Packers Morning Buzz: Time for Aaron Rodgers to live up to his reputation

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

We'll start with an Aaron Rodgers analysis from Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier. In an article headlined, "After Packers Bent to His Will, Aaron Rodgers Now Needs to Put Up or Shut Up," Tanier observes:

The next few weeks are a chance for Rodgers to live up to his reputation after a few too many seasons of coasting on it. ...

Rodgers usually looked efficient, and sometimes spectacular, while working within the structure of Matt LaFleur's offense on the first few Packers drives. But then he became the self-indulgent old stage actor who refused to stick to the script and began improvising. While there were few overt signs of the Rodgers-LaFleur drama some of us anticipated/worried about/licked our chops for when the 40-year-old coach replaced McCarthy, there were too many long stretches in which Rodgers turned up his nose at his initial passing options, scrambled around directing traffic, overthrew a bomb he would have completed in 2014 and scowled impatiently as he walked to the sideline. ...

The 36-year-old Rodgers set a Hall of Fame standard for himself from 2010 to '14. He has fallen well short of that standard in recent seasons. The Packers spent the last two years eliminating the reasons/excuses for his decline. Now it's time for him to perform to that standard again, because the Packers won't be able to beat their playoff opponents by scoring 20 to 24 points and trying to squat on the lead. ...

That doesn't mean Rodgers must do everything single-handedly. Just the opposite: He must evolve the way the best-of-the-best are supposed to late in their careers. 

You can read Tanier's entire piece here:

In their Green 19 Podcast, Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski size up the Seahawks and preview the Packers' playoff opener:

Remembering the first Packers-Seahawks playoff game and what made it a classic:

Aaron Jones' emergence as a breakout national star is detailed in this ESPN deep dive:

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has struggled at Lambeau Field, writes Rob Reischel:

Brace yourself for the possibility of Packers-Vikings Part 3 in next weekend's NFC title game:

But the Packers are getting the least support of any of this weekend's favorites from national experts:

Could the Super Bowl give us the Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes matchup that we didn't get this season because of a Mahomes injury?

Snowy weather appears to be in store for Saturday night:

Since the San Francisco game, the Packers' defense has been on a tear led by Za'Darius Smith:

Mike McCarthy was in a joking mood during his introductory news conference in Dallas:

A former McCarthy assistant in Green Bay is moving on to Atlanta:

An interesting look at quarterback economics in the NFC playoffs:

And finally:

Contact Stu Courtney at (920) 431-8377 or scourtney@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stucourt