Greg Jennings … My Final Thoughts

Greg Jennings will be catching passes for the Minnesota Vikings next fall.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Adios Greg Jennings!

Way back in my college days, when a “true love” broke my heart, the easiest way to handle the torment that ripped my heart apart was to walk down to U Liquors (yes that was the name of the place and I believe it still exists), buy a case of Old Milwaukee (it was cheap and made great furniture, just ask my old buddy ,Kirk) and drink until the sun came up or the lights went down.  Then I would stumble over to the Village Wok and get an order of egg foo young and go back to my room and sleep (OK, maybe pass out).  But that was when I was young, foolish and thought it was cool to wear a Tony Mandarich jersey on the streets of Minneapolis.

So fast forward 20 years.  Mandarich has been replaced with Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, and Clay Matthews.  Old Milwaukee has been replaced with coffee and equal, and the occasional trip to the Mall of America wearing anything and everything Green Bay Packers, yet the heartache still remains, but not in the way you would think.

Let me start by saying, I am not sorry to see Greg Jennings go.  Seriously, good riddance.  The Packers Nation does not need his ego, nor do they need his persistent injury-prone, self-indulging persona.

What you may say … well it is true.  Greg Jennings was a product of the system he was in.  Yes he had to have some solid skills, but when you have Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers throwing to you, you are going to look better than you really are.  Favre and Rodgers elevated the play of those around them.  They made the average, become above average.

Now Jennings is going to a team, that no matter how he wants to spin it, has a sub-standard quarterback whose main job is to hand off to Adrian Peterson.  They are not rising, they are not improving, they are fortunate to even still be playing in Minnesota.  Now Jennings is going to find out what it means to lose.

His career is all downhill from here.  Honestly ask yourself, have any of the former Packers who moved westward to the Purple City done anything with their careers?  Did any of them win a championship?  Yeah, there were two division titles since 2005 in Minnesota, but one playoff victory (as many Vikqueen fans pointed out to me) and the only Super Bowl they win is when they are playing on their Xbox.

The best quote I have read regarding Jennings and his decision to wear the Purple came from Mike Freeman, National NFL Insider for CBSsports.com, who wrote, “….it’s all but certain that Jennings’ career will die a slow death. Jennings went from Aaron Rodgers to Christian Ponder. I like Ponder more than most (OK, I’m the only one who likes him) but even as a Ponder backer, he’s not in the same galaxy as Aaron Rodgers. So Jennings made the classic decision. He got his money but his career is all down hill from here.
“The Packers will continue to fight for Super Bowls and Jennings will disappear like he’s wearing a cloaking device.”

So this is where my heart breaks.  It breaks because Greg Jennings cared nothing about those who supported him.  He cared nothing about those of us who wished him well during the injuries.  He forgot about the cheers and championships, the love of the Packers Nation.  He gave it all up because he wanted it to be all about him.  He quit on us, when we never quit on him.

He told us this well before the season started that he was leaving when he alluded to this being his last year.  He slapped the Green and Gold in the face when he turned down more money than he is going to make, not once but twice when Ted Thompson tried to re-sign him.  The final sign was when he put his house up for sale.  Most people do not sell their house until they know they are leaving or at least expect to leave.  He knew then as he knew the day he arrived in Minnesota, he was not coming back.

My heart is heavy not because Greg Jennings went to the Vi-queens.  It is heavy because he played us and used us, like an old college flame.  He led us to believe that we were what mattered the most, but in the end, it was all about him and what he wanted.

So, Greg Jennings, know this, you do not deserve to wear the honorable colors of the Green Bay Packers.  You do not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as James Lofton, Sterling Sharpe, and Donald Driver.  You deserve exactly what you are going to get for the rest of your career, playing second fiddle to Adrian Peterson, and nothing else!

In the end, you showed us the real you.  That it is not about being part of a team that strives for excellence and championships.  This is all about feeding your self-delusional dreams of being the man.  I guess you never learned that in football, being the man means putting the team first.

Enjoy your money and the slow sinking feeling that is going to be your career as we enjoy those players who put the Packers Nation above all else!