Greg Jennings Refuses to Call Aaron Rodgers by Name

In an interview published at the online home of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, former Packers and current Vikings wide receiver refused to call Aaron Rodgers by name.

One part of a much longer interview went like this:

BS: You played with, potentially, two Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Christian Ponder is trying to ascend to where they've already been. When you came here, did you have an expectation that you would have to work with Christian and tell him some things to do?

GJ: When you talk about comparing quarterbacks, it's hard to compare guys. I'll take Brett. He did it for so long. I got there in a period of time where Brett already was there (as an elite quarterback). Then the guy they have now, he sat behind Brett and he learned so much. Christian didn't really have that opportunity. He had to jump in. The way you compare them has to be a little different. The guy they have now (Rodgers) was (essentially) a veteran rookie. It's a little different, but Christian has tremendous upside. I think what I see now is a quarterback who's maturing and who's growing and wanting to learn and grow, which is huge.

Reading between the lines, you might infer there's some animosity towards Rodgers by Jennings, but perhaps it's just tongue in cheek.

After all, Packers wide receiver James Jones was said to have a bit of sarcasm in his voice when he said in an interview (with JSOnline on Wednesday), "I don't like Greg no more. He left us."

#PACKERSmicroblog

0 points
 

Comments (43)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

June 05, 2013 at 08:21 pm

Maybe it's just me, but that comes off as Dick-y. I can't wait til Craig watches ol' 'what's his name' dismantle his purple legion of suck twice a year for the rest of his career. At least he'll have his sister to console him... Good luck Craig!

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

June 05, 2013 at 08:23 pm

Oh, and Craig, "you'll take Brett"? Really? That ring you and Brett won together is better than the one you and ol' what's his name won together, eh? Gotcha.

0 points
0
0
Mojo's picture

June 05, 2013 at 11:25 pm

Exactly Fitz.

The way I see it, Craig is pandering to the locals to increase his popularity. How pathetic it is that the only victories the Purple Puke fans have now is to have their team hire disgruntled former Packers who want to stick it to us. And despite an occasional win here and there, they always have and always will come up short.

0 points
0
0
PackersRS's picture

June 06, 2013 at 02:16 pm

Yes, but Favre focused on him and DD while Rodgers spread the ball around.

Now that he's out of GB (and in MN) Jennings can finally let the diva in him come out.

He's still a terrific receiver, though. When healthy.

0 points
0
0
I bleed Green More's picture

June 07, 2013 at 11:56 am

It seems Mn brings out the worst in Packer players.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

June 05, 2013 at 08:25 pm

Craig Flemings...

0 points
0
0
mike's picture

June 05, 2013 at 09:25 pm

love that name for him

0 points
0
0
Kelly's picture

June 06, 2013 at 12:33 pm

Isn't Craig made out of glass these days? Don't criticize. He may shatter at the mean words.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

June 05, 2013 at 08:25 pm

Now I'm done.

0 points
0
0
Chip Soup's picture

June 05, 2013 at 08:59 pm

Oh, yeah, Flemmings. Wasn't he that one dude from Southern Michigan who played a couple of years and then had a spot in the Aqua Velva commercials? Yeah, I remember...

Could Craig be returning the subtle shot Rodgers sent across his bow referring to his replacement being a potential "100 catch guy", something old Flem never accomplished? This could get interesting.

0 points
0
0
Point Packer's picture

June 05, 2013 at 09:02 pm

Ol" Flem certainly won't get to 100 with Christian Ponder throwing to him. Be surprised if Craig got to 60, especially given his fragile durability.

0 points
0
0
Point Packer's picture

June 05, 2013 at 08:59 pm

No, please, keep going. I love hearing about Craig Flemmings.

0 points
0
0
Doug In Sandpoint's picture

June 05, 2013 at 10:25 pm

Keep going Fitz...I love the "Purple Legion of Suck".

0 points
0
0
trvs's picture

June 05, 2013 at 09:27 pm

Craig Flemmings that's hilarious.

I hope his career in purple is un-eventful. I personally don't care about all of this drama, but with Craig's ego inflating so much, it might just have to hold up the Metrodome this year.

Wtf dude, it's ok to not like a person or to gush over his amazing accomplishments, but to say "that guy" ... smh no respect.

0 points
0
0
Mojo's picture

June 05, 2013 at 11:08 pm

This suggests to me that Craig was the source for the vitriol his sister was tweeting. He said she should stop tweeting, but never disavowed anything she said.

I always suspected he preferred Brent over ARod(and DD does too).

If anyone thinks he's just playing around, keep in mind his comments on ARod getting three years of training under Brent. He clearly thinks Rodgers had a built in advantage.

I'm sure he'll backtrack some and say how much he respects Rodgers, but I think these statements express how he truly feels. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

0 points
0
0
Jer's picture

June 06, 2013 at 08:53 am

Wasn't it Jennings who talked about how Favre wouldn't even acknowledge his existence when passing him in the hallway? He then said his relationship with Rodgers was different. It was more than business. It was a friendship.

Hard to say what soured their relationship, but my guess is he's a bit butthurt that Nelson and Cobb have taken the spotlight from him the past couple years.

He's got some of that WR diva in him. It needs to be about him, or he's not going to be happy. Remember the fit he threw when they tried to run the offense through Finley in 2010? And then his comments about no WR being able to reach their potential in the offense? I don't think he likes to share.

0 points
0
0
PackerPete's picture

June 06, 2013 at 09:24 am

No, James Jones actually said that good ol Brett was really cold and didn't care for rookies. Craig always had a chummy relationship with the gunslinger from Hattiesburg.

0 points
0
0
Jer's picture

June 06, 2013 at 03:01 pm

Here's the one I was thinking about:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3582241

---

Plus, Jennings thinks he's already failed once, last night. He was lost, scrambling through the hallways of Lambeau Field looking for the rookies-only dinner, when he heard a noise on the other side of a door. So he opened it and …

It was him.

Right freaking there, in the seat nearest the door, breaking off his conversation and turning up his eyes. It was him, the most spontaneous and playful quarterback in history. Only Brett Favre wasn't smiling. He wasn't offering a hand. He was freezing Jennings with a glare that said, I don't know what you need, but I'm not going to help you.

Jennings wanted to leave, but he couldn't spin around, not yet. He was locked in on Favre, thinking, Man, those grays. They were everywhere, along the sides of his buzzed hair and sprinkled in his whiskers. This wasn't the precocious QB who beat 10-year-old Greg's beloved Lions in the 1994 playoffs by rolling left and firing a rocket across the field into the arms of Sterling Sharpe. Neither was this the carefree kid running around the Superdome with his helmet off after throwing a Super Bowl touchdown against the Patriots in 1997. Nor the three-time MVP who came clean about his addiction to painkillers; nor Cameron Diaz's ex in There's Something About Mary. Nope, this guy was worn and grizzled. And his eyes burned right through Jennings until the kid got the hell out

---

0 points
0
0
Kelly's picture

June 06, 2013 at 12:34 pm

Jennings aligns with whatever direction the wind blows. Showing his true colors: superficial, inflated ego. All. About. Greg.

0 points
0
0
PackerPete's picture

June 06, 2013 at 12:54 pm

I always thought Jennings was overrated, but I don't get why some here think he is different than most, if not all, players. He got a better offer from the Vikings. Fine, he chose to sign with them. Most would. If you are working for someone, you get an offer with a certain salary amount, and another company offers you much more, don't tell me you always chose to stay with your current company for sentimental reasons. He has a limited playing career, and has to do what is best for him and his family. #12 got paid. Had the Packers not paid him as much as he is getting now, and had another team stepped up and shown him much more money, then he'd be playing for another team, it's as simple as that. We will see how it shakes out. And even though I don't like Jennings on a personal level, he didn't start this, but ARodge did.

0 points
0
0
Jer's picture

June 06, 2013 at 02:51 pm

I don't know about all that, but he definitely favored Rodgers at one point:

http://1045theteam.com/greg-jennings-says-aaron-rodgers-is-better-than-f...

0 points
0
0
GBPDAN's picture

June 06, 2013 at 02:36 am

Im glad craig is no longer a Packer. He doesn't deserve to be part of a great tradition , rather, he deserves exactly were he landed, which is the same place the stuff in our toilets end up when we flush them.

0 points
0
0
dawg's picture

June 06, 2013 at 05:57 am

A veteran Rookie? The GUY they have now!

Is Mr Rodgers to you, craig, Mr MVP Rodgers!

0 points
0
0
PresidentRaygun's picture

June 06, 2013 at 06:31 am

Craig's going to have poopy diapers all year when his numbers plummet. He should be thanking his lucky stars that he was able to play for such great QBs. Playing with Ponder will be a rude awakening.

0 points
0
0
packsmack25's picture

June 06, 2013 at 08:50 am

Asshole was never an elite QB for GB after 1998, so Craig's dead wrong.

0 points
0
0
PACKERFREAK80's picture

June 06, 2013 at 09:14 am

I agree! and after 2000 it was all about wanting to retire! A-rod stands head and shoulders above the notorious D*&k Dangler

0 points
0
0
paul haugen's picture

June 06, 2013 at 09:22 am

Too right. I would even put that one year earlier, when we should have beaten the Bronco's if not for Favre. Eff Jennings.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

June 06, 2013 at 08:57 am

If I had to guess, I'd say he's joking around. But, man, it really doesn't read/sound like it. But whatever.

0 points
0
0
Stroh's picture

June 06, 2013 at 09:19 am

The fact he wouldn't say Rodgers name is extremely telling. It shows a lack of respect! Craig should STFU and be complimentary if anything. He's a really good WR on his own merit, but he had 2 great QB's throwing to him that helped make him look great. Lets see how he does w/ Chris Pander throwing to him.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

June 06, 2013 at 09:31 am

It is, or it's just a response to Rodger's replying "who?" when asked about Jennings a month or two back.

0 points
0
0
Jer's picture

June 07, 2013 at 08:14 am

I'd be more inclined to chalk it up to 2 old buddies giving each other a hard time if not for the Velencia Jennings tweets from last year.

Makes the rivalry more fun, I guess.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

June 07, 2013 at 09:12 am

Yeah, that's a fair point.

0 points
0
0
Wiazcat's picture

June 06, 2013 at 09:32 am

Not that I am trying to defend one of "them", Rodgers did the same thing when Flemming signed with "them". I think Flemmiing was 4th or 5th on who Rodgers would for. I think by the end of the year he will trying to forget his new quarterbacks name.

0 points
0
0
Kelly's picture

June 06, 2013 at 12:31 pm

Looks like What's His Face finally grew a sack and is saying what he really thinks finally insteads of letting his vapid sister parrot what she hears behind closed doors.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Greggles. I'm sure that juggernaut QB Ponder will take you really far this season...

0 points
0
0
Point Packer's picture

June 06, 2013 at 01:24 pm

Be fun to watch Craig Flemings catch 50 (maybe 60) while Cobb gets his 100.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

June 06, 2013 at 01:30 pm

Damn. Straight.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

June 06, 2013 at 01:33 pm

How much time do you guys think Ol' Flem will miss due to injury this season? I'll set the O/U @ 3.5 games. I'll take the over, I think he misses 5-6 games.

0 points
0
0
Point Packer's picture

June 07, 2013 at 12:32 am

+1

Ol' Flem misses at least 4.

0 points
0
0
mani2packers's picture

June 06, 2013 at 05:01 pm

Jennings has actually sided with Rodgers over Favre. Especially after the SB. He was asked who he preferred and he said he wouldn't trade Rodg for anyone. I think he is just trying to side with his qb and show that his loyalty is with MN. And doesn't want to kill his qbs confidence.

0 points
0
0
Fi cr's picture

June 06, 2013 at 06:18 pm

Shields >Flemings so let him go

0 points
0
0
Lou's picture

June 07, 2013 at 07:59 am

Jennings won't praise Ponder as much when they have to move him to WR (ala the infamous Joe Webb) and he becomes competition. They ought to put a guy doing the Heimlich Maneuver in purple and gold on their jersey's, no team has ever choked as much in big games.

0 points
0
0
win money fast's picture

June 08, 2013 at 12:21 am

Thank for this good paper !!!

0 points
0
0
hayward4president's picture

June 08, 2013 at 10:04 am

Seriously .....its Ponder throwin you the rock! WTF were you thinkin? I could not imagine how uncomfortable I would feel if that joke qb was the guy carrying my team. Good luck 85 you are gonna need it.

0 points
0
0