It seems to be open season on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, with former teammates lining up to take shots at him, thinly veiled or otherwise.
But at least one guy who used to play with him doesn’t get the sudden beef Greg Jennings and Donald Driver seem to have with Rodgers.
“It might be a receiver thing,” Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson said with a laugh, via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com
On a more serious note, Woodson said he wasn’t sure why Rodgers is such a popular target.
“I’m not sure where all this stuff is coming from,” Woodson said. “I just don’t understand.. . . I think A-Rod would consider these guys his friends, so for stuff like this to be coming out about him now that the guys are gone, it’s got to be hurtful to him because what are they talking about, to question his leadership ability, his leadership skills? The guy is one of the best players in the NFL, and I think he does a great job as far as leading them into battle.
“I’m not sure where the attacks – and believe me, they are not warranted, for sure – I don’t know where it’s coming from.”
Rodgers has taken the high road thus far, and Woodson said that as much as anything was a testament to his leadership.
“I just think the best thing that A-Rod does, he’s been able to keep a lot of things from getting to him,” Woodson said. “The way he came in following a legend and handled those pressures, his ability to be a steady guy throughout that time and then going out and performing at the level he performed, that shows leadership. And he’s continued to get better. Every player should look at him and say, ‘Here’s a guy who’s really on top of the world, and he’s trying to get better. That’s what I think is so hard to understand about what [Jennings and Driver] said.”
Woodson has his own reasons to be bitter about the Packers because of his own departure this offseason, saying: “Yeah, I got fired. I might be a little bitter about being fired. Who wouldn’t be? But that’s it.”
Being able to put his own feelings aside without making it the fault of someone else is clearly something not every former Packer believes in.