Aaron Jones Says The Packers Are Ready To Prove People Wrong
"Everybody has an opinion and most of them stink."
The Sideline Scoop is a newsletter dedicated to all things Packers. If you’d like to join 800+ Packers fans who receive this newsletter throughout the week feel free to subscribe.
Ask many fans around the NFL, and they’d state that the Packers are going to take a significant step back in 2023 without future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers.
I get it. It’s hard to imagine a team taking a step forward when you lose one of the best throwers of the football in NFL history.
But, one very important thing to keep in mind, even with the presence of Aaron Rodgers in 2022 the Packers still missed the playoffs and finished 8-9. It wasn’t the successful year the Packers imagined they’d have. Now with Rodgers gone it’s Jordan Love’s turn to be the signal caller in Green Bay.
Could he be a top tier QB? Yes. Could he be one of the worst QBs? Technically, yes, even though I highly doubt it. We all have an opinion on Jordan Love’s potential but the truth of the matter is that we don’t know how well he’ll play in 2023 until he steps onto the field.
I can tell you every reason why I believe he’s in a perfect position to succeed, but there have been other QBs in the past in good situations who didn’t end up making the most of it.
If I had to make a prediction about where Love will rank among QBs in 2023 I’d say he’ll be in the 8-15 range. He’s got the arm talent, the athleticism, the mental makeup, the support of his teammates, years of mentorship by Aaron Rodgers, but I won’t act like I know for a fact that this all will play out perfectly. Truth is, there’s no telling what will happen.
Even though us fans are spending time questioning how good this team will be next year, Aaron Jones is questioning nothing. He’s very confident in the team that the Packers have even after losing Aaron Rodgers.
“We’ve got everything we need here. If you think we’re in a rebuild, you’ve got the wrong team, the wrong place. We know it’s going to take all 11 and we’ll have to depend on each other in all phases, but we’re hungry, we’re ready to prove a lot of people wrong. We know what people are saying. Everybody has an opinion and most of them stink.”
This is exactly what you’d hope one of the key leaders in the locker room would say.
Even though people on the outside are questioning if the Packers have what it takes, Aaron Jones is making it clear that they have what they need. He’s not making any excuses. It’s up to the guys on the roster to continue the legacy of success in Green Bay even though the team looks much different and lost many key veterans that were present last season.
In the past couple weeks I wrote on the idea of whether or not the Packers are in a rebuild. Typically if someone says an NFL team is in a rebuild, you are basically saying that the team won’t be competitive that season and that they’re in the process of building their roster to be successful sometime in the next few years. There’s no doubt the Packers are in a transition, but Aaron Jones doesn’t think that this transition means that the Packers are in a rebuild.
The cards are stacked against the Packers.
They have a QB entering his first year as a starter.
They have one of if not the youngest wide receiver rooms in the NFL.
They have a defense that ranked 17th in scoring allowed last year with expectations before the season of being one of the best in the league. There’s a lot to overcome.
I for one am filled with curiosity and excitement about how the 2023 season will unravel for the Packers. The reality is that once your franchise has one of the top tier QBs in the league, anything less than a Super Bowl victory will be deemed a failure.
That’s how it was year after year with Aaron Rodgers leading the ship. Each year the Packers entered the season with their sights set on the Super Bowl. Even though the Packers only achieved one Super Bowl victory during Aaron Rodgers tenure, that was the goal each and every year.
Now the Packers have entered a phase, where at least among Packers fans, there’s not this expectation that if the Packers don’t win a Super Bowl in 2023 the season is a failure.
From most Packers fans I’ve heard from a successful season in 2023 comes down to Jordan Love proving that he is the guy that will be able to lead this team for years and years to come. If he shows promise but the Packers still miss the playoffs, most will consider it a success.
After we solidify that Jordan Love is the guy we will slowly go back to our sky high expectations of winning a Super Bowl each and every single year. At the end of the day, if you’re not playing to win it all, then what are you doing? That’s not to say you can’t celebrate and enjoy success along the way, but the ultimate success is hoisting up that Lombardi Trophy.
It’s hard to know how far away the Packers are from bringing the Lombardi back to Titletown. If Jordan Love is the guy we could be closer than most people think.