Stinky Cheese
I think it is time to rethink how important the Green Bay Packers are in the pantheon of NFL royalty.
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Since the dawn of the Super Bowl when Vince Lombardi took to the Packers to back to back Super Bowl titles the franchise has been anything but “Title Town.” Instead the cheese heads have been a glorified franchise living off the legend of a coach that has a closer relationship to the second World War than he does any of the iPhones. In the modern times Green Bay has two Super Bowl Championships (SB XXXII and SB XLV), after that there hasn’t been a whole lot of winning. The Packers will always be in the national conversation because of the legend of Lombardi but they shouldn’t be in the same conversation with New England and the other brass of National Football League. If the Packers were truly dedicated to continuing the winning culture of Lombardi than they would be systematically run better.
If the Packers really want to be considered what they claim they are, then can they please get into the realm of star power? Missing out on Antonio Brown is the second time this millennium that they have missed out on a once in a generation talent. When the New England Patriots traded for Randy Moss — Green Bay was linked with Moss throughout the sweepstakes but ultimately lost out. With Brown, they never were in the conversation, and it makes no sense. Aaron Rodgers is starting the end of his career and looked frustrated throughout the entirety of the season with the direction Green Bay is going. So, what a better way to make one of the best quarterbacks in the league happy than getting him arguably the best receiver in the game? What a better way to challenge division rival Chicago than revamping an offense and trying to win a Super Bowl again? Why do the Packers wilt away when they have an opportunity to get back in the Championship conversation? Even with being in the middle of Wisconsin the Packers have had the one thing very few teams have had the fortune of having for the better part of two decades; a top five quarterback. Both Farve and Rodgers are Hall of Fame quarterbacks and any skill position would be insane if they didn’t want to be on the same team as either of those two guys. If Brown thought his numbers were good with Big Ben throwing him the ball, Rodgers would inflate his numbers tenfold and Brown would’ve the best receiver Rodgers had without question.
Pittsburgh let Brown stay within conference because the Raiders aren’t in a position to contend for a Super Bowl right away so Brown couldn’t hurt the Steelers in the immediate future. Green Bay is in the NFC and wouldn’t hurt Pittsburgh unless they both make the Super Bowl and with the Steelers current trajectory the odds of that happening within the next two seasons isn’t likely. Green Bay had slightly less cap space than Oakland at the time of the deal (Oak-$53 Million, GB-$36 Million) however the Packers still could’ve made it work. Packer General Manager Brian Gutekunst should be disappointed with his execution in putting a championship level team on the field on a yearly basis. All of the frustration that Aaron Rodgers look like he had on his face throughout one of the toughest seasons in franchise history it is validated since the front office hasn’t done enough for one of the most loyal fanbases and one of the best quarterback’s football has ever seen. If Green Bay doesn’t start making the moves a top contender should they shouldn’t be continued to be thought of as a franchise that has a championship pedigree.
