Aaron Rodgers can change the narrative around himself and the Packers, but he can't do it alone.
That is the lesson after a week of dissecting "What Happened in Green Bay," a Bleacher Report piece that details the erosion of the relationship between the quarterback and former Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy while the organization slipped down the pecking order of the NFC North over the last two seasons after dominating most of the decade.
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Now nobody else has as much at stake as the 35-year-old Rodgers does in terms of perception.
Not McCarthy, who will be a head-coaching candidate again next year. The 55-year-old ranks 28th all time in winning percentage among NFL coaches.
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Not Greg Jennings or Jermichael Finley, the former Packers who were quoted in the story taking shots at Rodgers. Jennings has been doing this since he left Green Bay after the 2011 season.
Not James Jones, Jordy Nelson or any of Rodgers’ other former teammates, not to mention legions of Packers fans, who rallied to defend their QB in the aftermath of the article's release.
Not Dunne, whose outstanding investigative piece detailed the turmoil in Green Bay that led the franchise to back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1990-91.
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Not team president Mark Murphy, who according to Bleacher Report told Rodgers, "Don't be the problem," when it comes to the working relationship with new coach Matt LeFleur.
Not general manager Brian Gutekunst, who after making Rodgers the NFL’s highest-paid QB has addressed some of the Packers' biggest roster holes via free agency and can add more in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Not even LaFleur, who is tasked with matching the standard of Vince Lombardi, Mike Holmgren and McCarthy as a first-time head coach.
This is now about Rodgers more than anybody else. In Green Bay, ignorance of arrogance is no longer bliss, and Rodgers, who turns 36 in December, still has a handful of seasons left to re-write a script that all sides can believe.
Aaron Rodgers (Getty Images)
Rodgers' re-writing began earlier this week via a radio interview with Jason Wilde and former teammate Mark Tauscher on ESPN Milwaukee. Rodgers gave McCarthy a half-measure of praise. Then he unloaded on Finley and Jennings, which was justified given the number of times both have taken shots at the quarterback since they left Green Bay. Rodgers is right; it's time for them to move on.
But Rodgers also took an unnecessary shot at Dunne. This article was not a "smear" as Rodgers described it, and he can't manipulate media to his satisfaction on the level of, say, LeBron James, who constantly faces similar questions about his leadership.
Unlike James, however, Rodgers remains with the franchise that drafted him. He can silence the criticism by proving himself on the field all over again.
That seems to be when he is at his best.
Rodgers has changed the narrative in Green Bay in the past, like when people were split on then-GM Ted Thompson’s letting go of Brett Favre in 2007, only to watch Favre embarrass the Packers twice as the Vikings' QB two years later. Many remember those games, but not as many cite Rodgers' returning the favor twice the following season en route to the franchise's latest Super Bowl.
That was Rodgers at his best, with the inferiority complex that led to the kind of play matched by only a handful of quarterbacks in NFL history.
Somehow, criticisms of Rodgers' play persist. Tom Brady is better, and here's why. … Rodgers does not have 'it' when it matters most. (Anybody who still does not think Rodgers has the "it" factor on the field has missed the fourth-quarter Houdini acts he has pulled over the last three seasons.) Yet the Packers' alternative — life without Rodgers — is a team that needed overtime to beat the 0-16 Browns in 2017.
Now Rodgers' leadership — not his play — will be the focus. And it should be. His body language will be monitored on a Jay Cutler-like level, especially in his interactions with LaFleur. That's because of the close-ups of Rodgers-McCarthy spats over the last few seasons.
There is enough in the story that Rodgers' locker-room behavior will be over-analyzed, too. Nelson, Randall Cobb and Clay Matthews are gone. Bryan Bulaga and Mason Crosby are the only other starters from the Super Bowl team still on the roster.
Will Rodgers be willing to collaborate with LaFleur and create a fresh vibe with a young offensive cast? Or will Rodgers' ego get in the way with a 39-year-old coach who must fight the perception of being just another Sean McVay sidekick? Remember, McCarthy was the new voice Favre needed after the Packers went stagnant under Mike Sherman and bottomed out with a 4-12 record in 2005. Perhaps LaFleur will be a similar voice for Rodgers.
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The story will change if Rodgers plays like a two-time MVP again by, strangely, throwing less. Rodgers had a career-high 597 pass attempts last season, and despite his throwing just two interceptions, the same hit-or-miss running game was a problem. Green Bay's new offense must feature Rodgers but can't rely too heavily on his second-half magic acts. The defense and special teams must be better, too.
Then maybe the Packers can get back to the top of the NFC, which starts with taking back the division. Green Bay is 3-8-1 against NFC North opponents over the last two years. That needs to be restored, and with it, more playoff chances will follow.
That is the only way Rodgers can change the pre-written narratives that follow a Hall of Fame quarterback when more was expected. Dan Marino knows this, and the comparison of the two QBs is common, with Rodgers having the one-ring edge.
It is a fair comparison, but Rodgers still has time to solidify himself as a top-five QB of all time. He might not catch Brady, but he can still make a run at Peyton Manning, a player around whom the perception changed when he won a second Super Bowl. Now nobody remembers the time Manning called Mike Vanderjagt "that idiot kicker."
This is what's at stake now for Rodgers.
The Packers QB can grow from this, but if the Bleacher Report article is not at least an ego check, then no lessons will be learned.
Rodgers has a lot to lose in terms of perception in the coming years, but amid the mess, it’s easy to forget he also has the most to gain.
