The 3-6 Packers have lost five games in a row, a streak that began in London with a loss to the Giants. They officially bottomed out on Sunday, losing to the one-win Lions and mustering only nine points.
During his post-game press conference on Sunday, Rodgers was asked this question: “You’ve been pretty optimistic these last couple weeks, saying ‘all it takes is one.’ Sounds like there’s still a little bit of that left. But how do you -- I’m not trying to be disrespectul in saying this -- how do you believe that you guys can still turn it around after you guys just lost to that team?”
Rodgers paused for roughly 13 seconds before responding.
“I’ve been counted out many times in my life, as have many of my teammates,” he said. “And I hope we just dig deep and find a way. We will truly be underdogs for many games moving forward. Hopefully, we can embrace that. We have two games at home. We’ve got to go win those two games in a week, and then this thing looks a little different.”
It was the second time Rodgers said during the press conference that the Packers will be “counted out.” He initially made the remark after he was asked whether he regrets not retiring.
If they’ll be counted out, it’s for good reason. They’ve counted themselves out by losing game after game after game.
No, it’s not over yet. Sure, they play a pair of home games four days apart, with the Cowboys coming town on Sunday and the Titans arriving the following Thursday.
But then come trips to Philadelphia on a Sunday night and a visit Chicago after that, before a Week 14 bye. Four games to go before getting some time to regroup. They could be 7-6, they could be 3-10. They could be somewhere in between.
Regardless, it’s a little lame to seek motivation from being “counted out.” He’s not the first player to play that card. A team plays poorly, people who get paid to point such things out do so, and then the team that played poorly gets indignant because people are pointing out how poorly they’ve played.
They remain very much alive, even if Rodgers is showing up for every post-game press conference dressed like he’s going to a funeral. If they get to the playoffs as a low seed, they could be as dangerous as they were in 2010.
But first they’ve got to get to the playoffs. It won’t be easy. They will be counted out. They’ll be counted out because of their own failures through the first nine weeks of the season.
