Yep. Both QBs who have more yards than Rodgers also have a lot more passing attempts. Aaron Rodgers has 408 passing attempts to Tom Brady's 459 and Drew Brees' 496. In fact, 12 QBs have more passing attempts than Rodgers, yet he still ranks third in the league in passing yardage. His average is 9.4 yards per attempt to Brees' 8.1 ypa and Brady's 8.5 ypa. If the Packers' receivers didn't have so many drops, Rodgers' average per attempt would be astronomical.

Originally Posted by: Nonstopdrivel 

What beats rock, paper, and scissors? Rodgers.

Originally Posted by: evad04 

I think I qualify for the hater category, as I have been critical of Finley at times.

No one would question that he's a weapon, but he needs to do more than he has to be called some of the things some people claim he is, like "elite", "best receiving TE in the NFL", etc.

I'm sure he does help Rodgers determine coverages by his motion and various alignments, and I think Silverstein is one of the best Packer writers out there. I tend to accept most of what he says in this article, and I think Finley is very valuable.

What I don't buy are exaggerations like this-


Finley ran a 4.82 40 yard dash at the Combine, with a 1.65 10 yard split. In comparison, here are the numbers for our WRs-

Jordy 4.51 and 1.50
Jones 4.54 and 1.54
Jennnings 4.42 and 1.57
Driver 4.45 and ???
Cobb 4.46 and 1.56

So he's not even close to as fast or as quick as any of our 5 WRs. And ours aren't the fastest out there. Most WRs in the league can at least run in the 4.5 range. The SLOWEST WR 40 time from the 2008 combine that Finley attended was 4.69, a significant .13 seconds faster than Finley. The slowest WR this year was 4.71, still WAY faster than Finley. So that statement is basically false. There are few, if any, WRs in the NFL that Finley is faster than.

Finley isn't slow for a TE, but he's not fast for one either. He's about average. Vernon Davis is fast for a TE. Antonio Gates. Jimmy Graham. Not Finley. Speed is not what sets him apart, especially after the knee problems he has had.

His height, length, hands and body control are what make him such a weapon. And his hands have failed him 9 times this year. That's way too many drops for a player who is much more receiving TE than blocking TE.

I'm still glad he's on the team, and hope they put the franchise tag on him next year. But if he wants to be the highest paid TE in the game, he needs to improve.

Originally Posted by: get_louder_at_lambeau 

Yep. Both QBs who have more yards than Rodgers also have a lot more passing attempts. Aaron Rodgers has 408 passing attempts to Tom Brady's 459 and Drew Brees' 496. In fact, 12 QBs have more passing attempts than Rodgers, yet he still ranks third in the league in passing yardage. His average is 9.4 yards per attempt to Brees' 8.1 ypa and Brady's 8.5 ypa. If the Packers' receivers didn't have so many drops, Rodgers' average per attempt would be astronomical.

Originally Posted by: Nonstopdrivel 

Things Finley has managed thus far:

-while ranking only 15th among tight-ends in receptions (42), he is fifth in yards (600)
-among TEs with at least 20 catches (a barometer I have personally selected), Finley ranks 4th in average yards/catch
-only Rob Gronkowski (13), Jimmy Graham (8), and Tony Gonzalez (7) have caught more TD passes (for tight ends)
-33 of Finley's 42 catches have been for 1st downs; among TEs with at least 20 catches, Finley's 1st down conversion % is 4th

Finley, statistically speaking, is among the very best TEs in the league. Greg Jennings is 7th among wide receivers in yards (929), and he and Nelson are tied for second in TDs (9). Where am I going with this? Green Bay clearly has a ton of weapons. I can only speculate, but I'd bet anything in my pockets that if you put Finley on a less talent-laden roster, his production would be higher. Teams would lean on him more than we currently are.

Finally, Finley impacts the game in ways that aren't directly measured from his production. There have been several games wherein his presence commands a high-low double team. This frees up all the other guys.

I happen to think that Jordy is a stellar player, but I can't help but think his production has been affected by having Jennings and Finley on the field at the same time.

Originally Posted by: evad04 

How much would you pay him?

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 

I wouldn't possibly be prepared to answer that without all the particulars. Finley isn't worth an exact value, but he's worth some value in relation to the rest of the team's finances. To adequately answer that question I'd need a lot more context.

I think his presence on the field adds an important dimension, so I'll say that I think he's worth a lot. If his numbers trend out to 800+ yards, 9-10 TDs then he deserves pretty good tight end money. His next contract will also be his second one, which is where former 3rd round picks tend to cash in.

It's an interesting argument though, because his talent exceeds his production IMO. The SAME thing might be argued for a number of Green Bay's weapons, all the way down. I know they all benefit from having Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, but they compete with each other for targets. My prediction would be that Jordy, James Jones, and Finley would all put up bigger numbers in inferior offenses (though you have to draw a line somewhere -- I don't think they'd necessarily light it up in the Colts offense).

So, do you pay guys like Finley or Jordy Nelson according to their production? If so, they are going to make less money than "lesser" players around the league.

Originally Posted by: evad04 

Does his talent exceed his production moreso because of all the talent around him, or because of his drops and other factors over which he has control?

Originally Posted by: nerdmann