Super Bowl 2012: Aaron Rodgers Makes Bold Comments on NY Giants Faking Injuries

Fresh off winning the NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers had some daring words about the New York Giants' style of play prior to their Super Bowl XLVI victory over the New England Patriots. 

While on a pregame show with Bob Costas of NBC, Rodgers accused the Giants of faking injuries in their playoff matchup against each other a few weeks ago. 

The Green Bay Packers quarterback took a bold stance in calling the Giants out, even saying these fake injuries might happen against New England. Per USA Today:

"

It was a big part of of our game-plan to try to speed the tempo up against them. Keep them on the field for longer drives. Do everything at the line of scrimmage. To combat that, there was a little bit of gamesmanship on their side. Some phantom injuries you might call them to try to slow us down and give them some time to recover during a couple of those drives.

Check it out tonight. If the patriots [sic] get into a rhythm. And do a few drives in a row. You might see a little of that gamesmanship from the Giants. 

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Thankfully, that wasn't something that occurred in Super Bowl XLVI, because if it had happened, the Giants would certainly be ridiculed for it. After all, it was something that everyone saw earlier in the year, as two players on the Giants defense fell down to give their teammates extended rest when the St. Louis Rams were on a roll. 

Honestly, Rodgers shouldn't have said what he did. He comes off looking bitter more than anything else. Yes, the Giants have done this in the past, and he has a right to be upset about it if they were doing it against him.

However, waiting until the day of the Super Bowl to mention that was very audacious and a real cheap shot at the NFC champs. It wasn't needed, and now all it's going to do is frustrate New York.

It's possible this heats up a rivalry between the two teams, which is fine as long as both teams play fair. One thing that doesn't need to happen, though, is for a war of words to occur during the offseason. 

Twitter battles and different exchanges through various interviews happen all too often during the downtime of an NFL player's life. 

Kevin Seifert of ESPN recently speculated on how the Giants and the Packers might face each other to kick off the 2012 NFL season, and these comments by Rodgers will only add fuel to the fire.

Of course, no schedule has been set yet, but it's the previous two Super Bowl winners, and it would make for a phenomenal game. It worked this past season, when the Packers and the New Orleans Saints opened the season with an amazing thriller. It set the tone for the rest of the season, and that could happen all over again if the Giants and Packers meet in the 2012 NFL season opener. 

Although there might be some hostility in that matchup because of Rodgers' comments, as long as the game is great and nobody does anything out of line, then all is well. 

Still, though, in today's NFL, retaliation happens entirely too much, so hopefully the Giants just bask in their Super Bowl victory and forget about what Rodgers said.