Aaron Rodgers Watches The NFL Draft
The NFL draft happened! It was fine. It was honestly about as normal as I expected it to be. The league wasn’t going to let technical issues get in the way and likely spent a lot of time trying to make sure we didn’t have any glitches happen. The draft honestly wasn’t that different, as GMs and teams make calls from separate office locations to begin with. The two biggest issues I had with the presentation overall was Roger Goodell himself and ESPN’s tragedy porn. Roger was just awkward as hell. Without any crowds and flashy lights behind him you could really tell how little charisma the guy has, and every brief moment with him in his basement was painfully quiet and awkward.
Of course, the lack of excitement there wasn’t aided by ESPN’s bizarre focus on morbid storytelling. Every other player felt like they got a detailed description of the most traumatic loss in their lives, tucked between footage of them celebrating and Mel Kiper discussing their 40 time. It was incredibly gross. This is a moment for celebration, why are we constantly having a tone shift to learn about how this guy’s dad was killed by a bear in the local state park? Save the trauma and in-depth personal stories for more individual player profiles somewhere else, not the draft. It was a depressing parade of misery, and ESPN should be ashamed of it.
Some people said they liked the new format so much that we should do it every year. Nah. I do not agree. I miss the live crowd reaction and the players getting to walk across the stage to hold a jersey felt important. As long as the world doesn’t continue to burn down around us I’d prefer a return to normal next season.
As far as actual team drafts? I don’t think it’s controversial to consider the Packers as the biggest laugh of the draft. The Packers seemed to be going into this draft with a single intended purpose: Piss off Aaron Rodgers. Seriously. Everything about the draft seemed designed to annoy him. Trading up to pick a QB who likely won’t even see the field for the next two seasons right after they extended Rodgers and can’t trade him without a huge cap hit? What? Taking a RB in the second round when they did just fine when Aaron Jones thrived last season? On top of those two moves, they didn’t even draft a single WR in a draft that was considered absurdly deep at the position. A position that Rodgers himself was openly asking for, and a position that almost everyone agreed was a huge team need. What the hell were the Packers doing?
Rodgers has a few years left. Even if he is declining (he is) and even if the team really wasn’t NFCCG levels of good (They weren’t), the window is clearly currently open. This isn’t the time to take a step back and plan for 3 years from now. This is the time to strike. They were a game away from the Super Bowl, frauds or not. You got a HoF quarterback in his last good seasons. Help him! Send him out right! Why are you spending valuable picks on a guy who won’t be relevant for years unless Rodgers throws a shit fit (possible!) and leaves? Yeah, Rodgers benefited from sitting behind Favre. That doesn’t mean Love necessarily will. This whole draft felt like putting the cart before the horse, planning for a future like the current situation will take care of itself. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this plan backfire. At the very minimum, you just royally pissed off a franchise legend. Of course Rodgers is petty and angry to an absurd degree, maybe that was the plan all along.
Eagles as well not drafting wr Jefferson in the first round and then taking Hurts in the second?
The argument (not that I necessarily agree with) is that Jefferson strength is playing in the slot, while the team needs outside specialists. So even if Jefferson is the more polished prospect, they didn’t think he was the best fit, perhaps in part influenced by Nelson Agholor, who was a decent player in the slot but an utter disaster on the outside. Also, they kinda went full Al Davis by choosing WRs by their 40-time.
I don’t understand why Eagles fans are up in arms over their first two rounds. I find complaints that they took the consensus #6 WR instead of the consensus #4 silly, like that’s a big difference even if the consensus is right (it probably isn’t). Also, Hurts isn’t a bad pick considering Wentz is always hurt (geddit?) and I would expect Eagles fans of all teams would appreciate the importance of a solid vackup QB.
I liked the Packers second round pick. Dillon is a beast at running back 6’ 250lbs and he set multiple records at BC. I think he will be special
I really don’t understand the reasoning behind trading up for it either. They moved up 4 picks for a qb that likely would’ve been available at 30. Even if someone took love in that span, Hurts was still on the board. Poor Aaron, who’s fate is now decided for him
I feel like after a month of quarantine Aaron Rodgers would have an exquisitely sculpted beard, not just a big bushy one, like the guy who shaped his into a windmill.
Also, I hope Hef Goodell becomes a recurring character.
You would be wrong. He was on Pat McAfee’s show when the phins drafted Tua and he’s got a less bushy beard than you might expect but that’s it. Also, he said it’d be kinda cool if the Packers took a skill position guy in the first round this year because they hadn’t taken one since they drafted HIM. Bit of a monkey’s paw moment there for Rodgers
I’m talking about Aaron Rodgers the Draw Play character, not Aaron Rodgers the actual human being.
In my defence, Aaron Rodgers the actual human being does seem pretentious enough that someone might think that about him
The Packers LITERALLY had the worst draft. They pick an HB in 2nd round. You have Aaron Jones retards! Then they don’t pick a WR to pair up with Davante. Depressing. Pats shoulda picked Love.
Why? He’s just a more expensive version of Jarrett Stidham, not a better one.
I want to feel bad for Rodgers, but his personality makes it so difficult.
Goodell was/is super-awkward reading from the teleprompter or the draft cards, you would think they could train him up to be a little more natural.
He did embrace the boos though, so at least he is able to laugh at himself a little bit.
I was kinda hoping that Goodell would have some kind of drinking game going on in the basement to loosen him up.
Like a shot for every LSU player or something.
Then watch him try to pronounce “Noah Igbinoghene”….
The Packers have had an HOF level QB for close to 30 years straight. I won’t cry for Wisconsin
My thinking exactly.
And after I’m done not crying, I point my finger and laugh, because they are (in my book) the biggest underachievers of the last 2.5 decades. You had a 25+ year span of Favre-Rodgers, and you have exactly THREE Super Bowl appearances to show for it, and only two wins? OUCH. I don’t know who the bigger choker is, Rodgers or the team, but man, they know how to lose painfully in the playoffs.
In the same time frame, the Giants have 3 wins in 4 appearances, and outside of Eli, it was an absolute black hole of awful quarterbacking. I’m looking at you, Danny Kanell.
Say what you will about the Colts, at least that could be blamed on moronic head coaches sitting the team for the last 3 weeks every season and pretending success is like a light switch.
The problem with having perenial HoF quarterbacks is that they are… well… HoF quarterbacks and will paint over a LOT of problems on the team. And the Packers never were a “complete” team during that timespan outside of their 3 super bowl runs with the exemption of Rodgers win.
To say it with a baseball stat, if Favre/Rodgers are good for a WAR of +4 (and personaly i think Rodgers is more of a +6) the team is traped in mediocrity forever since they likely will never finish worse than 7-9 or 8-8 thanks to just the quarterback draging them to another 4 (or 6) wins just by being so much better than the theoretical league average replacement. Imho Detroit has the same problem with Stafford, as soon as hes injured they are bottom feeders but with him they are traped in mediocrity. Detroit, of course, also has that paired with management/coaching incompetence at almost every levelbut thats another story…
Mike Vrabel’s three sons need to make recurring appearances in future comics.
As a Colts fan I’m definitely biased in favor of letting the HoF guy play his way out and giving him help, hindsight being 20/20. Not that it’s really Luck’s fault he didn’t last (95% of that blame falls on Ryan Grigson and Jim Irsay), but still. Even with the best most “surefire” prospects, it’s never really a sure thing. And Love isn’t anywhere near a great or surefire prospect, he’s a slightly more accurate slightly less mobile Josh Allen. Both underwhelmed against inferior competition in one of the worst conferences in D1, even if they didn’t have the best help themselves they weren’t playing against elite competition for 80% of the year. That’s not to say Love won’t pan out, he could, just like any prospect could. But he’s not so promising that it’s worth setting a timer on your Hall of Fame QB for. This isn’t an Alex Smith/Mahomes situation either, where Smith had pretty well proven himself as an above average but never going to win you a super bowl player.
This is probably my new favorite comic
Meh, I actually found Goodell to be more likeable and human this draft. It’s hard to project charisma in a basement studio. The tragedy porn was ridiculous though.
rodgers got discount double check’d
How great would it be if they hired Love to replace Rodgers?
This is a top 5 TDP comic for sure! I laughed out loud! Especially after listening to the Sports Wars podcast series on Farve vs Rodgers, I didn’t realize how much they despised each other.
I mean… Favre literaly said its not his damn job to help tutor Rodgers… which in itself is already pretty bad for a professional. Then you scrape off 3 layers of company PR from that statement and you can imagine what his feelings where…
Welp, we got Tua, so the tank can be decommissioned. Until we have to tank for our next QB saviour.
I’m amazed Miami isn’t in hydra territory.
I mean, you guys had Tannehill for a few years, but before that I think there were something like 13 QBs between him and Marino.
I think we’re at 21 starting QBs since Marino. Tannehill was the 17th, I think
In addition to the Tragedy Tales, the other odd thing was the fact that they’d announce the pick, and then show footage of some relative of theirs playing sports INSTEAD OF THE PERSON SELECTED.
“With the pick, the Lizards select Joe Blow, wide receiver from Morehead State! Here’s his sister playing high-school basketball !”
“Oh, and also his mom was a drug addict for 16 years….”
BTW Dave, thanks for NOT illustrating the next text…
I can’t wait for Aaron Rodgers to send dick pics to interns in like 5 years on the Bills
Fun stat that ESPN showed in 2015
Rodgers with Jordy Nelson: 117 QB rating.
Rodgers without: 87 QB rating