In a previous column, I attempted to explain my opinion as to how and why the majority of the general media pool creates and maintains a biased and slanted view of Black players in the NFL and how the views of their performances and events in their personal lives are presented daily; intentionally polluting as well as helping to define and negatively mold the psyche of the fanbase of the NFL, intentionally and perpetually presenting perverted narratives of the imagery players of color. Also, the quarterback carousel of the Pittsburgh Steelers continues to spin out of control. Remember, round and round and round we go, where the team is headed, only “the shadow” knows.
Sports media personality Mike Florio recently posted this on NBC Sports: “Steelers fans should embrace Aaron Rodgers.” Florio posted the following. “With momentum building toward quarterback Aaron Rodgers joining the Steelers, plenty of Steelers fans aren’t happy about the expected development. To those fans we say this: Seriously? The Steelers have had no consistently successful player at the most important position in the game since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. Last week, former Steelers running back Najee Harris explained the struggles of an offense that lacked experience or a high level of performance at quarterback. Rodgers would instantly upgrade the position, dramatically. He would position them to make the playoffs—and to win when they get there for the first time since the 2016 season. It’s that simple. Rodgers makes the Steelers better. And Rodgers is the best option they have for 2025.”
Why isn’t the Steeler Nation encouraged to embrace Russell Wilson in times of difficulty? And on top of that miscalculation, you can bet granny’s last apple pie that it is going to cost the Steelers more dough to sign Aaron Rodgers than it would have to sign Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. Hmm, imagine the sour grapes critique of the former Steelers disgruntled running back Najee Harris throwing shade at the struggles of the offense that lacked maturity. This is the same running back that hit the hole like a forty-gallon barrel of molasses.
Seriously, Mr. Florio. Ex-New Orleans Saints Head Coach Jim Mora would exclaim: “Playoffs? Don’t talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game! Another game!”
C’mon Mike, do you really think that Aaron the “pocketback” Rodgers with less mobility than Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, along with the young questionable offensive line of the Steelers would “position” them [the Steelers] to make the playoffs—and to win when they get there for the first time since the 2016 season? Most of these pundits will write and broadcast anything to get Aaron Rodgers paid, laid and get any of his competitors, slayed. Remember, Aaron Rodgers was supposedly a far better quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger, right? Why? Well, it was theorized by many folks that because Ben Roethlisberger sat behind Tommy Maddox and because Aaron Rodgers was allegedly mentored by the “Mississippi mudslinging,” Brett (hall-of-shamer welfare cheat) Favre.
How much football intellect could Aaron Rodgers glean from Brett Favre, assuming that Favre had any knowledge to share? In June of 2017, Ryan Wilson posted this article on cbssports.com: “Ty Detmer confirms Brett Favre had no idea what a nickel defense was.” “Brett Favre, by his own admission, will never be mistaken as the NFL’s Norman Einstein.” Mr. Wilson wrote: “He reiterated this point recently, explaining that he was a couple of years into his gig as the Packers’ starting quarterback until he finally mustered the courage to ask backup Ty Detmer what coach Mike Holmgren meant when he kept talking about “nickel defenses.” “Finally, I said, ‘I just gotta know.’ So I said, ‘Ty, I gotta ask you a question.’ And Ty was about as goofy as I was. “He says, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘What’s a nickel defense?’ “He gets real quiet. He says, ‘Are you serious?’ “’Yeah, I’m serious.’ “He says, ‘Well, they basically take out a linebacker and bring in a DB.’ “I said, ‘That’s it?’ “He said, ‘That’s it.’”I said, ‘Who gives a s___?’” If it all sounds too ridiculous to be true—how can an NFL quarterback not know about nickel defenses? —it’s not. Detmer has confirmed as much. “He didn’t know,” Detmer told TheBigLead.com’s Tully Corcoran. “He was sincere in asking.” Detmer continued: “[I]t was during a serious part of the meeting. This wasn’t jacking around in the locker room, and throwing it out there. I did kinda question it, you know, ‘Are you serious?’ You could tell he was, I just figured I’d better double-check it.”
Can you believe this? It has, is, and continues to be blatantly circulated throughout the world of sports that the Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton had to water down and simplify the offensive playbook of the Broncos in 2023 so that QB Russell Wilson could comprehend and execute the plays correctly. Payton put Russell Wilson on the chopping block and absorbed a multi-million-dollar loss to get rid of his ex-Super Bowl-winning QB. Yet Aaron Rodgers sat under and shined the boots of Brett Favre. Why wasn’t Brett Favre psychologically tied to the esoteric whipping post in the town square and receive 40 lashes with the whip of public opinion when his football intellectual shortcomings were uncovered? I wonder how Sean Payton would have reacted when it was revealed to him that Brett Favre was his starting QB and Coach Payton discovered that Favre did not know what a “nickel defense” was. However, Favre wasn’t that stupid! After Favre retired from the NFL, he was infected by the “anti-Robin-in-the-Hood” syndrome. The only antidote for that almost always financially fatal disease is to steal from the poor and give to the rich. And the Steeler nation is whining, pining, and dying to wine and dine Aaron Rodgers, this over-the-hill gunslinger that many in the Steeler Nation assume can facilitate a Steelers rebirth when in reality, Aaron Rodgers may be shooting nothing but blanks.