Where are all the Finley critics now ?

bozz_2006

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I think you're right that he'll pull out, but "excellence"? Consistently Top-10, maybe, but characterizing his career as excellent goes way too far, I think.
 

ivo610

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I think you're right that he'll pull out, but "excellence"? Consistently Top-10, maybe, but characterizing his career as excellent goes way too far, I think.

excellence? Thats Graham and Gronk level. Tony Gonzalez's career has been excellence. Witten with his blocking and catching his at that level too. 17 career TDs in a 5 year career isnt excellent.
 

rodell330

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excellence? Thats Graham and Gronk level. Tony Gonzalez's career has been excellence. Witten with his blocking and catching his at that level too. 17 career TDs in a 5 year career isnt excellent.

I agree..i'd take PRODUCTIVITY over a freakish athletic tighend anyday of the week. Finley isn't even a top 5 tightend at this point of his career yet he want's to be viewed as one.

Gronk
Gonzalez
Graham
Whitten
Gates
Gresham

* side note maybe we need to draft a tighend who's last name starts with a G?:tup:
 

El Guapo

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I think that we've got so many tightends on our team speaks to the ability of Green Bay to "shed" one should that possibility come up
 

Alex

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ivo610

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See, he's got all the bad parts of Randy Moss/Terrell Owens. Even if he is performing well this stuff just gets old and obnoxious. Just shut up and play!

Randy would quit on the field is things didnt go his way. Randys teammates for the most part actually liked him.

TO would NEVER quit on the field, dude played his heart out. All bets were off when he walked into the locker room and caused every possible problem on the planet in there.

Different types of cancers.
 
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HardRightEdge

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For you Finley nut-huggers, it's crap like this that turn folks like me against him:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...y-be-trying-to-talk-his-way-out-of-titletown/

Regardless of when the comments were made (These happened to be made before last weeks game,) he just needs to **** and play ball.

I totally agree that he should not say this stuff to the press. It does not do him any good; it just fuels the distrust...and off-field distrust will bleed into the field.

What's interesting is that his assessment of the situation is accurate.

If this were Blane Gabbert he was talking about he might get what he wants. But this is Aaron Rodgers. The addage, "the QB is always right", may not always apply, but it applies in this case. The clock keeps ticking....

Of course, this does not mean he "sucks" on the field.
 

bozz_2006

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I think pro-football players are asked to walk an extremely fine line between me-first and team-first. Of course we all say that they should be "team-first" all the way, but is that really want we want? I don't think so. The truth of the matter is that the best players, and the best teams, learn how to balance the two. A totally "me-first" guy undermines the team with a selfish attitude. But I'll say that totally "team-first" guys are rarely great.

There is so little that separates the elite players from the also-rans, and the biggest difference isn't their talents, abilities, or athleticism; the biggest difference is their mentality. The best players are those who "know" they're the best, who "know" that they can, and should, be counted on at all times and especially in crunch time. The best players want to be counted on to make plays when the game is on the line. And part of that mentality is going to be a certain level of "selfishness"; an arrogance. That's just the nature of the beast. We all know that Finley feels this way, and we also know that the likes of Rodgers, Jordy, Jennings do too. This is part of what made Jordan the best, and what makes Lebron the best, same for Manning, Brady, Montana, Rice, etc. Things don't always go their way, but what makes them special is that the winners are able to do what it takes even when things don't seem to be working. They know how to balance "me-first" and "team-first" to get results.

Winners know where to draw the line. They recognize that there comes a point where their feelings and how they choose to respond can actually end up hurting the team instead of helping. I think that's a very fine line, and an exceedingly difficult line to walk. The best are able to do it, and the rest aren't. it's not just about who's the biggest, fastest, strongest. That's the problem with the Chad Johnsons and TOs of the world; million dollar talent with a ten-cent brain, unable to both know and actually do whatever it takes to win. Most don't have the mental toughness to make this happen.

The best of the best didn't just accidentally get that way. They're able to harmonize their physical abilities with the mental toughness it takes to not just be the most talented, but to win. Winners make adjustments. Losers make excuses. For the winners, when something isn't working, they roll up their sleeves and fix it. For those who don't have that edge, they just ***** and whine and point fingers. And unfortunately we know which of those two camps Finley fits into.
 

weeds

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Finley was on the Mike McCarthy show this week - he doesn't come across as a blow-hole "in person" so to speak. The guy is involved in the community with his wife and kids and they seem like good folks. I wish he'd shut up and smash his smart phone.
 
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HardRightEdge

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Finley was on the Mike McCarthy show this week - he doesn't come across as a blow-hole "in person" so to speak. The guy is involved in the community with his wife and kids and they seem like good folks. I wish he'd shut up and smash his smart phone.

You're not supposed to talk like that. You're supposed to judge people in black and white. We're all either "winners" or "losers". We're either "the best of the best" or lumped into "everybody else".

Oh, heck. Let's nuance the discussion some more.

Finley does not take plays off, even though he's not getting the ball much. He does not make business decisions on the field. He's dropped too many balls, but not from shirking contact. He has one of the best work ethics on this team as attested to by McCarthy...at work at 6:30 AM in the off season and training camp.

Compare and contrast to our one-year-removed SB winning defense last season...guys taking plays off, one guy who took the whole year off, a secondary that thought they should all be Charles Woodson freelancers, playing for the highlight reel, making business decisions on the field (soft tackling, not pursuing to the ball carrier). We did not draft 6 defenders for nothin', and it's no coincidence the presence of those young guys has sent a message. I felt bad for Matthews and Bishop, who busted their ***** on every play, having to suffer through that mess.

Finley's an upright citizen, married the mother of his children, as you noted...what a quaint anachronism! Compare and contrast to some other guys (ex-party boy who'd show up hung over to practice, girlfriend beater, substance abuser).

Don't get me wrong...I do like those other guys as football players...it's a nuanced thing.

But we sure do wish Finley would shut up. The more I read his quotes, the more it looks to me like he's bipolar.
 

Chillarfan54

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http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/artic...throwing_me_the_ball_like_he_used_to/12266320

credit: yardbarker.com

( I'm getting so tired of his *****ing, with all this time he uses to ***** , he could use that time to prove that he still got it. Don't blame Randall , because he stepping up and playing ball. If he keeps this up, please trade him , because we don't need someone to bring drama to the team . We don't need another "SB picture problem".)
 
H

HardRightEdge

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Maybe the haters should take some cues from All World. From the ESPN Milwaukee blog:

GREEN BAY – Aaron Rodgers is acutely aware of how often his relationship with tight end Jermichael Finley is scrutinized and discussed, but the Green Bay Packers quarterback is convinced that he and Finley are in a good place right now – on the same page, thanks to their Saturday night meetings.

After catching three passes for 66 yards – including a 20-yard touchdown and a 40-yard catch-and-run that set up the go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 to play in the game – in Sunday’s 24-20 victory over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, Finley credited those Saturday night sit-downs with the quarterback for getting him going in a positive direction after five weeks of statistical irrelevance in the Packers’ offense.

Finley also had some less-than-positive things to say in an interview last Thursday with Packer Plus magazine’s Rob Reischel, although one would think his performance against the Lions might have altered his attitude slightly.
Nevertheless, Rodgers said the meetings have been extremely beneficial. He said he and Finley first began having their talks in 2009, Finley’s first season as a starter, but that at some point the two stopped meeting. They reconvened a few weeks ago.

“(Former Packers tight end) Donald Lee and I used to meet, just as kind of an end-of-the-week, let’s-get-on-the-same-page (thing),” Rodgers explained. “Because Donald had gone from a guy catching 55 passes in 2007 to I think a little less than that in 2008 and (he) kind of was wondering if we just weren’t on the same page or what (was) going on. So I said, ‘Let’s talk about every play so you can hear how I’m hearing it and I can see what you’re seeing on these plays. So it kind of started then and carried over from time to time. And (now) J-Mike and I have just been spending more time together.

“I’ve always enjoyed him as a person. I think a lot of times some of the stuff that he says at his locker can get misconstrued and not come out the exact way that he wants it to, because I genuinely think that he is a fan of mine and enjoys my friendship. I just wanted to really be on the same page with him because he’s a guy who can be so productive for us, and just making sure that we’re doing everything we can to make him feel comfortable, and just giving him and I a chance to just talk.

“We spend so much time talking football with our job and all week, that there’s really not a lot of time to just talk about life. For us, it’s more than just football, it’s talking about life. And I’m not Dr. Phil in there by any means, but it’s fun to be able to talk about some non-football stuff with your teammates.”

Talking about Finley’s two big plays against the Lions, Rodgers complimented Finley on both.

Of the touchdown, Rodgers said in part, “Jermichael did a great job of once he felt like he was wide open, looking back at me, and I kind of came across the board after I looked to my left and … he just flashed on me. And it’s a situation where in an instant you have to decide whether to throw it to J-Mike or throw the screen, and you have not much time to think about it because you’re going to get hit on the play, and put the ball in an area where he can make a play.

“The great thing that he did on that play, like he did on the play later in the game, was he attacked the point like we say. Once you catch it, he got vertical right (away). And I don’t think he was, in his mind, going to be stopped from getting into the end zone. He kind of hurdled the first guy which was a very athletic move and then got into the end zone and that was a very big play for us.”

Of the 40-yard catch-and-run, which set up Rodgers’ 22-yard TD to Randall Cobb, Rodgers said in part, “When you’re starting a late drive in the game you really want to get a first down and get things going. That kind of gives you the confidence that you’re going to start rolling. (It’s) second down, (so) I’m thinking, ‘Let’s get us in a third-and-manageable, they’re playing Tampa-2, let me get a play called up here that’s going to get us a couple of yards back and get us in a manageable third down where the crowd is not as into it and we have a high percentage of converting that.’

“(I) made a subtle adjustment; something that J-Mike and I had actually talked about the night before, and he ran exactly the route that I wanted him to, I put the ball where I wanted to.”

Rodgers credited the blocking of Cobb and Nelson on the play, then said of Finley, “Just a big time play for Jermichael, and again like we talk about on this show a lot, it takes a lot of guys on every play for it to be a good play. But when guys do it the way they’re supposed to do it, and then they add their own extra effort and intelligence to a play, that’s when you see a 5-to 7-yard gain turn into a 40-yard gain, and that was the play of the drive.”
 

longtimefan

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http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/artic...throwing_me_the_ball_like_he_used_to/12266320

credit: yardbarker.com

( I'm getting so tired of his *****ing, with all this time he uses to ***** , he could use that time to prove that he still got it. Don't blame Randall , because he stepping up and playing ball. If he keeps this up, please trade him , because we don't need someone to bring drama to the team . We don't need another "SB picture problem".)


This was already posted....So I merged yours with the existing thread
 

LZ13

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Maybe the haters should take some cues from All World. From the ESPN Milwaukee blog:

GREEN BAY – Aaron Rodgers is acutely aware of how often his relationship with tight end Jermichael Finley is scrutinized and discussed, but the Green Bay Packers quarterback is convinced that he and Finley are in a good place right now – on the same page, thanks to their Saturday night meetings.

After catching three passes for 66 yards – including a 20-yard touchdown and a 40-yard catch-and-run that set up the go-ahead touchdown with 1:55 to play in the game – in Sunday’s 24-20 victory over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, Finley credited those Saturday night sit-downs with the quarterback for getting him going in a positive direction after five weeks of statistical irrelevance in the Packers’ offense.

Finley also had some less-than-positive things to say in an interview last Thursday with Packer Plus magazine’s Rob Reischel, although one would think his performance against the Lions might have altered his attitude slightly.
Nevertheless, Rodgers said the meetings have been extremely beneficial. He said he and Finley first began having their talks in 2009, Finley’s first season as a starter, but that at some point the two stopped meeting. They reconvened a few weeks ago.

“(Former Packers tight end) Donald Lee and I used to meet, just as kind of an end-of-the-week, let’s-get-on-the-same-page (thing),” Rodgers explained. “Because Donald had gone from a guy catching 55 passes in 2007 to I think a little less than that in 2008 and (he) kind of was wondering if we just weren’t on the same page or what (was) going on. So I said, ‘Let’s talk about every play so you can hear how I’m hearing it and I can see what you’re seeing on these plays. So it kind of started then and carried over from time to time. And (now) J-Mike and I have just been spending more time together.

“I’ve always enjoyed him as a person. I think a lot of times some of the stuff that he says at his locker can get misconstrued and not come out the exact way that he wants it to, because I genuinely think that he is a fan of mine and enjoys my friendship. I just wanted to really be on the same page with him because he’s a guy who can be so productive for us, and just making sure that we’re doing everything we can to make him feel comfortable, and just giving him and I a chance to just talk.

“We spend so much time talking football with our job and all week, that there’s really not a lot of time to just talk about life. For us, it’s more than just football, it’s talking about life. And I’m not Dr. Phil in there by any means, but it’s fun to be able to talk about some non-football stuff with your teammates.”

Talking about Finley’s two big plays against the Lions, Rodgers complimented Finley on both.

Of the touchdown, Rodgers said in part, “Jermichael did a great job of once he felt like he was wide open, looking back at me, and I kind of came across the board after I looked to my left and … he just flashed on me. And it’s a situation where in an instant you have to decide whether to throw it to J-Mike or throw the screen, and you have not much time to think about it because you’re going to get hit on the play, and put the ball in an area where he can make a play.

“The great thing that he did on that play, like he did on the play later in the game, was he attacked the point like we say. Once you catch it, he got vertical right (away). And I don’t think he was, in his mind, going to be stopped from getting into the end zone. He kind of hurdled the first guy which was a very athletic move and then got into the end zone and that was a very big play for us.”

Of the 40-yard catch-and-run, which set up Rodgers’ 22-yard TD to Randall Cobb, Rodgers said in part, “When you’re starting a late drive in the game you really want to get a first down and get things going. That kind of gives you the confidence that you’re going to start rolling. (It’s) second down, (so) I’m thinking, ‘Let’s get us in a third-and-manageable, they’re playing Tampa-2, let me get a play called up here that’s going to get us a couple of yards back and get us in a manageable third down where the crowd is not as into it and we have a high percentage of converting that.’

“(I) made a subtle adjustment; something that J-Mike and I had actually talked about the night before, and he ran exactly the route that I wanted him to, I put the ball where I wanted to.”

Rodgers credited the blocking of Cobb and Nelson on the play, then said of Finley, “Just a big time play for Jermichael, and again like we talk about on this show a lot, it takes a lot of guys on every play for it to be a good play. But when guys do it the way they’re supposed to do it, and then they add their own extra effort and intelligence to a play, that’s when you see a 5-to 7-yard gain turn into a 40-yard gain, and that was the play of the drive.”

Good idea for Rodgers to do this. But if a player needs this type of extra attention on mental issues, is this really someone suited for the NFL? The guy has 20-60,000 people telling him "good job" every time he makes a big play. But then again, when a 3rd down ball bounces off his numbers like last year, some of those same fans might give him some negative feedback. The NFL is tough job and requires the ability to tune out the bad feedback and focus on what needs to be done.
 

FrankRizzo

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Finley just doesn't seem to "fit in" with the rest of the team..... dude stands out like a sore thumb and he creates more distractions than all the other 52 guys combined.... He's under contract next year, so I wonder if he could be traded in the off-season.

I think it's no coincidence that things came together in the 2010 playoff drive with him silent. Or maybe it was a coincidence.
 

Kitten

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People can be brutal on players when they are not performing up to expectations are they are not doing what we think they should be doing. Truth is players just like teams go through slumps and they come out of them (hopefully). TT must have faith in Fins even when we don't see it and I have faith in TT. That's good enough for me. As to where the Finley critics have gone, search the skies for all I care. They fade away quickly don't they.
 

longtimefan

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If he has another game like he did last week, then most will be back on his wagon...More drops, then last week was more of a blip..

Until he consistently has games like last week, then he is nothing more then an average te that can't be counted on..I.E. sucks
 

LZ13

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I tend to give a pass on the "team players" that go through a slump. James Jones and Mason Crosby are examples of good team players that I would give a pass to although Crosby has to get a handle on things soon I will say. On the other hand, I do not even want superstars on the team if they are prima donnas (such as Randy Moss). I would not put Finley in the prima donna category, since he seems to be a pretty decent guy and works hard I think. But his self-focus, from day 1, does not show him to be much of a "team player". Until he becomes a team player, I will be hoping he moves on to some other team.
 
I

I asked LT to delete my acct

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Still sitting here I`m sorry to say, and still not that impressed.
 

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