NFL
Terry Bradshaw Took Another Shot at Aaron Rodgers With a Biting Backhanded Compliment
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterUpdated05 May 2021
In light of his apparent dissatisfaction with the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers has been under fire from just about everyone in the NFL world. One of his loudest critics has been Terry Bradshaw, who hit the radio airwaves to call the quarterback weak and, in essence, question his toughness. The Fox analyst's salvo, however, didn't stop there.
After ripping Rodgers on Monday, Bradshaw doubled down on Tuesday. He joined Colin Cowherd's radio show and paid the Packers quarterback a biting backhanded compliment.
Terry Bradshaw first took aim at Aaron Rodgers on WFAN
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By and large, most sports analysts will try to stick to on-field assessments and avoid criticizing a player's toughness. Bradshaw, however, decided that he wasn't going pull any punches during a recent radio appearance.
On Monday, May 3, Bradshaw joined WFAN's Moose and Maggie show and, unsurprisingly, shared his opinion on Rodgers' dissatisfaction with the Packers and apparent unwillingness to ever play for the team again. In the Fox analyst's mind, that stance told him everything he needed to know.
“With [Rodgers] being that upset shows me how weak he is,” Bradshaw said. He wasn't done there, though.
The former Steelers signal-caller also ripped Rodgers for being unhappy that Green Bay drafted another quarterback last year, saying, “And for him to be upset, my God, I don’t understand that.” Bradshaw also suggested that the Packers call their starters bluff and essentially dare him to retire if he's that dissatisfied with his current situation.
Terry Bradshaw returns for round 2 with a biting backhanded compliment
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After his initial radio appearance, you might have thought that Bradshaw had said his piece. He apparently wasn't done, though, and took some additional shots at Rodgers on Tuesday.
This time, the quarterback-turned-analyst joined Colin Cowherd on his radio show. While he eventually hit similar beats, Bradshaw also decided to take a shot at Rodgers with a biting backhanded compliment.
“Look, he’s an incredible player, but I can sit here right now and tell you he has probably the worst footwork I’ve ever seen for a starting quarterback,” Bradshaw explained. “He’s amazingly accurate. He protects the football, he puts up monster numbers, but his footwork is all over the place. I don’t know if that’s because he got hit a lot, he's out of position and doesn’t trust his linemen. He very seldom steps into a throw. It’s pretty impressive, actually.”
The former Pittsburgh Steeler, however, still made sure to reiterate one key part of his earlier position.
“I’m supporting Green Bay here,” Bradshaw continued. “Make him come back. Make him come back to you — don’t go to him, make him come back to you and answer for it. Or he can retire and go into ‘Jeopardy!’ or whatever he wants to do.”
Aaron Rodgers' footwork isn't great, but let's not pretend that's the problem
In fairness to Bradshaw, it's an accepted truth that Rodgers' footwork isn't always perfect. A 2014 Football Outsiders post literally used the word sloppy. In 2016, an ESPN story looked at the quarterback's fundamental flaws and how to address them. At the same time, though, let's not pretend that they're a game-breaking issue.
At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. During his time in the NFL, Rodgers has won twice as many games as he's lost; the quarterback has also thrown for more than 50,000 yards and completed 412 touchdown passes. He's won one Super Bowl championship and three MVP titles. It's safe to say the pros outweigh the cons.
The real bone of contention is the power of star players. Rodgers is the current face of the Green Bay Packers and their current key to success. Should he be allowed to throw that weight around and demand the franchise make changes? Or should he be a good soldier and honor his contract, regardless of any slights, perceived or otherwise.
How you feel about Rodgers' current situation probably depends more on that anything else. It's OK to be pro-players. It's OK to believe everyone should honor their contract. Let's just not pretend we're arguing about the quarterback's footwork and on-field abilities.
Stats courtesy of Football-Reference
