise no-one that Greg Jennings, who won a Super Bowl with Rodgers, can’t help but run his mouth on the matter, either. When the now infamous Tyler Dunne article came out earlier this offseason, Rodgers was quick to point out that you never hear about Jennings unless he’s talking about his former quarterback. Again, this seems to be the case here.
“I don't think the relationship is going to work. I don't think Rodgers is going to conform enough. … He likes to have control & the reigns in his hands,” Jennings said on Undisputed – a show known for having level-headed sports conversations (please note the sarcasm).
"I don't think the relationship is going to work. I don't think Rodgers is going to conform enough. … He likes to have control & the reigns in his hands. He's proven when he has more control & say over the offense, it operates more fluidly & his stats don't lie." —@GregJennings pic.twitter.com/i3MO1JG1ju
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) August 12, 2019
Here’s the crazy part: This “drama” between Rodgers and LaFleur is completely made up.
It stemmed from the two having different opinions on audibles and joint practices. What’s wrong with two grown men having differing opinions? Rodgers and LaFleur have to be on the same page regarding X’s and O’s, but that doesn’t mean their ideologies about everything have to be lock-step.
The “speculation” has gotten so bad that Rodgers had to address the rumors as “fake news.”
Aaron Rodgers asked by John Kuhn about “outside noise about the relationship between you and Coach LaFleur”:
“It’s fake news, John. That’s the media cycle these days. Unfortunately the media, other than obviously yourself, there’s a lack of integrity.
Rodgers’ full answer: pic.twitter.com/8qoqWDWzi7
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 9, 2019
That’s how low we’ve fallen this offseason. The media has taken this and run with it, and unfortunately it’s a story that doesn’t appear to be going away, because the national pundits appear to be intent on making this a story.
The good news for the Packers is frankly, it doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter what Cowherd of Florio thinks. It doesn’t matter that Jennings doesn’t think the relationship between quarterback and coach will flourish. And it doesn’t really even matter if LaFleur and Rodgers are friends outside of football.
What matters, and all that matters, is that the Packers win games. They’ve missed the playoffs two seasons in a row now and that’s not the way things work in Green Bay. In fact, that’s probably the main reason why there’s been so much noise surrounding this team right now, because usually the talk is about potential playoff runs and not about interpersonal relationships.
Winning is the only thing that will cure all this noise and baseless speculation, and that’s the only thing LaFleur and Rodgers have to focus on right now. Let the media talk. Let the media speculate. In the meantime, keep installing the offense and keep gelling. Keep the momentum rolling and tighten up the ship, because come September 5th, the Chicago Bears are going to be looking to make a statement and it’s going to be them and the Packers on the field.
Cowherd won’t be there. Florio won’t be there. Jennings wishes he could be there, but he won’t be there, either.
It will be time to make noise between the white lines, and that’s the only thing the Packers can do in order to shut the pundits up and move on from this crazy offseason and start a new era of wining football.
Just win, baby. It’s the only thing that matters.
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