Over the past two days, the Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has been grilled for his failure in the first game of the 2022 season. No doubt, the fans were in high hopes to see a young squad under the veteran taking on big guys. But on the contrary, it backfired with a frustrating 23-7 loss against the Vikings. This became a hot topic of discussion among the panelists of ESPN’s First Take, with Stephen A. Smith making an unexpected comment on the Hall of Famer.
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The Cowboys legend Michael Irvin had been a long-time panelist on the First Take. A popular talk show hosted by Stephen A. Smith with ESPN. As usual, the former wide receiver was in high spirits, full of energy, opposing the statements against Aaron Rodgers.
He speculated the entire discussion was concluding that somebody must take the ball from Rodgers’ hands and ask someone else to take the stand and win games for the side.
His impulsive expression and reactions made Smith take over from him and sarcastically said Irvin must calm down. “The point is that it might be the wrong decision about Mat Lafleur that he has made on several occasions,” Smith said about the situation. “He sends up that call to run in a play or take the ball out of Aaron Rodgers. Instead of giving it to him and say, take the stand you’re supposed to be that dude.”
“Number two though, which is calm down, and I see you are a bit more emotional about this.” He added, taking an abrupt pause. Instantly, the heated debate turned out to be a fun show, with other panelists chuckling over Smith’s unexpected comment.
Aaron Rodgers admits the mistakes that led to their loss
The loss of No. 1 wide receiver Davante Adams has certainly affected the overall performance of the offensive unit. Especially when the franchise had two first-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft, they didn’t use any of those on the wide receivers, which also became a subject of debate among the fans.
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Moreover, this season’s No 1 prospect, Allen Lazard couldn’t enter the field due to his injuries. He hasn’t received any clearances yet. Mostly the mistakes made by rookies like Christian Watson, who dropped a 75-yard pass, added to their overall defeat in week 1. However, Rodgers kept his calm and vowed to give more time to the youngsters to understand the heat of reality.
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“They’re young. They haven’t been in the fire. The patience will be thinner as the season goes on, but the expectation will be high. We’ll keep them accountable,” Rodgers said at the press conference. The Bears and the Buccaneers are next on the line for the Rodgers-led side. Hopefully, they don’t repeat the same mistakes again.
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