The thread title may sound silly in the wake of all of the accolades for Aaron Rodgers these days, but one trend I've noticed on the radio and in print is that Rodgers is still not generally considered to be in the same category of Brady, Brees, and Manning. It's weird when you think about it. After three very impressive regular seasons, he was regarded as a notch below those guys, which was understandable, and now that he's put together one of the most impressive playoff runs for a QB in the history of the league, culminating in a championship and a Super Bowl MVP award...he's still not quite there. How do they figure this stuff?

The fact is, Rodgers can do everything those guys can do, plus he's much more mobile than any of them--and he's been doing it for three years now. Maybe his playoff performance just needs more time to sink in. By the time next season rolls around (assuming it does), I think our QB will be rightfully regarded as one of the very best in the league. If he isn't, I'll need to hear an explanation.

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I'm not ready to call anyone but possibly Brady better at this point. Rodgers is magically good. Really, I don't think he could throw even half of his passes without at least some sort of black magic involved.

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That's kind of where I'm at too. Granted, Brady had much better pass protection, which had a lot to do with those incredible stats he put up this year, but he is a really special QB.

What I've heard about Rodgers a couple of times lately is something along the lines of, "If I had to start a franchise right now, I would take him as my QB, because he's young." But how about just taking him as your QB, period? Like I said, I think people maybe just need to wrap their minds around what they just witnessed in the playoffs. I can hardly believe it myself, and I thought I already knew how good this guy was.

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Rodgers is better than all of those guys except Brady and he and Brady are about equal I'd say.

I still don't get why everyone loves Manning so much. Losing record in the playoffs and one SB win and he's apparently one of the top 10 players, not just QBs, of all time? I don't think so.

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His accuracy, it may be cliche to say, is legendary already. I mean on a dime accurate.

But I think that even pales in comparison to the spirit and will that seems to drive this kid.

My only fear is that if we continue to put it all on his shoulders and let him get hit time and time again.. those hits will take a toll.

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I heard a Pats fan call in to sports radio a few days ago and say Rodgers played WAY over his head on Sunday. I guess that's what happens when you don't watch a guy play more than a few times. I suppose he played over his head the entire postseason except for the NFCC game. Grrrr.

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Rodgers has all the right stuff, cockiness, humbleness, brains and physical ability to be better than all those QB's mentioned before him.
I'm afraid that if the Packers can't develop an offensive line to protect him better and a running game to take some of the heat off him His career could get short.
He gets hit way too much and 2 concussions in one year is not good.

Doesn't sound silly at all because unfortunately the media is always going to put Brady and Manning on a pedestal. I think Rodgers can easily be placed top 5, if not top 3.

The only thing Brady and Manning have over Rodgers is time and Rodgers will prove with that time, that he is an elite quarterback and possibly better than Manning and Brady.

Not that championship rings mean anything, but Rodgers has the same amount of rings as Manning now.

Stats to date as a starter:
Manning- 13 seasons as a starter (208 games started)
54,828 yards (4,217 yards average)
399 touchdowns
198 interceptions
64.9% completion rating

Brady- 9 seasons as a starter (144 games started, injured 2008)
34,662 yards (3,851 yards average)
261 touchdowns
103 interceptions
63.6% completion rating
(I did not count 2008 as a season because he played 1 game.)

Rodgers- 3 seasons as starter (47 games started).
12,394 yards (4,131 yards average)
86 touchdowns
31 interceptions
64.6% completion rating

I should also add that these stats do not include post-season play. I retrieved the stats from NFL.com and it only shows 16 games per season. Adding playoff stats would help Rodgers.

For the sake of my sanity, I will only do these 3 and maybe add a few more names later. Tale of the stats simply show that Rodgers can still be viewed as "underrated" compared to Manning/Brady because of time, and only time. If Rodgers continues (and he will) to play season after season the way he has, no one will doubt him or underrate him anymore. Personally, they shouldn't be now but we live in a world of stats.

I'd also like to add that I am not taking anything away from Manning or Brady. Both are amazing at what they do, but it is time for people to stop holding Rodgers back from the elite talk if they still are.

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All Rodgers needs to do is knock up a couple super models, get some skirt protection from the refs, and do a couple asinine commercials; and he'll have arrived.

You can bet your ass the Dcoordinators around the league know exactly what he is capable of.

I personally don't care what the East Coast Journalists think. They can slurp on Manning and Brady all they want, we'll just hang on to Rodgers. Nice stats Gforce.

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Aaron Rodgers is better than Tom Brady, and anyone not blinded by the jewelry on Brady's hand can see that.

Unlike Tom Brady, Aaron Rogers is a statistical giant not only in the regular season, but also in the postseason.

Unlike Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers' passer rating goes up in the playoffs.

Unlike Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers can run.

Unlike Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers can perform -- and even thrive -- in spite of sub-par offensive line performance. Some of his best statistical performances have come in games when arguably the line performed its worst. By contrast, look what happened in the AFC divisional round when the Jets put Brady on the ground a few times.

The only reason Brady's statistics are so stellar -- and I'm not the only observer to have pointed this out -- is that most teams are so afraid of giving up the big play that they play soft zone against him. He has all day to stand behind the line and tear up the middle of the field. Teams that play him aggressively and put their defensive backs on the line of scrimmage easily confuse him and tend to beat him. He doesn't have the benefit of overthrowing the high-jumping Randy Moss anymore.

The fact is, Tom Brady is one of the luckiest quarterbacks in the history of the league, and to his credit, he's capitalized on it. On the other hand, he benefited from taking the reins of a team that had just reached and was nearing the end of its peak. It's no coincidence that he hasn't won a Super Bowl in 7 years (although admittedly he was one miraculous catch and probably a blown call away from winning it in 2007).

His greatness may not be acknowledged yet, and it might not even be fully appreciated until after he retires, but I am confident that one day, Aaron Rodgers will be regarded as the premier quarterback of this generation, eclipsing Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and yes, even Tom Brady. And as for Brett Favre . . . well, I'm sure we'll all be grateful Mike Holmgren kept him safely muzzled in the second half of Super Bowl XXXI.

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