- According to ESPN's Sam Borden,
Aaron Rodgers asks his backup quarterbacks to find new information on his opponents so that he was original material for trash-talking on the field. - Former quarterbacks say that players became skilled at finding old, embarrassing photos of opponents for Rodgers to use.
- Rodgers has been known to be a ruthless competitor and trash-talker during his career and is still going strong in Year 16.
When Aaron Rodgers prepares for his opponents, he not only wants to know their defensive schemes and tendencies, but he also wants to know how he can trash-talk them between plays.
According to ESPN's Sam Borden, like many teams, each week, the
According to Borden, another option is embarrassing information on the opponent so that Rodgers has original trash-talk to send their way.
From Borden:
"As an alternative for those who prefer to avoid challenging Rodgers' general knowledge acumen, Rodgers allows the second part of the quiz to also feature tongue-in-cheek 'questions' about top opposing players, as long as there is some component to the question that Rodgers might be able to use on the field. Like everything else, Rodgers wants to challenge the traditional notion of trash-talking - give me something different I can use, he tells the test makers. Find me something new."
Because Rodgers has been around the
Joe Callahan, a former Packers quarterback, told Borden, "We got pretty good at searching the internet for funny pictures of opposing teams."
Rodgers has always been a ruthless trash-talker
Rodgers has been known to trash-talk throughout his career.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback, and current ESPN analyst, Ryan Clark said in Super Bowl XLV, Rodgers threw a pass to Greg Jennings where Clark knew the play and the route and thought he could intercept the pass. Instead, Rodgers placed it in a perfect spot, and Clark missed the interception by an inch. It resulted in a touchdown.
After the play, Clark said Rodgers yelled out to him and held up his thumb and index finger as if to say Clark missed by an inch. The play still bothers Clark to this day.
Rodgers will even go after members of the Packers. He reportedly used to consistently rib former Packers coach Mike McCarthy for choosing Alex Smith over Rodgers in the 2005 draft, when McCarthy was an offensive coordinator with the 49ers.
He's still mixing it up with opponents this season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers soundly beat the Packers, 38-10, in Week 6. Throughout the game, Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who has a history with Rodgers, got into the backfield and hit Rodgers. The two went helmet-to-helmet and exchanged words during the game.
Rodgers told Pat McAfee that his relationship with Suh is not "cordial" and that he was looking to talk to Suh after the game.
"There was a little conversation in the third quarter, and this is where I say sometimes it goes to slightly more cordial after it's hostile," Rodgers said. "I was under the impression we were going to have a conversation after the game.
"It was one of those, 'Hey, you're old, I'm old, let's talk some things out.' I don't know if he ran off the field after the game. I didn't see him after the game."
The Packers and Bucs don't play each other again this year but could meet up in the NFC playoffs. If they do, expect Rodgers to be loaded up with trash-talking material for Suh and Tampa Bay.
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