Steelers Now
It wasn’t uncommon to see Aaron Rodgers get worked up during Pittsburgh Steelers games last season. The team’s elder statesman would bark in the direction of teammates — or at no one at all — when the offensive operation wasn’t up to his standard.
Even during practices last season, Rodgers could let his displeasure be obvious.
Former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith Sr. believes Rodgers’ leadership will suit the new-look Steelers well. Mike McCarthy’s squad added wideouts Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard this offseason, and the four-time Associated Press NFL MVP will help them get up to speed.
“Aaron Rodgers is working with these guys as we speak right now,” Smith said Friday. “He is getting in the lab and trying to figure out, ‘Which guy does this well?’ And Aaron will go, ‘Hey.’ He’s brutally honest, and he’s gotten older, he’s gotten a little bit gentler with his honesty, which is, ‘Yeah, let’s not do that. I wanna throw you the ball when you’re doing this.'”
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wondered earlier this offseason if Rodgers is too harsh with his teammates when frustrated, though other veterans — such as Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling — spoke glowingly of Rodgers’ guidance in the huddle.
“Every time he does that — even if he’s mad at himself — the impression it creates to those of us watching the game on TV is he’s mad at someone else and he’s blaming someone else for the bad outcome of the play,” Florio said.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers Rival: Aaron Rodgers Has Evolved in Unexpected Way
