Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has touched off a major firestorm in Packerland, via the following quote from the new Sports Illustrated:  “I don’t feel I need to sell myself to the fans.  They need to get on board now or keep their mouths shut.”

Rodgers has addressed the remarks, but refused to say whether he was misquoted or whether the remarks were taken out of context.  (In other words, he was quoted properly, and his words weren’t taken out of context.)

“I do care deeply about the fans and I think anybody who has been to training camp and sees I’m a lot of times the last one out signing autographs sees I care about the fans, I care about their opinions,” Rodgers tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  “Everybody wants the fans to care for them and to pull for them and I am no different.  That’s why the thing that would bother me the most would be if anybody would be offended by the things that were stated because I do care about the fans. . . .

“The biggest disappointment in this whole thing is if anybody is offended by the stuff I say because I think that my track record pretty much speaks for itself in the way I feel about the fans,” Rodgers said.  ”I don’t want the wrong message to come out of this.”

Okay, so Rodgers cares deeply about the fans, but he also thinks they need to get on board now or keep their mouths shuts.  And he means no offense in saying that.

It actually makes sense to us, and the comments aren’t inconsistent.  But if Rodgers’ words are an example of how he deals with pressure weeks before it’s time to line up against a much-improved Minnesota defense for a season-opening Monday nighter that will be overshadowed by a Festivale of Brett Favre crotch nuzzling, we fear that Aaron’s head might explode on the evening of September 8.