Rodgers Chip on his Shoulder

I'm hopeful for Saturday night, in part, because Rodgers will enter that game with that chip on his shoulder - real or not. He has a history of finding extra motivation from being overlooked or doubted. The Atl. playoff game, 2011 home opener, and week 6 at Houston - all games that Rodgers excelled in due, in part, to this chip: http://wp.me/p29VCs-eA

We all know the 2005 draft story. And Saturday night is the first time back at Candlestick for him. I can't imagine a better scenario for Rodgers to remind San Fan what it missed when it took Alex Smith ahead of him. I'm expecting Rodgers to be at the top of his game, which means the Packers should be hard to beat.

I like our chances. Better offense and healthy defense. Much better than week one. And this is Kaepernicks first playoff game thanks to the bye. Fewest mistakes wins! Go Pack!

Source: JSOnline.com

Rodgers doesn't have a chip on his shoulder. He is now clutch and a playoff performer. He has a Super Bowl ring and an MVP title.

I can't help but agree with Wood Chipper. I think the "chip on his shoulder" thing is overplayed by the media about ARod. At this point, he simply performs. Or..... Maybe I'm just tired of hearing of the chip and the 2005 draft.

It's difficult for me to even process this but here goes. Bart Starr is one of my favorite Packers ever. A legend. Brett Favre another legend but with a little bad taste in my mouth he still broke records(not all good) and brought a Lombardi trophy home to Lambeau. Rodgers already is remarkably better than both. I find that amazing!

True.
But I really really really want Rodgers to get to Starr's 2 Super Bowls, and soon, like in 4 weeks.
He should be going for 3 dammit but the Giants DL was just too good for our OL, and everyone dropped the ball that game, and nobody could tackle......

I don't think this is media driven. Rodgers creates this chip-on-shoulder thing. And it's not just from the draft. It's anytime he or the team is doubted or slighted - real or imaginary - he takes his game to another level. I cited the prime examples in my piece: at ATL in 2010, NO in 2011, and Houston this year. And we also saw some of it during that 60-minutes piece - remember when that guy said he was smaller than he anticipated; Rodgers was pissed. It's just who he is.

It's similar to Michael Jordan in a certain respect. Jordan never forgot being cut from his HS basketball team. Rodgers will never forget - as evidenced by the video above - his favorite team overlooking him in the draft. Now, he gets to play his first meaningful game at SF with a chance to knock them out of the playoffs as he pursues his second SB. It's the perfect storm for him. And for us.

Among his many other attributes, Rodgers has an amazing memory and I believe - and more significant Jason Wilde who knows him pretty well believes - that Rodgers remembers every slight he's ever received and uses them for motivation, even today. For example, I believe he still has a letter from one of the many colleges which turned him down (it may have been Purdue?) which basically said, 'good luck on any kind of college career kid' - at least that's the way Rodgers took it.

But I don't ever worry about Rodgers' motivation, attention to detail, or his rising to big occasions. This week my worries are almost exclusively reserved for the OL. Not their motivation, attention to detail, or whether they can rise to the occasion. Worse, I worry about their talent level. For example, just imagine if the Packers were going into this game with a younger and healthy Clifton and Tauscher along with their current interior OL. Were that the case I would no doubt be (over)confident.

I think his struggles against defenses that rush four and drop seven will play a big role in this Saturday's game. I'm looking for Rodgers to get that monkey off his back. Here's what I said last night in the "How much credit does Dom deserve thread":

"I'm expecting a show from Rodgers. He's struggled against teams who can get pressure with four and drop seven. Everybody knows it, and Rodgers knows it better than anyone. I think he'll exorcise that demon on Saturday."

Rogers needs to shine, as I think he will regardless of his own personal reasons. He's great, but comparing him to Starr at this point is unfair. There are lots of fantasy stats, but it is Championships that make greatness. Rogers knows that he plays for an organization whose greatest all-time QB won 5 of them. It was the Packers of the 60's that fueled the national interest in the NFL, and Starr, more than any other player on those teams, defined the excellence. I find it really irritating when people talk only of Super Bowl wins. The NFL Championships of the 30's through the 60's mean just as much in the history of the game as those Championships after expansion--certainly no less than the Yankees' World Series titles prior to the 70's. Why the Packers sell anything touting their 4 Super Bowl titles when they've won 13 Championships is beyond me.

I hope that is the case. Good to be able to say that we have a QB who plays even better in the postseason. Adversity has something to do with this I'm sure.

I'm biased but of course I agree. To expand on what you posted, Starr was the on-the-field leader of the Lombardi Packers who appeared in 6 NFL championship games in 8 years and won championships in five of seven of those years. And in those two "off years" they "only" won 73% of the games they played. It was an amazing time to be a Packers' fan.

That's the whole thing right there.
I pointed out that in the 49ers 4 losses, they only sacked the QB 0 or 1 time in each of those games.
If Rodgers can have a statline like that on sacks, I think he will shred them up, crappy grass or not.

But, sadly, none of us believe our OL is capable of a game like that.
I wish our OL could read this by the way.

Wait. The players, coaches, and management don't read our game or personnel analysis?!