12-21-2017, 03:34 AM
Aaron Rodgers drops back to pass and feels the pocket collapsing around him. He finds a lane in which to escape the pocket, moving to his right.
Anthony Barr, assigned to spy on Rodgers, took off after the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback to either disrupt the play or even get a sack.
Just after Rodgers released his pass — which fell incomplete thanks to a drop by running back Ty Montgomery — Barr’s 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame wrapped up Rodgers and buried him in the U.S. Bank Stadium turf.
The hit was legal, and Barr was not disciplined by the NFL for the hit. Nonetheless, Rodgers wound up breaking the collarbone on his throwing shoulder — an injury that effectively ended his season and his team’s season.
The hit derailed Green Bay’s season. The Packers were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Monday night for the first time since 2008. Rodgers has been carrying that entire team to the playoffs for nearly a decade.
Barr’s hit on Rodgers is much more meaningful than just the injury to Rodgers or even the end of the Packers’ playoff hopes. That play represents a passing of the torch in the NFC North.
The Packers have ruled the division for the better part of two decades, thanks in large part to Brett Favre and Rodgers. The 2017 season has finally exposed the Packers for what they really are — a team that simply cannot compete without Hall of Fame quarterback talent.
http://vikingsterritory.com/2017/feature...sing-torch
Anthony Barr, assigned to spy on Rodgers, took off after the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback to either disrupt the play or even get a sack.
Just after Rodgers released his pass — which fell incomplete thanks to a drop by running back Ty Montgomery — Barr’s 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame wrapped up Rodgers and buried him in the U.S. Bank Stadium turf.
The hit was legal, and Barr was not disciplined by the NFL for the hit. Nonetheless, Rodgers wound up breaking the collarbone on his throwing shoulder — an injury that effectively ended his season and his team’s season.
The hit derailed Green Bay’s season. The Packers were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Monday night for the first time since 2008. Rodgers has been carrying that entire team to the playoffs for nearly a decade.
Barr’s hit on Rodgers is much more meaningful than just the injury to Rodgers or even the end of the Packers’ playoff hopes. That play represents a passing of the torch in the NFC North.
The Packers have ruled the division for the better part of two decades, thanks in large part to Brett Favre and Rodgers. The 2017 season has finally exposed the Packers for what they really are — a team that simply cannot compete without Hall of Fame quarterback talent.
http://vikingsterritory.com/2017/feature...sing-torch