Spot On Greg Jennings

I never thought I would agree with anything former Packer Greg Jennings has spouted off since leaving the Packers after the 2012 season. But hell has evidently frozen over (but not in Southern Illinois where we are going through a heat wave) because he has agreed with me on a topic (I guess its true a broken clock is right twice a day, so I will wait for the second time he agrees with me) and I will always give credit where credit is due.

I have always had a problem with former Packers who bash the Packers after they have been let go for cause. It started with Sterling Sharpe who was let go after suffering a serious neck injury, and it continued with Jennings. (What is it about wide receivers that makes them go nuts when they leave the Land of Milk and Cherries?).

Sharpe, for some odd reason, seemed to blame the Packers for his career-ending neck injury. He was the top receiver in the NFL having set the NFL record for catches in a season twice in 1992 and again in 1993 despite having to play with turf toe and staged a few hours walkout before signing a new 6-year contract just before the first game of the 1994 season.

He suffered a neck injury in the second to the last game against the Falcons, but returned to play the final game against the Bucs, but was hurt again making December 24, 1994 his last game. He never played another down despite having a tryout in 1996.

He had surgery to fuse his top 2 neck vertebrae on February 3, 1995 and was given a 90% chance of playing in 1996. However, his big renegotiated contract was non-guaranteed, so the Packers hardballed him offering $200,000 for sitting out the 1995 season and he felt insulted they just didn’t pick up his 1995 $3,200,000 salary considering his “Sterling” service the previous 7 seasons (i.e. setting the NFL in single-season receptions twice in 1992 (108) and 1993 (112), leading the NFL in receptions (108), yardage (1,461) and TDs (13) in 1992, leading the NFL in TDs in 1992 (13) and 1994 (18) and becoming the first receiver in NFL history to catch 100+ passes in consecutive seasons in 1992 (108) and 1993 (112) as well as becoming the Packers career leader in receptions with 595, second to James Lofton (9,656) in career yards (8,134) and second to the immortal Don Hutson (99) in Packers career TD receptions with 65).

There is no doubt he would have set all the records with Brett Favre throwing to him if he hadn’t got injured. Sharpe is still second in TDs (soon to be surpassed by Jordy Nelson (63) and is now third behind Donald Driver (10,137) and Lofton in yardage.

The Packers released him on February 28, 1995 with a $1,200,000 advance coming due in mid-March and Sterling Sharpe never forgave them. However, he had bought an insurance policy that would pay him between $3,000,000 to $3,500,000 if he never played again. Not quite the $16,000,000 he probably would have earned, but it was something. Too be fair it seems Ron Wolf could be as penny pinching as Ted Thompson, at least every once in a while not all the time like Thompson is (another complaint of mine, are you listening Greg?).

He started to blast the Packers almost immediately and had a tryout with the Eagles before the 1996 season, but they didn’t sign him. It seemed they agreed with Wolf that it was too risky for him to play again. He never had another tryout.

Almost every time Sharpe has something to say either on ESPN or NFL Network it was a criticism of the Packers until last year. It was good to see he finally buried the hatchet and it wasn’t in his General Manager Ron Wolf’s back.

Greg Jennings is now the 2000 teens version of Sharpe. He absolutely hates the Packers and never leaves a camera event without saying something shitty about the Packers.

Greg Jennings was the poor man’s version of Sterling Sharpe even though Mr. Jennings seems to think he was the second coming of Don Hutson and Jerry Rice.

Jennings was an excellent receiver for the Packers from 2007 to 2011. He started that “Sterling” streak by overcoming a season-starting hamstring injury to start the final 13 games finishing with 53 catches for 920 yards and 12 TDs. He surpassed 1,000 yards the next 3 seasons (80-1,292-9TD; 68-1,113-4TD; 76-1,265-12TD) and was about to do it again in 2011 when he suffered a knee injury and sat out the final 3 games finishing with 67 catches for 949 yards an 9 TDs.

His 2012 season was hampered by a season-long groin injury wiping out 8 games finishing with his worse season statistically with 35 catches for 366 yards and 4 TDs since his rookie season (45-632-3TD).

Jennings then went to the Vikings in 2013 (who didn’t) joining Carroll Dale, Dave Roller, Jan Stenerud, Greg Koch, Paul Coffman, Bryce Paup, Ken Stills, Darren Sharper, Ryan Longwell, Robert Ferguson, Brett Favre, Javon Walker and after Jennings, Desmond Bishop, Charles Johnson and Brandon Bostick (others were Dale Hackbart, Tony Jeter (brother of Bob Jeter), Dwight Hood, Dave Bradley, Mossy Cade, Buddy Aydelette, Ron Sams, Jessie Clark, Bucky Scribner, Chuck Clanton, Bobby Houston, Frank Walker, Darius Holland, Brett Conway, Jerron Wishom, Kenderick Allen, Kerry Taylor, Grant Cook, Tyrone Walker, Mike Hawkins, Mike Montgomery, Tori Gurley, Terrell Manning, Jordan McCray, DuJuan Harris, Bruce Gaston and currently former No. 1 Datone Jones and Terrell Sinkfield are on their roster) making a total of at least 41 (the most on any other team) since 1966 (I’m still researching players from the 1960 to 1990).

Jennings had two decent seasons with the pretenders to the northeast becoming the team’s leading receiver (68-804-4TD, 59-742-6TD) after signing a 5-year, $47,500,000 contact.

Then the Vikings cut his ass with 3 years remaining on his contract with a failed physical designation. (The Union needs to look into that practice). He was now an unwanted man finally signing a 2 year, $8,000,000 contract with the Dolphins, but it really was a 1 year. He was done making 5 starts and finishing with 19 catches for 208 yards and 1 TD. He retired after the 2015 season.

When he was with the Vikings he was running his “Anti-Packers” mouth saying how the Packers "brainwash" their players. "And when I came over here...I was kind of brainwashed. There's no kind of to it. Being over in Green Bay you're brainwashed to think that anyone in the division is just tiers below." (Is the Packers thinking they are a great organization the best he insult he could come up with?).

He continued to attack the Pack (actually beginning after the 2012 season when his sister “Trumpeted” claiming the Packers were avoiding Jennings, calling Aaron Rodgers the most overrated quarterback in the NFL and telling Jennings to leave Green Bay as soon as possible). Some of his musings were referring to Rodgers as “the guy they have now” and picking Favre over Rodgers as well as continuing the attack on Rodgers by saying “A lot of times when you have a guy who creates that spotlight for himself and establishes that and takes a lot of that, it becomes so-and-so and the team. It should always be the team.”

Jennings took on Mike McCarthy by saying, "It’s not a free-for-all. There’s structure, but there’s liberty (with the Vikings). You can breathe. It’s like, ‘OK, I can do my thing.’ You know what you need to do, you get it done. Whereas [in Green Bay], everything was more cookie-cutter... It’s just different. In a good way. And not knocking what we did there (really?). Because obviously it was successful. But here, no one’s walking on egg shells.” 

Former Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier wanted to shut him up, "We're the Vikings and we want to talk about us, what we're trying to get done," Frazier said following a one-on-one meeting with Jennings. "That's where our focus has to be. There's so much work to be done, and we don't want to be looking at what's happening with other teams, other teams' players. We've got to focus on us. He's good with that." Jennings came out to apologize, NOT, "I don't really recall saying anything negative about Aaron or anyone over there, but hey, I apologize," and admitting he hadn't talked to Rodgers personally about any of the comments. 

But, despite the fact he was cut loose with 3 years remaining on his contract after leading the team in receptions for his 2 years there he hasn’t ripped the Vikings at all. In fact, he and his family call Minnesota their home now and in the future. Seven years of success verses 2 years of mediocrity and he decides to rip the Packers. What is it about wide receivers and their post-Packers insanity?

Almost all the articles I’ve read concerning Jennings and the Vikings and him leaving the Vikings say he was and is a “class act”. Evidently it’s whose ox is being gored and in the case of Green Bay verses Minnesota if he’s ripping the Packers he’s a “class act”. One thing Greg Jennings was in Green Bay a “class act”, but one thing Greg Jennings has been since then NOT a “class act”.

Fast forward to yesterday when he said unsolicited, “I’m just going to flat-out say it: If we had a lead, our issue wasn’t the defense — our issue was Mike McCarthy. [McCarthy] would cuff us. . . . When you watch New England play, when they have a lead, they go for your throat; they don’t relax. . . . They have a great quarterback [in Tom Brady]; they have arguably the best quarterback in football, but they have — no doubt about it — the best head coach in football.”

I totally agree with half of what Jennings said about McCarthy shutting down the offense in the second half. I have been saying this for many years and would comment on the Packers holding a big first-half lead by saying, “we still have to play the second half,” and almost every game the offense would go into a shell going from 28 points to 3 and barely winning the game or not.

I was happy McCarthy decided to give up the play calling two years ago and he wouldn’t have done that unless he knew something was wrong. The problem was he chose the wrong guy to take over the job and now we are STUCK with McCarthy until he decides to retire. The next franchise quarterback, whoever he may be (he’s not on the team right now), will have to get used to playing just half a game.

However, I don’t agree with his statement “our issue wasn’t the defense”. It is, was and continues to be an issue with Dom Capers’ second half defense. While McCarthy shuts down his own offense Capers makes zero, nadda, no adjustments at halftime. Besides the Packers going into a shell offensively, the defense gets lit up leading to high scoring one or two-point wins or a complete second half collapse. 

Rodgers immediately defended McCarthy even though he knows McCarthy is absolutely the worst second half coach in the history of the game, “I’ve made it pretty well known how I feel about Mike. He’s our leader and . . . we follow his lead, and we love Mike. We believe in him, and he believes in us, and so we’ve got his back.” 

Rodgers had criticized McCarthy a year or two back about this very subject, but I guess he’s either forgot that or it’s the old axiom, “I can criticize my guy, you can’t.” holding true. Any way Rodgers needs to think about what his stats would be if he was allowed to play a complete game instead of just a first half.

Whatever the case I hope people at 1265 Lombardi Avenue take heed of Jennings thoughts. However, I KNOW they WON’T. They DO NOT listen to any criticism. It will be the same old, same old for the next 20 years as the Packers stay good enough to make the playoffs (although that is now becoming harder to do) and never win another Super Bowl until the Mark Murphy/Ted Thompson/Mike McCarthy/Dom Capers Regime is a thing of the past. I’m hoping its sooner than later.