Mike Vandermause column: Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' numbers show unlimited potential
October 24, 2009
If Aaron Rodgers keeps it up, he will shatter the Green Bay Packers single-season mark for passing yards.
His torrid start translates to 291 yards per game, which would surpass Lynn Dickey (279-yard average) in the team record book.
But Rodgers isnt piling up eye-popping statistics because of an inordinate amount of attempts. He is on pace to throw 518 passes this season, or 33 per game, a relatively modest total. In 13 of the past 16 seasons, the Packers have thrown the ball more often than this year, which means Rodgers is getting a lot of bang for each throw.
His 8.88-yard average gain per pass is on pace for the third-best total in Packers history behind Dickey and Bart Starr.
Rodgers glittering 104.1 passer rating would be the second-highest single-season mark in team history behind Starr. If he maintains his 64.6 completion percentage, that will strengthen his grip on the career team record he already holds in that category. He is also on pace to throw just six picks this season and would match Starrs team record with a 1.2% interception percentage.
Its too soon to etch season-long projections in granite after only five games, and the intent here isnt to proclaim Rodgers one of the all-time Packers greats. Only consistent success over an extended period of time will bear that out.
But based on the early returns, which is all we have to go on, Rodgers career looks extremely promising.
Rodgers is putting up crazy numbers that rank among the best in the 90-year history of the franchise. Yet curiously, what has been mentioned most often about Rodgers is that hes taking too many sacks, he doesnt win enough and he cant measure up to his predecessor and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.
I understand the fascination with Favre, who produced an NFL-record breaking career during his 16 years with the Packers and continues to perform at a surprisingly high level with the Vikings at age 40.
But anyone clinging to the convoluted notion that the Packers chose the wrong quarterback last year to lead them needs a reality check.
Rodgers is a bona fide, certifiable top-10 NFL quarterback, with high rankings in multiple categories, including average gain per pass (third), passer rating (fifth), yards per game (fifth), 20-plus yard completions per game (first) and 40-plus yard completions per game (second). He racked up similarly solid numbers in his first year as a starter in 2008.
Anyone suggesting that Rodgers deserved to spend the past two seasons on the bench doesnt know football. He was primed for action and has proven it.
Nevertheless, Favre is entitled to his props. He also ranks among the top-10 quarterbacks in the league this season, a testament to his staying power and resiliency, and appears to have found the perfect fit in Minnesota.
The biggest difference between Rodgers and Favre is that one will be around for the next decade, and the other is near the end of his career.
Staunch Favre supporters will quickly add that their quarterback is a proven winner and Rodgers is not. But when Favre opened his Packers starting career with a so-so 9-8 start a winning percentage not much better than the Packers record under Rodgers I gave him the benefit of the doubt and predicted better days.
Rodgers, who like a young Favre possesses seemingly unlimited potential, deserves the same consideration.
Mike Vandermause is sports editor of the Press-Gazette.