A-Rod Tells It Like It Is

Posted by Mike Wendt on June 8, 2010   Jump To Comments

Aaron Rodgers has made some headlines lately, but not because of what he’s doing at OTA’s. Rodgers has been in the news because he’s one of the few stars in the league whose not afraid to speak his mind. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees always say exactly what the reporters want to hear, but Rodgers is a different breed. In a recent interview with ESPN Radio Milwaukee, Rodgers shared his opinions about a few ESPN employees, and let’s just say Rodgers isn’t going to invite them over to his house for a barbeque anytime soon. You can listen to the whole interview here, and I’d recommend it because it’s entertaining and it seems pretty tension-filled, as Rodgers doesn’t seem to agree with the hosts’ opinion that Tony Romo is better than him. The first guy Rodgers takes a shot at is ESPN analyst and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron “Jaws” Jaworski. Per the interview,

“I like him, but, when I was coming out, he did the worst segment in the history of TV about me talking about my fundamentals. It was not even close to anywhere near my fundamentals. The first time I met him, someone introduced me to him and I said, ‘Yeah I know him. He’s the guy who ripped me before the draft.’ The rest of the night he told me how great I was. I was like, ‘I know your song and dance.’ And now he loves me.”

Rodgers obviously still holds a grudge about how his draft day went down, but I don’t blame him. In fact, falling all the way to the Packers likely pushed Rodgers to work harder, and it gave him an extra incentive to prove to every team that passed on him that they made a big mistake. So Rodgers isn’t a big Jaws fan, but Jaworski gets off easy compared to what Rodgers said about Monday Night Football commentator and Pardon The Interruption host Tony Kornheiser. About Kornheiser….

“You know who was better than Tony Kornheiser? Dennis Miller was ten times better. Dennis Miller was a great comedian, but one of the worst Monday Night Football guys ever. And he was ten times better than Tony Kornheiser. His stuff was actually funny. Tony stuff wasn’t funny at all. He did no research. We’d sit in those production meetings and he would add absolutely nothing to the conversation. I’d be like, ‘What are we doing here? This is stupid.’… You get in there with Tony and ‘he’s asking you all these dumb questions that have no application to the game you are playing or anything you are doing. He’s terrible… I don’t think he’s funny. I don’t think he’s insightful. I don’t think knows anything about sports.”

Don't expect Tony at A-Rod's house for a BBQ anytime soon

Ouch. Let’s just say A-Rod won’t be spending “Five Good Minutes” with Tony on PTI. Another ESPN analyst that Rodgers doesn’t care for is Marcellus Wiley.

“You look at Marcellus Wiley up there talking about quarterback play. The guy was a defensive end for a few years in the league. He’s not any good.”

Rodgers does have respect for one of ESPN’s analysts though. About Trent Dilfer, Rodgers had this to say,

“I like Trent. He does a good job. He’s had success at the position”

Personally, I can’t stand listening to Dilfer on TV. To me, it always seems like Dilfer is still auditioning for a spot on an NFL roster. Dilfer also likes to bring up the fact that he won a Super Bowl during his playing career. I could have quarterbacked the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2000, considering in his lone Super Bowl appearance…

A. He completed 12 passes and threw one TD
B. The Ravens Defense/Special Teams outscored the Giants by themselves
C. He was released the following offseason because he wasn’t seen as an essential piece of the championship puzzle, making him the first and only Super Bowl winning quarterback ever released the following year.

So although I’m not the biggest fan of Trent Dilfer, if A-Rod says he’s a good analyst I’m inclined to give him another shot this season. As for Rodgers, you have to give him props for not sugarcoating his answers and telling it like it is. Who knows, maybe 10 years down the road and a handful of Super Bowl rings later we might find Rodgers on ESPN breaking down film on the next up-and-coming quarterback. At least we know we’d get an honest assessment from him.

Do you like that Rodgers tells it like it is? Do you share my dislike for Trent Dilfer? Drop me a line at wendt@brentfavre.com