It's no secret that the Green Bay Packers are enduring a rotten season. They were supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, and instead, they're a limp 4-6 with one of the least functional offenses in the NFL. Nobody seems happy, and as the team trudges towards a disappointing finish, they must contend with a grim truth that few in the organization or fanbase want to confront: the passing game has not been what anyone expected it to be, and A. Rodgers has been not just disappointing but downright poor this season. And so the team took the hard step of cutting him on Tuesday.
The Packers hoped A. Rodgers would be able to boost their passing game this year, and heading into the offseason off the back of a 13-4 record, it seemed A. Rodgers was heading towards even bigger and better things for the 2022 season. "He did a great job this offseason getting into a different kind of shape," GM Brian Gutenkunst said. Though, as many know, A. Rodgers's offseason was not without its notable, public rocky patches.
I'm talking, of course, of the rough start to his relationship with 2004 Olympic gold medalist Dwight Phillips, who trained him this summer.
“The very first day was a disaster,” Phillips said in a phone conversation this week. Phillips called Rodgers’ conditioning when they started “horrible.” After four reps of those resistance runs, Rodgers was exhausted.
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A. Rodgers, as everyone knows, is very particular about what he does and does not put in his body. Those are personal choices, and though they may have turned out to have let him down, he said he felt great and defended himself in the summer, controversy be damned.
Gradually, Rodgers started feeling more capable physically as he stacked track workouts, sat in the sauna for 20-30 minutes afterward to sweat out the toxins and ate less. Phillips worked with him to minimize sugar intake, avoid eating soon before bed and drink at least a gallon of water every day.
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At least Packers fans will finally get to see what a Matt LaFleur offense looks like without A. Rodgers.
