The Green Bay Packers continued their slide this past Sunday with a 19-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. After 7 weeks, both Green Bay and Denver have only registered 2 wins each. With both teams showing their glaring vulnerabilities, one might be left to question whether the scapegoating done by both teams’ fanbases at the end of last season was, in fact, misguided. Also, the people who may be grinning ear-to-ear the most might be Aaron Rodgers and Nathaniel Hackett.
Green Bay Packers: What’s Love got to do with it?
Aaron Rodgers ended his 18-season run at Green Bay in a polarizing fashion. There is no doubt that the 4-time MVP built up quite a loyal following after having so much success. But, there was a sentiment by some fans that maybe it was time to move on. This clearly permeated to the front office, leading to Rodgers’ exit to New York. He was very outspoken about his views on politics and COVID-19, and his lack of success in the postseason left some disenchanted.
Rodgers was 1-4 in NFC Championship games, had lost to San Francisco in the divisional round in 2021, and had missed the playoffs entirely in 2022. But with Jordan Love and the Packers offense struggling to find their footing this season, it’s worth pondering whether Rodgers being labeled a “diva” or a “distraction” may not have been totally fair.
Denver Broncos: Not all Hackett’s fault
It was easy to make first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett a punching bag and lightning rod for criticism last year in Denver. Hackett was eventually dismissed 15 games into his tenure after an embarrassing 4-11 start. Although his clock management was certainly questionable in various games, we see so far that the Broncos haven’t shown a drastic improvement in their team’s performance so far this season. Broncos fans thought that Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton could turn things around for Denver and Russell Wilson, but that hasn’t panned out. Hackett, now the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets, even defeated his old team 31-21 in Week 5, a sweet victory that he clearly savored afterward.
“Greener Pastures” for Green Bay and Denver…or not
When Sean Payton took a shot at Hackett this offseason, Rodgers passionately came to his former and now current offensive coordinator’s defense. He said:
“I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coach’s name out of his mouth.”
That fiery response to Payton’s comments was just another sign that neither man was appreciative of either Green Bay or Denver trying to blame their problems solely on them. And with both of them now reunited in New York, one could only wonder how they’re both feeling now that the Packers and Broncos are still struggling on the field, even after both Rodgers and Hackett were jettisoned after last season.
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