Donald Driver may no longer be in the NFL, but he is still finding ways to put his name in the headlines. Driver opted to retire at the end of last season after a long and successful career with the Green Bay Packers. The franchise has fallen under an interesting light recently after former wide receiver Greg Jennings ripped head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Driver is sticking up for Jennings and his comments while also shooting down the idea Rodgers is a bad leader.
Back at the start of training camp, Jennings ripped on Rodgers for always wanting the spotlight and not being a good team player. Driver sat down with ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike to dispel the idea.
"We've always been in the room and we've always said that the quarterback is the one who needs to take the pressure off of everyone else," Driver said. "If a guy runs the wrong route, it's easy for the quarterback to say, 'Hey, I told him to run that route,' than the guy to say, 'Hey, I ran the wrong route.' "Sometimes you ask Aaron to take the pressure off those guys so we don't look bad. He didn't want to do that. He felt like if you did something bad, you do it. That's the difference. You want that leadership. I think sometimes you may not feel like you got it. You have to earn that respect at the end of the day and I think that's what Greg was probably referring to."
Driver insisted that Rodgers was in fact a very guy and a great team leader. However, he also put out a subtle reminder that stars of the team must remain humble and grateful. The wide receiver recalled when Rodgers was overlooked during the NFL Draft in favor of Alex Smith. He always played with a chip on his shoulder and Driver wants the Packers quarterback to remember that he was not always a star.
McCarthy is not taking any notice to anyone's comments regarding Rodgers. The head coach is perfectly happy with the team's quarterback from both a playing and leadership standpoint. Rodgers only echoed those statements saying the comments by people who are no longer relevant to the team just "wash over him without reaction."
