It is unfair to say that Aaron Rodgers is panicking, because we don’t live inside Rodgers’s head (and a regular mindfulness practice, as he so often advocates for, certainly has its advantages).
It is similarly unfair to say Rodgers’s career is decaying because we don’t live inside Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s headset, where we could possibly be privy to the kind of cross-talk that would reflect either an older player with diminishing skills or a roster that simply cannot offer him any assistance anymore. Perceived underthrows may be just that. Rodgers whipping his balled fists in frustration could be self-flagellation or a quiet indication that someone, somewhere was not standing where they were supposed to be. There were about a half dozen throws in Sunday’s 15–9 loss to the Lions that could have changed the course of the game which, had they landed a centimeter in another direction, would have resulted in a comfortable, two-touchdown win.
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