Earl Thomas: Aaron Rodgers has soul for someone his ‘skin color’
Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas is a lot of things — and on Thursday we learned “politically correct” is one of them.
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Thomas was asked about his thoughts on facing the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers on Sunday and his answer was, well, creative:
"“I just respect him as a football player in general,” Thomas said. “You can tell that he knows the game. He has a lot of confidence back there. You don’t really see a lot of quarterbacks of his skin color with soul like that, and I like it.”"
Walking a bit of tightrope with that answer, Earl, but certainly an entertaining quote.
Known for the heart and passion he demonstrates on the field, Thomas is one of the most respected players in the NFL.
Joining him in that company is Rodgers.
Rodgers has a torn muscle in his calf and still managed to throw for more than 300 yards and a trio of touchdowns in last week’s dramatic win over the Dallas Cowboys.
He will be looking to beat the Seahawks this weekend to lead his Packers to their first Super Bowl since 2010, all while on a gimpy leg.
But Thomas doesn’t buy into all the leg drama. Or so he says:
"“I’m not buying into this leg issue,” Thomas said. “I’m not buying into it. I saw him scramble close to the goal line on the Cowboys, so he’s not fooling me with that… I’m not falling into that. I’m on my own road regardless. I’m on my road regardless.”"
Thomas certainly has respect for Rodgers and he should — Rodgers has proven that he is a potential MVP candidate this year, throwing for 4,381 yards, 38 touchdowns and only five interceptions this season.
Healthy leg or not, Rodgers is going to be one of the biggest “X” factors in beating Seattle on Sunday. Seattle’s red-hot secondary will need to shut him down or an upset could be begin to brew at CenturyLink Field.
Rodgers was held in check by the Seahawks defense in the NFL’s regular season opener when these teams last met, throwing for only 189 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
He will have to play better than that to beat Seattle this weekend, but he is up for the challenge. In fact, he is embracing it, saying that he isn’t going to back off Richard Sherman and would much rather challenge him this weekend, rather than avoid him in the gameplan.
It should be one heck of a rematch, although I’m still not sure where Thomas was going with that skin color reference.
Oh well.
Kickoff for the NFC Championship Game will be at 12:05 p.m. PT on Jan. 18 on FOX.