Greg Jennings’ Words Cause the Wrath From Packers Fans

When Greg Jennings left the Packers to join the Vikings earlier this year, it came as no surprise to many of the Packer faithful.

2012 saw Jennings on a full media campaign for much of the year, appearing on various TV shows and doing numerous radio spots. With free agency looming after the season, it made sense to self promote in the hopes of achieving the largest contract possible from whichever suitor he chose.

That part made sense.

What hasn’t made much sense is Jennings’ actions since the start of 2013.

From the moment he put his house up for sale before free agency had even begun, Jennings has made it a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth with regards to his former employer and teammates.

Aaron Rodgers has been the receiving end of Jennings’ words on several occasions.

Jennings’ barbs at Rodgers started when he would not refer to Rodgers by name during an interview, choosing former Packers quarterback Brett Favre ahead of Rodgers, and going so far to compare him to Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder:

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.

Jennings took another swipe at Rodgers earlier this week when he said “you get respect when you give respect” when speaking about him during an interview on ESPN. (click the link for the full interview)

During the same interview, Jennings went on to explain that the reason he left the Packers was it was time to move on, in part because the hunger was no longer there on the Packers:

That same hunger, I’m not saying (the Packers) weren’t hungry but the year we won it, you couldn’t walk into that locker room and not say these guys are going to do something special

After half a year which has seen Jennings fully distance himself from his former team and their fan base, it was time to hear from the Packer faithful.

The question ” If you could say anything to Greg Jennings, what would you say?” on the Packers Talk Radio Network Facebook page yesterday, which brought out the wrath from many who responded to the repeated barbs Jennings has thrown during the off season:

“There are other ways to get into broadcasting than creating controversy.”

“Good luck “being great” with Christian Ponder as your QB…”

“Ssshhh!”

“I hate what you’ve become, but thank you for the 2 superbowl td catches”

“Good bye and good riddance!”

“This aint over punk!!”

“GO PACK GO!!!!”

“FahQ Greg”

“Quit b.s. ing packer fans.telling espn u left so other packer wrs could flourish.u did it for yourself and for money . business decision”

Strong reactions from a passionate fan base.

Yet one comment stood above the rest, as it is both a jab back at Jennings, with a large element of truth mixed in for good measure:

“I would tell him to let his play on the field speak for him. If he feels the need to talk off the field & throw digs, then that’s probably pretty telling about the quality of his play.”

Well said indeed.

All of this sparring will be settled on the field twice in the next few months-October 27 and November 24. And we all know who will end up “being great” on those two days.

But these comments do make one wonder what the future relationship of Greg Jennings and the Packers will be after his playing career is over.  That remains to be seen.

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John Rehor is a writer at PackersTalk.com.

He can also be heard as one of the Co-Hosts of Cheesehead Radio.