POV: You Watch The Patriots Send Aaron Rodgers Into What Should Be Early Retirement
Walking out of the stadium I heard the most Boston man say in the most Boston accent "I think Aaron might retiah tomorrow".
I heard a lot of hilarious things sitting in the upper deck with a bunch of Bostonian season ticket holders that have spent their Sundays in Gilette Stadium since I first started walking. And most of it was complete nonsense - it's truly amazing how people that have watched so much football know so little about it.
But this guy was onto something.
You could probably tell this on TV too, but seeing that game live, there was no other takeaway from the Pittsburgh side than despair. There's no life in that team, particularly on offense. There's no difference from the boring, vanilla offensive gameplan they had last year, that was supposed to be fixed with the offensive minded Mike McCarthy calling plays.
And it starts with Rodgers. Known for his negative body language and on-field distain for his teammates - since he's perfect and has never made a mistake - his antics were so much louder in person.
Every run play that went for 2 yards or less, he'd throw his hands up. Every pass he'd overthrow to his receiver, he'd throw his hands up. Every off target throw he made, he'd turn to scream at the refs looking for a flag (that's every QB to be fair).
Every mannerism, every yell, every scared throw away to avoid a hit, just looked like a guy that didn't really want to be out there. Throw in the few rollouts that 30-year old Rodgers would turn into first downs with his feet that 40-year old Rodgers can't, and it felt like a guy that shouldn't be.
I can hardly blame him after almost getting cut in half.
I don't understand how you ever get up from that hit, let alone at 40 years old. So I gotta give him his flowers for not calling his career quits on the spot.
But this Steelers offense is horrible. No creativity, no explosiveness, and with that comes no points. Almost literally; the Steelers have one offensive TD in the first two games (25 possessions).
It's a hard watch, so I kind of get where Rodgers' frustration comes from seeing that he's living it (and that his number one target in DK Metcalf has become allergic to catching the ball). But he's also part of the problem. His mobility is nearly gone, he's timid in the pocket, and although he can still rifle the ball, the seam routes and difficult downfield throws he's spent the last 15 years making look routine are not as accurate as they used to be.
It must be tough to be a Steelers fan right now. This offseason provided them the perfect opportunity for an organizational reset, but instead of hiring a young up and coming coach that could be at the helm for a decade plus - as Pittsburgh has historically done and done so with incredible success - they opted for a 40-year old QB who showed next to nothing last year and his old head coach who flamed out in Dallas bad enough to not be wanted anywhere else.
Their defense is still very good - as of now they have as many TDs as the offense and have given up 26 total points through two games - but they can't be expected to score every week.
I thought that hit on the hot potato fumble in real time was the last play Aaron Rodgers would ever play in the NFL. I can't imagine he's not waking up Monday morning thinking the same thing.
As for the Patriots
Other than being happy about a much-needed win, I didn't leave that game feeling overly optimistic.
The defense has been outstanding the first two weeks, but have played a backup QB and Aaron Rodgers. Gonzo is earning every dollar he got, and the pass rush is better than I and most New Englanders were expecting coming into the year. I don't have any complaints there.
But the offense still isn't clicking. Drake has not been great this year, and they don't seem to have much rhythm. They moved the ball farily consistently yesterday, having 6 of their first 7 drives going for more than 30 yards, but they also seem to be lacking the level of explosiveness and vertical passing game they had last year.
The one off script deep pass to Doubs was the highlight, but Drake hasn't had an on-time deep ball that's been thrown on target all season. They turned the ball over twice in positive territory yesterday, and missed a field goal after having a 2nd and 1 on another.
Like I mentioned, Pittsburgh's defense is very good, so I want to stay as positive as possible that we were held to just one three-and-out and two punts before the game was out of reach in the 4th, but there's definitely still a lot to be desired.
Two road games against Jacksonville and Buffalo will tell us a lot about the legitimacy of this group. We'll check back in in two weeks.
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