Aaron Rodgers Loses Packers Spelling Bee to Coach

Aaron Rodgers just suffered his first loss of 2019. According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the [...]

By Brian Jones

Aaron Rodgers just suffered his first loss of 2019. According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Green Bay Packers had a spelling bee this week and the two-time MVP winning quarterback was taking on Mike Pettine, the team's defensive coordinator. Both Rodgers and Pettine went back-and-forth which eventually led to the Packers deciding the winner via coin flip. Pettine won the coin toss, he spelled "conscientious" right and he became the champion.

Rodgers wasn't available to the media to talk about his loss, but odds are he's taking it in stride. The spelling bee was one of the few things the team has done this year to get ready for the regular season in terms of competition and team bonding.

Earlier this summer, the Packers got together and played paintball. How did Rodgers do?

While the spelling bee isn't his first loss of the year, he is ready to get back to his winning ways this fall as he has a new head coach in Matt LaFleur and a new offense to work with. The last two seasons have not been easy for Rodgers as he missed nine games in 2017 with a broken collarbone and he suffered a knee injury in last year's season opener against the Chicago Bears. The Packers finished with a 7-9 record in 2017 and despite Rodgers playing in every game last year, Green Bay suffered a record of 6-9-1.

Obviously, staying healthy is key for Rodgers this year. But experts have questioned Rodgers being on the same page with LaFleur as there were reports of Rodgers being frustrated with former head coach Mike McCarthy last year which led to him being fired in December.

Rodgers recently chatted with former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, who also covers the league for NBC Sports, and he said he's more than happy to have LaFleur on the sidelines.

"I am excited about it," Rodgers said about LaFleur and the new offense. "The most important thing with change is to embrace it. Being comfortable with the uncomfortable parts of it. When you've been in a system for so long, you have a way of doing things. The first part is being open to [change]."

Let's hope Rodgers does better on the field than he does in spelling.

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