Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson defended ex-teammate Aaron Rodgers in the wake of critical comments from former Green Bay Packers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Woodson considered their comments to be attacks on the quarterback and called it unwarranted, ESPN reports.
"I don't understand where it's all coming from," Woods on told ESPN Milwaukee on Friday. "I think A-Rod [Rodgers] would consider these guys his friends, so for stuff like this to be coming out about him now that the guys are gone, it's got to be hurtful to him because what are they talking about, to question his leadership ability, his leadership skills? The guy is one of the best players in the NFL, and I think he does a great job as far as leading them into battle.
"I'm not sure where the attacks - and believe me, they are not warranted, for sure - I don't know where it's coming from."
Woodson added, "It might be a receiver thing."
Jennings, now with the Minnesota Vikings, took a shot at Rodgers' leadership earlier in the offseason. Woodson said he was surprised to hear the criticism.
"I mean, Greg's not even there anymore," Woodson said. "He's a Minnesota Viking. They paid him a lot of money to be there. You don't have any worries. He should be just fine. He should leave all things Packers alone. He should keep that to himself and if he wants to take it out on (Rodgers), do it the week they play. I'm just not understanding all these attacks on A-Rod."
Driver also made headlines on Thursday for saying Rodgers never took "heat" off his receivers by taking the blame when they'd run a wrong route. Woodson disagreed with the idea that Rogers should take blame for something he didn't do.
"I think whatever you do - if you run the wrong route and you're a receiver, or if you're a quarterback and you throw an interception - it's up to you as an individual to say you messed up," Woodson said. "If A-Rod needs to take the blame for something, I'm quite sure he does."
With a deep receiving corps, Woodson credited Rodgers for trying his best to keep everyone happy. Woodson also applauded the quarterback for the way he handles criticism.
"I just think the best thing that A-Rod does, he's been able to keep a lot of things from getting to him," Woodson said. "The way he came in following a legend and handled those pressures, his ability to be a steady guy throughout that time and then going out and performing at the level he performed, that shows leadership. And he's continued to get better. Every player should look at him and say, 'Here's a guy who's really on top of the world, and he's trying to get better.'
"That's what I think is so hard to understand about what (Jennings and Driver) said."
As for how the rest of the locker room might feel about Rodgers?
"There's no question in my mind that A-Rod's the leader of that team," Woodson said, "and he does a great job."
