macbob
  • macbob
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
13 years ago
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-07-05/packers-qb-aaron-rodgers-can-become-so-good-its-ridiculous 

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t make the top 10 in the NFL Network's presentation of the league's 100 best players for 2011, which concluded on Sunday. So, for now, consider him to be No. 11 with a bullet.

The three quarterbacks who did make the top 10 — Tom Brady (No. 1), Peyton Manning (No. 2) and Drew Brees (No. 9) — very much deserved to get such a high honor from their peers. If you're forming a Mount Rushmore of elite Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, however, Rodgers belongs right there with them.

Although it's true Rodgers doesn't yet have the extensive body of great work to match the trio, no one would question his potential for an exciting encore to a championship season in Green Bay.

What makes him special beyond the obvious assets of arm strength, accuracy and leadership are what also separate Brady, Manning and Brees from the second tier of NFL quarterbacks: relentless drive to stay ahead of all competition.

"I think it's important any time you have an opportunity to watch film on those guys (Brady, Manning, Brees), spend time with them," said Rodgers, who has worked out with Brees and is a friend of the fellow Northern California native Brady.

Even though Rodgers’ playoff performance was near flawless, like the other three, there's nothing complacent about his mindset. With a Packers offensive staff that features passing game gurus such as head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, he has an excellent support system to keep him well in check.

"I'm blessed to have a quarterbacks coach who sometimes doesn't think I'm very good," Rodgers said.

Rodgers, unlike Manning, hasn't been a wire-to-wire starter since being drafted 24th overall six years ago. Having the time to develop while Brett Favre started during Rodgers’ first three years helped make him the player he has been the past three seasons.

"I was fortunate to play behind one of the great quarterbacks," Rodgers said.

When watching Rodgers play, you see aspects of what has made Brady (33), Manning (35) and Brees (32) so successful into their 30s. Rodgers, however, has three things that Manning, Brady and Brees don't have:

Excellent mobility. In just three years as a starter, Rodgers has already easily trumped Manning, Brady and Brees in career rushing yardage. In making big plays with his feet, he has a great sense for when to take off and run and when to stay focused on delivering the ball downfield. His accuracy is pinpoint even when on the move.

That's not to say, looking at the significantly lesser rate at which Manning, Brady and Brees have been sacked in their careers, they also don't have a very good feel for extending plays in the face of a pass rush. It's just that Rodgers is a much bigger dual threat as an impactful downfield runner.

Among current quarterbacks, Rodgers’ athleticism can be compared with Ben Roethlisberger’s and Michael Vick’s. Looking at great Super Bowl winners, however, Rodgers’ athletic ability is most comparable to Steve Young’s.

Top career passer rating. When Young retired, it seemed like it would be difficult, given what goes into the passer rating formula, that someone could trump his career mark of 96.8. Rodgers has already ascended to the top of the list with his 98.4 rating, amazingly a few notches above Brady (95.2) and Manning (94.9). Although Rodgers will have to be consistent for the long haul to remain No. 1, his similar statistics in '08, '09 and '10 indicate he has the ability to push the number to the century mark.

Youth. In winning his first championship at age 27, Rodgers is three years behind Brady’s age when he won his first title. But considering Rodgers didn’t have to take his lumps his first three seasons, in terms of football years he's a little younger than Manning, Brady and Brees were at a similar age. It's scary to think just how much he could improve by the time he turns 30.

Even though he has been sacked 115 times in 47 regular-season starts, Rodgers has managed to stay durable and missed only one game because of injury. So the Packers have been wise to upgrade his long-term preservation plans through the past two drafts. Bryan Bulaga and Derek Sherrod look like bookend tackles who will keep him protected for the long term.

Rodgers realizes that the time is now to rack up championships, with both and he and his team in their prime. Looking at just how talented the current Packers are and the awesome level of play Rodgers reached during the playoffs, he has a good shot at doing what Brady did—win multiple titles over four seasons.

"I can tell you what I've seen in six years in the league: Teams have four- or five-year windows," Rodgers said. "We have a young enough team but enough experience to make a run consistently for the next four or five years."

It might just take one more Super Bowl ring—which would be one more than Manning and Brees have and one fewer than Brady has—to entrench Rodgers among the NFL's top five players for several seasons.

His ranking of No. 11 for '11 has a good ring to it—a sign that he's ready to bust down the door and into the top 10 in '12. Rodgers' past and present have been very good. His future is in line to be even more impressive.

SportingNews wrote:

nerdmann
13 years ago
Ha ha, you got me!
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
peteralan71
13 years ago
Duh.
Green Bay: Home of the Green & Gold. And the hunter orange. And the camouflage.
UserPostedImage
Dexter_Sinister
13 years ago
I checked the development of a few really good QBs that played for a significant time. Manning, Brady, Montana, Favre, Rivers and a few others.

To a man, they all were 5-10 points higher in passer rating after their first 3 years as a starter.

If historical precedent holds true, Rodgers could wind up with a career rating in the 103-108 range.

Now, none of the players I checked had 3 years as a bench warmer, but several had a year or two. Personally, I don't think an extra year on the bench is worth a year as a starter. It may be a slight advantage, but I wouldn't call it significant.

That would indeed be ridiculously good.
I want to go out like my Grandpa did. Peacefully in his sleep.
Not screaming in terror like his passengers.
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beast (30-May) : Yeah, and I enjoyed your comments and just attempted to add to it. Sorry if I did it incorrectly.
wpr (30-May) : Beast I never said Henderson was the salt of the earth. Nor even that he was correct. Just quoting the guy.
Zero2Cool (29-May) : What did you do??
Zero2Cool (29-May) : Whoa
beast (29-May) : OMG the website is now all white, even some white on white text
beast (29-May) : Henderson, who admits to taking cocaine during the Super Bowl against the Steelers, might dislike Bradshaw as he lost two Superbowls to him
wpr (28-May) : Hollywood Henderson said Bradshaw “is so dumb, he couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and an A.”
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Cooper stock=BUY BUY BUY
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Also notes he’s playing with more confidence.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : @AndyHermanNFL MLF says there was a time last year where Cooper was at 220 pounds. Now he’s at 240 and still flying around.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : And don't even get me started on Frank Caliendos "impersonations"
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I got tired of them being circle jerks with them overlaughing at each others jokes.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : It used to be must watch TV for me. now it's "meh" maybe to hear injury update
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I haven't watched the pregame shows in years and I don't feel like I've missed a thing
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Love says knee affected him all season, groin injury didn't help matters.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : I used to enjoy him on FOX Pregame. Now it's like a frat party of former Patriots.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : LaFleur on Watson: “Christian is doing outstanding. I would say he’s ahead of schedule.”
Martha Careful (28-May) : Bradshaw is a dumb ass cracker. I am so tired of his "aw shucks" diatribe. He should shrivel up and go away.
buckeyepackfan (28-May) : He wad all butt hurt because Aaron duped the media saying he was immunized.
buckeyepackfan (28-May) : Bradshaw needs to retire. He's been ripping on Rodgers ever since the covid crap. He was all hury
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Terry Bradshaw doesn't want Rodgers in Pittsburgh lol wow
Zero2Cool (27-May) : one day contract, which he also feels is pointless, but if Packers came to him, he would
packerfanoutwest (27-May) : Aaron Rodgers talks possibility of retiring with Packers, just another rumor
dfosterf (27-May) : Go watch 2001
Zero2Cool (26-May) : 1984
dfosterf (26-May) : That movie sent a chill through many. 1968.
dfosterf (26-May) : "Open the pod bay doors, HAL"
buckeyepackfan (25-May) : Haven't we all seen thus movie? It doesn't end well!! Lol
Zero2Cool (25-May) : lol Anthropic’s new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline
dfosterf (25-May) : Claude Opus 4
dfosterf (25-May) : AI system resorts to blackmail when its developers threaten to take it offline
beast (22-May) : Colts Owner Jim Irsay has passed away
Zero2Cool (21-May) : Well, emailing should work now. After not working for almost a year. Oops.
Zero2Cool (21-May) : Brotherly Shove did not get enough votes.
Zero2Cool (20-May) : lol our email hasn't worked in months. 7 pages of unverified users
Zero2Cool (20-May) : MySpace Screaming Lord Byron ... Brett Favre.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : Packers have signed first-round pick Matthew Golden, leaving second-round tackle Anthony Belton as their only unsigned draft pick
beast (19-May) : Supposedly he has to take his image, and name off of it... but otherwise could keep selling wine if he wanted to.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : he giving up his win business?
beast (19-May) : Speaking of Woodson, sounds like he'll be a minority owner (0.1%) of the Browns
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Zero, regarding Woodson, that'd why I find the timing with Williams peculiar
dfosterf (15-May) : Ryan Hall y'all does a great job of tracking thesr
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