With the 4-6-1 Green Bay Packers falling steadily out of playoff contention, the wolves are coming for Aaron Rodgers, who told reporters Wednesday that there are no issues with his fundamentals and that he might have to take a few more chances down the stretch.
"Yeah, why not?" Rodgers said when asked if he feels the need to let loose over Green Bay's final five games. "If we lose, you guys are just going to write us off, so might as well let it all hang out these last five [games]."
Might as well, because Green Bay is behind the eight ball in the NFC. The Packers are 3.5 games behind the Chicago Bears and two games behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North and have dropped four of their last five games. Green Bay is undefeated at home but winless on the road.
A quick glance at Rodgers' stat line shows nothing truly wrong with the QB. The future Hall of Famer boasts a 20:1 TD-to-INT ratio and a 101.7 passer rating on the season. However his 61.7 completion percentage is his lowest since 2015 and would be the second-lowest of his career. Rodgers also leads the league with throwaways in 46 pass attempts; no other QB has more than 27.
All this has caused Packers watchdogs to question: What's wrong with Aaron?
"I don't think I need to respond about fundamentals," Rodgers told reporters Wednesday. "I mean, I drill the fundamentals. I throw how I throw. I'm not playing any different this year. It's just we're not completing as many passes percentage-wise.
"I listen to my quarterback coach and my offensive coordinator and my head coach. My study of myself, I'm very critical of my own film. I'm not playing any differently, fundamental-wise. You can't have it both ways. You can't love it when it's a certain way and then critique it when it's the other way. I mean, you guys can because that what you guys get paid to do. Again, that's the news cycle. They're going to pick at things when you're in a situation like this where we're at. We're 4-6-1 so it comes with the territory."
To avoid dropping to 4-7-1, and essentially out of the race in the conference, Rodgers and the Packers will be tasked with defeating the bottom-rung Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau. Rodgers might not need to "let it all hang out" against the 2-9 Cards, but Sunday's performance will be an insightful look into how Green Bay changes its attack during its playoff push.
