Aaron Rodgers didn't even have to say Caleb Williams' name, but he gave Chicago Bears fans yet another reality check.
Green Bay Packers fans know this. They've seen it far too many times. The Bears bring in a new quarterback and think they've finally cracked the code. It inevitably fails and they fire the coach, hire the guy to unlock the quarterback's potential, and finally launch the Bears to the stratosphere.
When that fails, they draft a new quarterback, fire the coach a year later, and restart the cycle. Rodgers knows it, and he's not fooling for the nonsense.
"The best thing about Bears fans is every year, 'This is our year. This is our year. We added this guy and that guy. We've got a new coach from Detroit. Oh man. Look out,'" Rodgers said sarcastically during a live show of the YNK podcast. "Packers fans, we know that, right?"
"And what does every coach that signs with the Bears say? 'We've got to beat the Packers, right?' Packers don't give a s---."
Consider that a subtle shot at Ben Johnson, who fits the "new coach from Detroit" line, and in typical new Bears coach fashion, he called out Matt LaFleur during his introductory press conference.
Don't worry, LaFleur heard it loud and clear, and he responded with a perfectly not-so-subtle comment of his own.
Aaron Rodgers speaks for all Packers fans after Bears 'win' another offseason
Rodgers gets it. His role as the NFC North's best quarterback was supposedly over once Mitch Trubisky walked into Chicago. The Bears are on a historic run of winning the offseason without winning any real games.
Bears fans have already rewritten history from a year ago. Remember how we kept hearing that Williams had landed in the best situation for any rookie quarterback ever? He had DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze to throw to.
But Williams forgot he wasn't in college, held onto the ball for far too long, and took a league-worst 63 sacks in a 5-12 season.
Now, a "new coach from Detroit" is expected to change everything.
Johnson might help Williams reach his potential, and fixing the offensive line is a good start. But that's assuming he can actually fix it. The Bears went the veteran route, acquiring Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney via trade and Drew Dalman in free agency. It might work, but Rodgers thought the New York Jets had solved their offensive line issues by going the veteran route last year.
Spoiler: It didn't work.
Rodgers had a front-row seat for various Bears relaunches, and he beat them all. Jordan Love is on a similar track, winning his first three starts against Chicago, with his only loss coming in Week 18 last year when he had to exit early due to injury (and Malik Willis almost won that game, too).
Maybe Johnson is the coach to fix the Bears and help Williams reach stardom, but Rodgers is right to doubt it. He's seen it all before.
Rodgers gets it, and he may have derailed the Williams hype train before it had even left the station.