Packers tight end Richard Rodgers Jr., a third-round pick, is the son of the Panthers’ special teams coach. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — The jab stung from miles away. Father heard son loud and clear.

Moments after the Green Bay Packers selected California's Richard Rodgers Jr., the tight end referenced his dad on a conference call as..."old."

From the Carolina Panthers' war room, Dad read that comment. He cringed. He "straightened" his son out. And today, he wants to set the record straight.

"Ask him who won the last pingpong game between him and I," Richard Rodgers Sr. said. "He knows."

That'd be Dad. Only recently did he start swinging the paddle with his right hand, too.

Inside the Packers' locker room, there's no father-son relationship quite like this. Rodgers' father is the special teams coach for the Carolina Panthers. A California alum himself, he tossed two of the five laterals along "The Play" in 1982 against Stanford, too. Through the years, Richard Jr. has had his own coach — under the same roof or one speed dial away — at all times.

He knows how quickly this game changes your life. His dad has been fired.

He knows you're always under the microscope. Dad never overlooked a half-hearted block.

Now, Rodgers Jr. is in Green Bay, trying to earn a starting spot and eventually take down his dad's team in the NFC.

The relationship continues.

"Sometimes it's hard when you're a player to find someone to talk about the game with," said the 6-foot-4, 257-pound third-round pick. "Obviously, you can talk to your coaches. You can talk to people who are on your team. But when you can go to someone like your dad on vacation or Thanksgiving or Christmas, whatever, you sit down at the table and talk about football, talk about things that happened during the season, that's a big help."

When Rodgers Jr. was in seventh grade, the game uprooted their lives. He witnessed the emotional toll this takes. His father, the secondary coach at New Mexico State from 2001-'04, was let go with the entire staff.

His parents were separated. So as Rodgers Sr. searched for a job, and Mom was helping her daughter find a job in music, Richard and his brother stayed at a grandmother's home in Clayton, Calif.

Seeing his father fired, heartbroken and forced to start over resonated.

"We were living in an apartment with our dad, living the good life," he said. "All of a sudden, it's just gone. They fired the whole staff. That fast, things can change.

"Just seeing my dad express his feelings to us, he's not going to be able to take care of us for the time being, until he gets another job, it was a hard time for him. We felt what he was going through."

Three months of résumés and phone calls later, Rodgers Sr. landed on his feet as an assistant at Holy Cross, and father and sons reconnected in Massachusetts. One year later, Rodgers Sr. was named defensive coordinator. By 2012, he was with the NFL's Panthers.

All along, Rodgers Sr. never forced his son to play football. Growing up, Rodgers Jr. was also a standout baseball and basketball player. Dad is well aware of the dark side of the game. The concussions, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, long-term aches and pains. He knows the risk.

This is a football family to the core — Rodgers Jr.'s uncle is Tampa Bay cornerbacks coach Gill Byrd; his cousin is New Orleans safety Jairus Byrd.

So on his own accord, Rodgers Jr. was drawn to football. He starred in high school and then followed his father's footsteps to Cal.

"All coaches have a strenuous schedule," Rodgers Jr. said, "but he did his best to come to everything that I have and support me. He did everything he could to help us. At the same time, as a coach, he was putting food on the table."

The relationship endured by phone through Rodgers' turbulent collegiate career. Together, they analyzed each game. There were many tough-love conversations, too. Banished on special teams as a freshman, Rodgers wanted to play. His dad told him to "keep going...keep driving."

And when Rodgers finally did have the game of his life as a sophomore in a 43-17 upset win over UCLA, Rodgers Sr. found the flaw.

Sure, his son caught seven passes for 129 yards. He also skimmed past a block out of the wishbone.

"It was a soft block," Rodgers Jr. said, "and he just was like, 'You can't do that anymore.'"

Dad's background is in defense, so he helped his son learn how to read specific coverages. He taught the tight end how to detect man and zone defense — and how to settle into those zone pockets.

Now, son usually knows what his dad is going to say before he says it. The two had a soul-searching conversation when Sonny Dykes replaced Jeff Tedford at Cal and the new staff demanded Rodgers trim his 278-pound frame into the 240s or he wouldn't play.

Rodgers Sr. asked his son if he wanted to transfer, to which his son said he'd ride it out.

"I think he took it as a challenge as he does most things," Rodgers Sr. said. "He really did. He wanted to be there. He wanted the challenge. He knew he could play the position that they want. So he put his head down and lost 30 pounds."

Inside the Panthers' draft war room, Rodgers Jr.'s name did come up. With Greg Olsen around, there was no need for Carolina to reach for a tight end on Day 2.

Dad's scouting report? He says Richard Rodgers Jr. — who caught 39 passes for 608 yards as an inside receiver in Dykes' offense last season — can be that coveted "hybrid" tight end that burns defenses downfield and blocks.

"I know he's gritty enough to do it," Rodgers Sr. said. "I know he's tough enough to do it. He hasn't played the position for a long time. He has only played the position for, honestly, a year....He's got a lot of upside."

Gritty enough because Dad remembers their final one-on-one basketball game in the driveway. Rodgers Jr. was a junior in high school. He showed no mercy.

"He almost took my shoulder out and I ended up on the ground," Dad said.

Added Junior, "If he's on the court, I'm beating him no matter what."

The two used to play "Madden" all the time, too. On the video game, Rodgers Sr. played as the Packers, Rodgers Jr. was the San Francisco 49ers. And when the buttons became too complicated, son jokes, Rodgers Sr. retired from Madden, too.

Standing at his new locker, Rodgers laughs. Dad is getting old.

No basketball. No "Madden." No pingpong (for now).

Their next competition? That'll be Oct. 19 at Lambeau Field when the Panthers visit. Maybe by then, Richard Rodgers Jr. will be a key piston in Green Bay's offense, too.

All bragging rights will be on the line.

"It'll be fun," Dad said. "I'm sure all the family will be rooting for him, but it's all right."