A Necessary Evil.

A NECESSARY EVIL

The Cast

By The Fillerbuster

June 27, 2025

(Written mostly on the “short” leg of my travel home from Africa earlier this week (6 hour flight, 10 hour flight, 4 hour flight), the Dulles to DIA portion/barely edited and forgive any grammatical errors)

I have spent the last few decades hating Aaron Rodgers, and not feeling bad in the least bit about that sentiment. Maybe hate is the wrong word. Disliking…not my favorite person…etc.

The visual theme is what I feel the Steelers were doing outside of Aaron Rodgers house, condo, cave, retreat, etc. over the last few months.

This also has nothing to do with Mr. Rodgers knocking out my Steelers in the Super Bowl in 2011 either.  Well, maybe a little.  But, I generally have just disliked the guy.  I like the city. I like their history. I even like Packers fans overall, for the most part.  I respect the fact that he likes to get loose with some tripping in the darkness or at a retreat, but really don’t like much else about him.  Maybe I was spoiled growing up by Terry Bradshaw growing up, who openly admitted to being the dumbest guy in the room.  He was boring, a little accidentally funny, and very straight forward. Maybe I was spoiled by the Big Ben years, where he had to be relatively well-behaved after the whole alleged rape and motorcycle accident.  Maybe I was tormented by all of the guys in between these QB mammoths that simply filled in the blanks.  But, in the end, I just never liked the way Aaron carried himself and how he constantly has to come across as the smartest person in the room. He talked like MVP’s were Super Bowls. His journey was more about himself than others.

Let’s take a step back, as I feel like this blog has a slight air of Déjà vu to it.  I believe it was about this time last year when I was telling you all how Russell Wilson was going to be the league MVP and how the Steelers were right and the Broncos were wrong.  Well, I was right for about six games, and then the ending schedule/gauntlet and his dismal performance threw that idea in the trash.  And now, I get this.  I have literally rolled my eyes during any presser, interview, story, etc. on Aaron Rodgers over the years, and now he suddenly is my guy.  You’re my boy, Blue!  Ugghhh.

But, being an eternal optimist in life, and being a lifer in sales, means I can literally spin anything…in my head, in my writing, and in any new reality.  And, I definitely need to do that today.  The Steelers “officially” picked up Aaron right before my African Safari PTO, so I had time to forget, embrace, and accept the new reality I had in my NFL world.  Now, I am back in the States, back to caring about sports on a daily basis (I only cared about big cats, elephants, rhinos, and waterfalls for a couple of weeks), and therefore I need to recognize that Aaron Rodgers IS a necessary evil. Love him or hate him, we have to roll with him.

Listen.  I love their new draft pick, Will Howard (although I typically hate everything associated to Ohio State).  He might become a solid player someday.  And then, there is Mason Rudolph.  I really don’t have any reason to dislike this guy.  The Steelers and Mason have had a long relationship, he is a boomerang, and both parties have gotten to know each other well.  During that relationship, the PROBLEM is that it has become very clear that he is a journeyman, lifetime backup, whatever you want to call it.  Nothing personal, but I would lay heavy money on a future bet predicting Mason isn’t the starting QB leading any team to any Super Bowl in any world in any future year.  So, the bottom line is that you combine this QB room, and a lack of activity on the free agency timeline/hidden agreements with Aaron in the meantime, and we…ughhh…needed Aaron Rodgers.  I have to accept this as fact.  He is A) a legit starting QB, even at his age, and B) he is the only guy on the roster as a QB who can add a ring to the stable of trophies.  True, I was totally down with the whole idea of obtaining Kirk Cousins to help out the Falcons, but apparently Tomlin had already bonded with Aaron similar to how he oddly bonded quickly with Russell Wilson early on last year.  I don’t think Tomlin is a good poker player on the side.  He shows his cards, his feelings, and his thoughts WAY early on.  Just getting that out there…

So, here we are.   You can’t argue with the dude’s resume, and if you do try and argue with it, he will be quick to remind you about it in his next Tuesday talk with Pat McAfee (those two are so adorable).  Passing titles, MVP’s, and…ONE Super Bowl ring.  He is old, but he still has something left in the tank possibly.  And, more importantly, he KNOWS he is not at the Big Boys table yet for QB legends.  You need two rings, bro.  You can’t be a legend with one Super Bowl title.  Russell wasn’t there yet.  Aaron isn’t there yet.  So, there is motivation on the Rodgers side, whether he comes clean and admits it or not.  And the fact that HE is motivated and this is not just some processional ride into the sunset picked oddly to be in Western PA means that I MIGHT have reason to be excited.  Might.

So, the Steelers are like the New York Jets of last year if:

• Rodgers looks slow and old.
• We pretend we didn’t hold a boombox outside his bedroom window in the rain before he signed (look that UP, younger folks).
• The Steelers have this really good defense with a couple of offensive weapons.

And, on the flip side, the Steelers will win the Super Bowl, or I will just take one single playoff game, if:

• Rodgers doesn’t look slow and old.
• We pretend we didn’t hold a boombox outside his bedroom window in the rain before he signed (look that UP, younger folks).
• The Steelers have this really good defense with a couple of offensive weapons.

He has some weapons.  We got rid of yet another headcase at WR, are ok at the skill positions, brought in some new RB’s, and got rid of any Aaron competition in Fields and Wilson.  The offensive line is ok, and a wait and see.  The defense is the usual.  Stacked, and probably overpaid in this offensive day and age.

Going deeper into this, pro sports aren’t like college athletics.  There is less allegiance, and things are all about need and about money.   The Red Sox made trades with the Yankees after their rivalry.  You have to talk to people in their 40’s and 50’s about the Avalanche/Red Wings rivalry.  The NBA is more about player movement than actual team rivalries these days.  I can forgive and forget in the NFL.  The Steelers lacked an arm.  Rodgers lacked a home.  It is like Lowered Expectations on MadTV (look it up, younger people).  We needed each other.  The Steelers needed an experienced arm, and Rodgers needed a vehicle/set table to sit at the Big Boys table of QB’s for the rest of time.

He really does need two rings to be a legend.  QB’s are good QB’s if they win a Super Bowl, but legends if they get two. Plus, since Aaron’s career is pretty much a mirror image of a guy he does NOT want to mirror (Favre), he needs that second ring even more. The Steelers need one freaking playoff win to cement Tomlin’s legend status (as opposed to simply a consistent winner above .500). We need each other for legacy right now. In the world of biology, this is the picture by the definition in the dictionary of mutualism (one type of symbiosis).

The table is sort of set, Mr. Rodgers.  You might not know about my intense passion for the Steelers, nor my historical passion for dislike of you, but that is neither here nor there.  We are now on the same team.  Heck, if you bring another title to Steel Town, I will go trip in a cave or at a retreat a little WITH you.  You are sort of a jackass, sort of an aging Hall of Famer, and sort of my new Necessary Evil.  But, in the end, we need each other. 

You know.  Sometimes I think of the pic for the post and it just lines up after I write the piece.  I had an idea I might use Say Anything for my lead pic of the blog, but then later on I realized that I could make another tangent on that theme.  Aaron Rodgers is essentially in the 2000’s like Molly Ringwald of the 80’s.  No one is really sure why we thought she was attractive at any point at any point in her career, but people just kept on lining up to offer her roles regardless. And, she became a part of our childhood, like it or not.

Oh right, the spin. Well, I mentioned my optimistic nature, and I have to look a couple of years back and hope that he still has some magic left. I have to hope that the Jets were more of the problem rather than Aaron. Tough sell.

Welcome, Aaron Rodgers, you have my full support, and let’s DO this, buddy/old friend. I actually prefer that you DON’T Say Anything during your tenure.