Friends and foes alike reached for superlatives to describe Aaron Rodgers at the conclusion of the Green Bay Packers' championship season.
As the Packers prepare for a Super Bowl encore, their chances hinge on getting another run of excellence from their invaluable quarterback.
"I think he has the best set of skills in the league, as far as his pinpoint accuracy and his athletic ability," coach Mike McCarthy said the morning after the Packers defeated the Steelers, 31-25, in Super Bowl XLV. "He was so consistent throughout the season, and even more so in the playoffs.
"And, all of his best football is in front of him."
In Pittsburgh, there was nothing but respect for Rodgers after he played arguably one of the half-dozen greatest games by a quarterback in Super Bowl history. Steelers players and coaches alike all basically said Rodgers just beat them.
"Dan Marino had the quickest release I've ever seen," Keith Butler, a linebacker for Seattle from 1978-'87 and the Steelers linebackers coach since '03, said in June. "I think Rodgers has the same thing, and Rodgers maybe has a little more heat on the ball.
"We didn't give them the game. They made the plays that were necessary to win."
Mainly, the Super Bowl was a game in which Rodgers parried Dick LeBeau's killer zone-blitz scheme by making precision throws downfield and never once falling victim to a confusion-caused turnover.
"He's an incredibly accurate quarterback," Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said after the Super Bowl. "Quite honestly, no matter who is out there, Aaron Rodgers is putting the ball on the spot."
In truly a remarkable sequence of events, the Packers have successfully replaced one franchise quarterback with another.
Seventeen years ago, Brett Favre also was preparing for his fourth season as the starter in Green Bay. Behind Favre, the Packers had gone 26-19 in the regular season and 2-2 in the playoffs for an overall record of 28-21 (.571).
Favre's third season in 1994 had been his finest. His passer ratings in three seasons as the starter were 83.0 in the regular season, 79.9 in the playoffs and 82.7 overall.
"I told Brett at our meeting today that he was on the right path and, hopefully, there will be a time when he's considered one of the great ones," quarterbacks coach Steve Mariucci said in July 1995.
That summer, Pro Football Weekly's Joel Buchsbaum ranked Favre No. 6 at the position behind Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Marino, John Elway and Drew Bledsoe.
Today, Rodgers enters his fourth season as the starter with a regular-season record of 27-20, a playoff record of 4-1 and an overall record of 31-21 (.596). In those three seasons, his ratings were 99.4 in the regular season, 112.6 in the playoffs and 100.7 overall.
When Rodgers helped the Packers win a wild-card game in Philadelphia, a city in which Favre had gone 0-6, LeRoy Butler said Rodgers had stepped out from Favre's shadow forever.
"It didn't take the Super Bowl," said Butler, an analyst for JSOnline. "When he beat Philly in Philly, it was done. Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers. It's the new Aaron Rodgers era."
LeRoy Butler, one of the two greatest safeties in Packers history, said Rodgers would rank among the league's top two quarterbacks in arm strength, reading defenses, throwing motion and foot speed.
"I've studied this guy more than any quarterback in the league," LeRoy Butler said. "I just don't know anything else he needs to work on. If you look for a guy you want to build your franchise around right now, it's him."
Provided his post-operative neck doesn't become problematic, Peyton Manning joins Tom Brady atop the quarterback heap. After that, Rodgers would seem in a pack with Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers.
"I think Manning and Brady are by far head and shoulders above everybody else that maybe has ever played the game other than Joe Montana," said Ray Horton, who left his post as secondary coach in Pittsburgh three days after the Super Bowl to become defensive coordinator in Arizona. "Then there are some other special quarterbacks.
"Ben. Philip Rivers. Rodgers. Then (Joe) Flacco, (Matt) Ryan. But if you ask me who the next guy is that will break through the ceiling, I think Aaron Rodgers just broke the glass with his head."
Rodgers overcame the loss of Ryan Grant in Week 1 and the loss of Jermichael Finley in Week 5. His receivers dropped 96 passes in two seasons.
After ranking a middling 16th at midseason with a rating of 85.3, Rodgers put up an astronomical rating of 122.1 and 71.4% completion mark in the last 12 games.
Befitting the Super Bowl champion, opposing coaching staffs will have broken down the Packers' offense all off-season. Rodgers will be challenged by fresh defensive schemes, but barring a third concussion or major injury LeRoy Butler thinks Rodgers will be ready.
"They'll want to find out how smart Aaron really is," he said. "They'll make him be patient by dropping eight a lot of times and then will come from the weak side with six-man blitzes. Thing about Aaron Rodgers, he learns from his mistakes."
Backup Matt Flynn enters the final year of his four-year contract seven months away from being able to test the unrestricted free-agent market.
The Packers basically have taken the stance that it would take a first-round draft choice to acquire Flynn.
"I'm not letting him go," McCarthy said just before the lockout. "I think the value of that No. 2 quarterback position went way up. You better have two quarterbacks if you want to win a championship."
Last winter, one of the eight new coaches in the league was told by a friend in scouting that Flynn was the one quarterback worth trying to obtain.
"The kid caught my eye, and he's done nothing but confirm what I saw years ago," the personnel man said.
"He is a strong asset. He played, looked good. Hell, he almost beat the New England Patriots, and he won a national championship in college."
For now, at least, the No. 3 is unproven Graham Harrell.
"There's a reason why we kept that kid around here," said McCarthy. "I think he has a chance. Absolutely."