Joe Kinsey
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The decision made by Packers head coach Matt LaFleur not to go for it on 4th & goal from the 8, down 31-23 with 2:09 left against Tom Brady will be talked about for decades, and Aaron Rodgers will be asked about it for the rest of his life. LaFleur decided to take the field goal and give Brady the ball back.
Rodgers never got his hands back on the ball, and Tampa is going home for Super Bowl LV, Brady’s 10th in an insane career. Rodgers was immediately asked about the decision in the postgame Zoom press conference.
“I didn’t have a decision on that one. That wasn’t my decision. But understand the decision and thinking with all of our timeouts. But wasn’t my decision,” he told reporters. LaFleur echoed that the timeouts impacted his decision.
Aaron Rodgers fully sounded like someone who doesn't know if he'll be the QB here next season.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 25, 2021
“This won’t haunt me. It’s just gonna hurt for a while,” Rodgers said.
“I’m gutted for Big Dawg (Marcedes Lewis) and hurting for myself. It’s definitely sudden.” Rodgers added that this was a special Packers team. “This one as much as any of them, I just found some really special friendships.”
On third and goal, it appeared Rodgers had running room for a touchdown before deciding to throw into double-coverage. LaFleur then decided he’d seen enough and sent out the field goal unit.
did Rodgers have a rushing TD here???#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/af8sSexZDZ
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) January 24, 2021
You still need a TD! Which will now by a length of the field drive with almost no time left. At best. And you probably won’t even get the ball back at all.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 24, 2021
Aaron’s no dummy…his answer was the correct one to the media…but you know he disagreed with that decision. Heck even us Madden players knew that was the wrong decision.
Do you realize 4th and goal from the 9 yard line against a defense like that isn’t exactly high percentage? Here’s what lost the game. Rodgers almost hit Lizzard in the head with the 1st and goal pass because he wasn’t looking, Rodgers didn’t see a wide open Receiver on second and goal overthrowing Adams, should have run it in on 3rd and goal, then the dumb defensive hold on a ball 10 feet over a receivers head that would have gotten the ball back. Those are not LaFleur’s screw ups. Where’s the criticism on all the crap above???TRYING to create a story here when GB simply screwed the game away after getting chance after chance.
What good is three points in that situation when you still have to stop Tom Brady and get the ball back further down the field and score a touchdown?
At least try to get the touchdown when you are closer to the goal line…then you can point out all those blunders if it wasn’t successful on 4th down. That final decision to kick the field goal was on the coach.
Oh I get it, but I also get the decision. The previous 3 plays I described didn’t have him brimming with confidence they’d score there. They were out of sync. My point was that LaFleur was not “the” reason GB lost this game. They don’t commit the dumb holding penalty, TB punts, and Rodgers has the ball with time to win the game. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, but the coach tried to put them in position to win.
I agree with you John. The Packers were their own kryptonite tonight.
However I still believe they go for it on 4th that late in the game
Rogers could have run in for a TD and didn’t. he who lives in a glass house, …
He was right to be careful. he wants out. watch him land with a team that loses their franchise QB in a big trade.
enjoy texas aaron.
Sorry 31 million dollar cap hit. What the hell is wrong with you.
this 2nd game blows btw 🥸
The Packers had plenty of chances. They played an uneven game and left a lot of opportunities on the field. The little ones add up and the big ones are killers. On that note, anyone asking Kevin King any hard questions?
Hey Gang,
This is from today’s Bleacher Report:
After Aaron Rodgers questioned his own future with the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted that trading away the star quarterback is financially viable for the team.
The Packers would take on $31.556 million of dead cap in a theoretical trade this offseason, although Rodgers currently has a $37.572 million cap hit for 2021 if he remains on the roster. It means dealing him would clear $6.016 million.
Green Bay could also spread the dead cap across two seasons if the trade is designated after June 1. The team would take on $14.352 million in 2021 and $17.204 million in 2022 in this scenario, saving $23.22 million toward the cap next season, per Spotrac.
Wouldn’t mind seeing him in New Orleans…they’re ready to win now…
Trent Dilfer has as many SB wins as Rodgers and they keep saying how great he is i don’t get it.