Aaron Rodgers has a problem with Phil Simms. And he’s had it for a while now.
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The Green Bay Packers quarterback joined “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday and explained his beef with the New York Giants legend. Believe it or not, it has to do with Deflategate.
You remember that, right? In 2015, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was accused of under-inflating footballs in order to grip them better, and it eventually resulted in a four-game suspension for the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
Anyway, here’s Rodgers’ issue with Simms, per the New York Post:
“We had a production meeting with CBS crew and Phil Simms said, ‘In the winter time, do you intentionally deflate the balls to get a better grip of the footballs?’” the 3-time NFL MVP said.
According to the Post, Rodgers told Simms “he can’t throw a flat ball due to his big hands and strong grip pressure. He’d prefer an over-inflated ball to an under-inflated one, he said.”
“Then [Simms] goes on air and says I like the balls overinflated,” Rodgers said. Despite pushing back in that meeting, Simms “decided to go tell this story on national television … he obviously misspoke and that thing turned into a bigger thing than it needed to be.”
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Rodgers, the reigning league MVP, has the Packers off to a 4-1 start this season, putting them in first place in the NFC North. On Sunday, they visit the Chicago Bears. Here’s a preview of the game from NFL PR:
Packers
• QB AARON RODGERS passed for 344 yards & 2 TDs vs. INT for 102.9 rating in Week 5, his 66th-career 300-yard game. Has 422 career TD passes, 5th-most in NFL history. Passed for 8 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 140 rating in 2 starts vs. Chi. in 2020. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Chi. with 4+ TD passes & 5th in row vs. Chi. with 0 INTs. Aims for his 3rd in row on road with 100+ rating.
• RB AARON JONES rushed for season-high 103 yards in Week 5, his 12th-career 100+ rush yard game. Has 3 rush TDs in his past 3 vs. Chi. Aims for his 3rd in row vs. Chi. with 85+ scrimmage yards. Since 2019, ranks 2nd in NFL in scrimmage TDs (35). RB A.J. DILLON had 79 scrimmage yards (49 rec., 30 rush) & 1st-career rec. TD last week. Aims for his 3rd in row with 75+ scrimmage yards.
• WR DAVANTE ADAMS had 11 receptions for career-high 206 yards & rec. TD in Week 5. Since 2015, is 1 of 3 WRs (ANTONIO BROWN & MICHAEL THOMAS) with 15+ games (15) of 10+ catches. Has 14 rec. TDs in his past 14 on road. Aims for his 3rd in row on road in 2021 with 10+ catches, 100+ rec. yards & TD catch. Aims for his 4th in row vs. Chi. with 6+ catches & rec. TD. TE ROBERT TONYAN aims for his 3rd in row vs. Chi. with TD catch.
• LB DE’VONDRE CAMPBELL had 8 tackles & 5th-career INT last week. Aims for his 5th in row with 8+ tackles. LB PRESTON SMITH had 2nd sack of season last week & aims for his 3rd in row on road with sack. S ADRIAN AMOS had 8 tackles & 1st INT of season in Week 5. Aims for his 10th in row with 5+ tackles.
Bears
• QB JUSTIN FIELDS (rookie) passed for 111 yards & had 1st-career TD pass vs. 0 INTs for 91.9 rating last week.
• RB DAMIEN WILLIAMS had season-high 84 scrimmage yards (64 rush, 20 rec.) & 2nd rush TD of season last week. Aims for his 3rd in row with 70+ scrimmage yards & rush TD. Had rush TD in his last game vs. GB (10/27/19 w/ KC). Rookie RB KHALIL HERBERT had 75 rush yards in Week 5.
• WR ALLEN ROBINSON has 37 receptions for 525 yards (75 per game) & 2 rec. TDs in 7 career games vs. GB. Has 7+ catches in 3 of his past 4 vs. GB & 50+ rec. yards in 6 of 7 career games vs. GB. WR DARNELL MOONEY had career-high 11 receptions for 93 yards in last meeting. Aims for his 4th in row at home with 5+ receptions & 60+ rec. yards. TE JESPER HORSTEAD had 2nd-career TD catch last week. TE JIMMY GRAHAM had 93 receptions for 1,083 yards & 5 rec. TDs in 2 seasons (2018-19) with GB.
• LB KHALIL MACK had 8 tackles & sack last week. Aims for his 5th in row at home & 5th in row overall with sack. Has 5.5 sacks, 6 TFL, 2 FFs, FR & INT-TD in 7 career games vs. GB. LB ROQUAN SMITH led team with 10 tackles in Week 5. Aims for his 6th in row with 9+ tackles. LB ROBERT QUINN aims for his 3rd in row at home with sack. LB TREVIS GIBSON had 2nd-career sack last week & aims for his 3rd in row with sack. DB DEANDRE HOUSTON-CARSON had 2nd-career INT in W
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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