KC Wolf
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- Mar 19, 2019
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His new coach refers to him as an “old man.” But Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is feeling spry, thanks to the youth that’s surrounding him.
“I think there’s just such a young energy about this team,” Rodgers recently told Mike Tirico of NBC’s Football Night in America. “When you do things for so long, there’s almost an expectation. And we just have so many new guys who haven’t seen me play a whole lot over the years. There’s a new staff who hasn’t been in the same locker room or meeting rooms or on the field at Lambeau here and seen that. . . .
“The other part is we just really enjoy each other. This is one of the closest teams we’ve had, and definitely one of the closest teams that we’ve had in a long time. It’s just a new energy. There’s an excitement. The guys are having fun. . . . It’s been fun to see guys come together and genuinely enjoy working together.”
Rodgers has enjoyed working with a staff that consists of younger coaches.
“I think I’m older than my quarterback coach,” Rodgers said. [Editor’s note: He is old than Luke Getsy, by 2.5 months.] “And we’ve had a lot of fun together. It changes the dynamic.”
Winning surely helps make it more fun. The offense took some time to develop, but the defense was sufficiently stout to deliver wins in September. Now, the offense is clicking and the Packers will try to finish the first half of the season at 7-1 when they face the Chiefs on Sunday night in Kansas City.
“It’s been a great reset for me,” Rodgers said, who last week had a career game that thrust him into the MVP discussion. “Kind of reset with new challenges and new goals. And stretching me, as far as you have to learn how to communicate with a new staff. And it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve had a lot of fun together.”
Aiding in the fun is the presence of free-agent acquisitions who have changed the locker-room dynamic.
“I think we’ve brought in some hungry guys, and it’s just changed kind of the fun meter in the locker room,” Rodgers said. “Guys are really enjoying each other a lot.”
Again, winning helps that. And the second half of the season has plenty more winnable games, which means the fun could extend deep into January. Maybe into early February.