Here at The Football Beat, we like Melissa Stark.
Like, we really like Melissa Stark. Don’t go there. She’s professional, does great work, is one of the best in the business on the sidelines, and also is a great studio host.
We’re not sure what to make of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, where he refutes comments that Stark made on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” other than to say, well, it’s difficult to not believe Stark – she has a history of being a believable reporter.
Judge for yourself on this story from awfulannouncing.com, another credible website / source, reviewing Rodgers’ comments on McAfee’s ESPN show on Tuesday (Aaron Rodgers denies he’s targeting a mid-December return).
“As far as what I talked to Melissa Stark about, I never said anything definitive,” Rodgers said. “She talked about having a conversation with my amazing doctor — she talked to my doctor about if it would be insane if I were to come back in three month and he responded about the fact that when you bring together the specific type of surgery, with a specific patient with the specific amount of stubbornness and desire to get back on the field and obviously playing quarterback, then there’s a possibility.
“Nothing’s changed as far as my timeline. We’ve gotta be in the mix and I’ve gotta be healthy and I definitely still want to come back.”
Here, courtesy of the same story by the great Ben Axelrod, is what Stark reported on Sunday night, during the Raiders-Jets game:
“He told me that he has been working on a weight-limiting treadmill jogging at 50 percent of his body weight. His goal this week is to increase to 75 percent,” Stark said. “He said he can drop back, he can cross over. He just has to be able to get up on his toe. He has to get his heel off the ground to start running. His goal to come back: mid-December. He said, ‘I know it sounds insane. But you do a good surgery, you have a good patient, it makes this possible.’”
Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Or maybe, like Steve Borden / Sting says, but with a twist: the only thing that’s for sure about Aaron Rodgers is, nothing’s for sure.
