I had a chance to visit with ex-Packer Greg Jennings at a Vikings practice a couple days ago. Here is a little of what was said:
Cheesey: So Greg, tell me, what is it like practicing as A Minnesota Viking as compared to when you were a Packer?
Greg Jennings: It's really different. I kind of like it here. It's SOOO different then being a Green Bay Packer. I mean, here, they have such low expectations that if you drop a pass or don't bother to complete a pass route, no one yells at you or even seems to care. They just call you "Randy Moss" and laugh!
Cheesey: This whole complaint you seem to have with Aaron Rodgers, about him not being willing to take the blame when you, or any of the WR's screwed up, how is it different now that Ponder is throwing the ball to you?
GJ: That's pretty simple. Anyone that has watched Ponder play will automatically blame him if a play implodes. With Rodgers, he was so damn good that people KNEW that 99.9% of the time it HAD to be the receivers that screwed it up. I wanted him to take the blame so that I wouldn't look like such a doofus.
Cheesey: What about the whole complaint that the Packers acted like they were better then everyone else?
GJ: That's really what they pounded into us! "We're better then everyone! We should win the Super Bowl!" All that crap. Here in Minnesota, there' NO talk like that. It's more like "We're lucky to even be in the same division as the Packers, Bears and Lions! The closest we will ever be to a Super Bowl trophy is if we break into the Packers locker room before we play them!"
Cheesey: Have any of the Vikings players asked to see your Super Bowl ring?
GJ: Yes, and they were quite surprised when i showed it to them.
Cheesey: Why?
GJ: It's kind of like "bigfoot" to them........they hear that they exist, but never actually think they will ever SEE one.
With that, I exited Minnesota and headed back to wonderful Wisconsin.
A big thank you to Greg Jennings for allowing me to talk with him.[grin1]