Aaron Rodgers was once assigned the task of leading the New York Jets with an emphasis on focus and class and as he put an end to the building's gossipy leaks.
It didn't work.
It still isn't working.
And the Pittsburgh Steelers probably need to stay on their toes here.
The former starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers won four MVPs there and was expected to bring some of the same to New York when he engineered his trade move.
It didn't work on field, as the Jets last year had him for the entire 17-game schedule and he finished 5-12.
To our eyes and ears, it didn't work off the field, either - and new coach Aaron Glenn, in jettisoning the QB off his roster this offseason - obviously agreed.
Now the future Hall-of-Fame signal-caller is in charge in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers' hopes are pretty much the same as the Jets' hopes once were.
Also similar: The Jets changed most everything to his liking ... and the Steelers have clearly done some of the same to tailor things in an Aaron-friendly way.
And yet ... Aaron keeps gossiping and Aaron keeps leaking.
As noted by JetsXFactor, offensive lineman turned media guy Mark Schlereth is saying he recently visited with Rodgers.
And?
“Aaron and I had a conversation about when he was with the Jets, how abysmal their running game was and how schematically it made no sense,” Schlereth said on the Stinkin’ Truth Podcast. “I started the conversation, and then Aaron went on for about a 25-minute diatribe on just their run game.”
Yeah, but ...
The entire "scheme'' was all about Rodgers, right down to the offensive coordinator and play-caller being his personal pal.
What the Steelers think they are getting here? A lock Hall-of-Famer who has the intellect to overcome his faded physical skills at age 41.
What they need to recognize they are not getting? A guy who when the going gets tough. ... seems to habitually choose finger-pointing as a way of making himself happy ... while still coming away with that familiar "Abysmal Aaron'' feeling.