This is impressive and important culturally

While some people get tired of hearing about it, culture is an important part of football.

Yes talent is important, but you look at some of the great teams in NFL history, and most, if not all of them, had great cultures.

Football is a sport loaded with adversity, and having a strong culture helps you get through those tough times. When you have a lousy culture, when adversity hits, your team often folds like a house of cards.

Look at the Kansas City Chiefs, the winners of the last two Super Bowls. You could say they have Patrick Mahomes, and that is why they win, but the last couple of seasons, their offense was very inconsistent, but they still figured out a way, with all three phases contributing, and a great culture, that helped bring it all together

So where am I going with this rambling intro?

What Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer announced the other day, about why the Jets didn’t excuse Aaron Rodgers’ mandatory minicamp absence, was important from a culture standpoint.

“They communicated to him that they wouldn’t be able to excuse him for that, and again, it’s because that’s how you maintain credibility with your locker room,” Breer said on NFL Network. “You can’t do something for one person that you wouldn’t do for other stars of the team, let alone, like, guys on down the roster, right?”

Breer has a strong relationship with Joe Douglas.

And Breer inferred what Rodgers was doing during the mandatory camp, was not something you could excuse, if you want to maintain credibility with your locker room:

“The best I can answer this right now that I feel solid about is that he is somewhere that they could not excuse and maintain credibility with the rest of the locker room, but would be expected, would not be an out-of-left-field thing for him.”

Breer wasn’t going to tell us what he knows about Rodgers location, but dropped a hint:

“So you guys can open your mind, so to speak, as he’s been known to open his mind sometimes, into all the possibilities.”

So perhaps it’s some kind of electic retreat.

Good football cultures don’t have double standards, and that is why Bill Belichick made a point of calling out Tom Brady in front of the team, in film sessions, if the legendary QB made a bad mistake. Belichick called him out, just like he would call out a safety, who blew a coverage.

Belichick, Brady and company won six Super Bowls together in New England.

And while some ripped the Jets for Robert Saleh saying Rodgers’ absence was “unexcused” if the quarterback truly feels the team’s culture needs to be “fine-tuned’ as he said late last season, he should embrace how Saleh handled his absence. Take one for the team.

This kind of action is a strong culture-building move and sends a powerful message to the locker room.

Look, Rodgers did a great job in the off-season program with great attendance up to the mandatory minicamp. He was there a lot more than in Green Bay his last few years with the Packers.

But if you are going to fine Haason Reddick for missing the mandatory minicamp, how can you not fine Rodgers?

Good cultures don’t have double standards.

June 18, 2024