It should come as no surprise that Aaron Rodgers likes the Green Bay Packers offense and most of his offensive weapons. Most of them…
Rodgers has been quick to point out that he doesn’t think the Packers offense if going to miss a beat even though receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver are no longer with the team. He’s pointed out the accomplishments of Jordy Nelson and James Jones and has said he thinks Randall Cobb has the potential to be a 100-catch guy a couple times now.
“I think he can be a 100-catch guy. We haven’t had that here in a while. But I think he can. I think he’s a special player. As long as he can stay healthy, I think he’s going to be a big-time star for us,” Rodgers said in part of a far-ranging interview with the Journal Sentinel.
Earlier in the same interview, Rodgers talked about the expectations for the offense. And, here’s where he also let slide how he felt about the team’s running backs.
“I think the expectations have gotten very high for this offense. We’re OK with that. But sometimes the ability to meet those expectations is even more difficult because those expectations are so high. We have personal expectations that we talk about in our offensive meeting room. I think the best thing that happened for us was that (coach) Mike (McCarthy) made the switch on Day 1 when we were on the field. So those guys knew “This is how it’s going to be. Get comfortable at those spots.” That’s helped.” Rodgers said.
“Losing Greg and Donald (Driver) gives some other guys some opportunities. We have three of the best in the league as a combination with Jordy (Nelson), James (Jones) and Randall (Cobb). I’m really excited about those guys, and then we’ve got some guys behind them who have a chance to make the team and contribute. I like our offense and I like what we can do in the passing game. And now, I think we can complement it with a more consistent running game with two stud backs we got in the draft and a former used car salesman.”
Those stud backs would be Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin. The used car salesman would be DuJuan Harris. So, what? No praise for Alex Green and James Starks?
Apparently, just like the Packers front office, Rodgers doesn’t think too much of those guys. We can’t really blame him. Starks is a walking injury list and Green was unproductive last season.
Still, not the usual “I love the competition we have at running back” PC answer you would expect. While Starks probably has very slim chances of making the team, Green is supposedly back to full strength after suffering a torn ACL in 2011 that hindered him for much of 2012.
Maybe this was Rodgers’ subtle way of sending a message. Then again, maybe he just really doesn’t have any respect for those two guys as players.