Aaron Rodgers Blasts 'Horses—' Criticism of His Packers Performance Amid Engagement to Shailene Woodley
Aaron Rodgers took some heat for his poor performance against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the NFL season. But the Green Bay Packers quarterback bounced back in a big way on Monday night, completing 22 of his 27 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 35-17 win over the Detroit Lions. Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and was asked if the comments are just noise or if it ever gets to him.
"To be honest, it's a combination of both," Rodgers replied, as transcribed by E! News. "I mean, on one hand, it's absolute horses—t to give a platform to people who have no idea what they're talking about as far as my mental state and, you know, my focus, my work habits. People that have not been around me, that are not in my life, I don't have communication with them, are not in the locker room. I mean, that's just, it's chickens—t. It's so ridiculous that people get a platform to do this, and it's the same type of people."
Rodgers said that the media today is all about getting clicks and views, leading to "outlandish" opinions. "So, it's not even overreaction Monday or Tuesday anymore," Rodgers added. "It's overreaction every time a microphone's in your face, every time you have a single shot in the camera and you get to talk to the camera. Every time you're on a panel, it's who can say the most outlandish things because that's going to give you the most hits. That's the media we live in; that's fine. But at the same time, I still have this show; I have my weekly stuff. You know, most people don't use their platform to defend themselves. I don't think I need to defend myself when people aren't worth spending time on."
One of the more notable criticism came from former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher who said it looked like Rodgers didn't care when watching him during the Week 1 loss. "Show me you care," Cowher said during CBS's NFL pregame show on Sunday. "Show me it's important to you that the team is more important than who you are, and right now, I have not seen that."
It's been an exciting offseason for Rodgers. Along with contemplating retirement, the Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL MVP announced that he was engaged to actress Shailene Woodley earlier this year. A source told E! News that Woodley is currently working in Albuquerque but will support Rodgers throughout the season once she wraps.