Boomer Esiason calls out Aaron Rodgers for throwing teammate Mike Williams under the bus
Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets suffered a close, heartbreaking loss against the Buffalo Bills at home on Monday night. But what Jets fans didn't expect was their quarterback throwing his teammate under the bus.
Mike Williams came under Rodgers' crosshairs when he was speaking about what went wrong during the Bills game and why he threw a costly interception that sealed the fate of the game. Rodgers blamed the interception on Williams.
"We [were supposed to have] two verticals. Allen's [Lazard] down the seam, Mike's [Williams] down the red line [sideline go-route]. I'm looking at Allen, he puts his hand up, three guys go with him. So, I'm throwing a no-look to the red line. When I peek my eyes back there [Williams] is running an in-breaker. It's gotta be down the red line." (H/T Express)
And not just fans, former players were stunned at Aaron Rodgers' statement as well. Four-time Pro Bowler Boomer Esiason said that he had never heard football greats such as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning do this to one of their teammates.
"I don't ever remember Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or anybody else... I don't ever remember them ever saying anything publicly behind the podium the way that Aaron did last night."
However, he addressed the criticism recently.
Aaron Rodgers addresses fans' anger at Mike Williams statement
On the latest episode of the "Pat McAfee Show," Aaron Rodgers, a regular guest on Tuesdays, spoke about why he publicly criticized his own teammate even though as a team, the players are supposed to share both blame and praise.
"I think if you watch my press conferences, I started with myself when I made mistakes. You know, I got to play better. I can't make that throw. I can't make that decision. That's the standard for everybody."
Aaron Rodgers started off by saying he never blames anyone outright. He always criticizes himself first and holds himself to the highest standards. As a result, he expects great things out of his other teammates as well, and when they don't perform as expected of them, he will call them out.
"So there were a lot of mistakes throughout the night, but if you're looking at just that play, that's what the question was. What happened in that play? Well, I was too vertical to the right side, and Mike needed to get to the red line, which would have been a big gain. So I wasn't calling Mike out for anything other than his responsibility and the details in that play. I have a lot of love and respect for Mike. Does some nice things for us. On that play he wasn't the right spot."
Now with Davante Adams on the team, a lot of pressure will be off Williams' shoulders. Can the Jets manage to turn things around heading into Week 7?