Aaron Rodgers Has No Gripe

After being hit by Anthony Barr, Aaron Rodgers popped up and started barking about the hit being unfair.  Likewise, countless Green Bay fans went to social media to accuse the same.

Here's the hit:



A couple of things:

• The hit was clean.  Note that it didn't draw any kind of penalty, despite the proximity of officials.
• Rodgers is a mobile quarterback.  He buys time to make plays by moving around the pocket, just as he did on this play.  Quarterbacks that move get hit.
• After living in Green Bay for 7 years and watching this team way more closely than I'd ever like to admit, Rodgers has been hit a ton.  The offensive line seems to have always been an afterthought for the team, and the man has taken a massive amount of punishment.  If it wasn't the Vikings this week, it was just a matter of time.

It's easy to try and pin this on Barr.  The fact is Rodgers takes a ton of punishment, usually every game, and his number finally came up.

I take no joy in this.  He's the best quarterback in the league - a league which is suffering from a massive blow to its brand.  While indeed it is bad for Green Bay, it is bad as well for the NFL and for football fans across the land.