TheEngineer
15 years ago
I'm kinda sick of reading about missed penalties, so after Rodgers' mostly successful season, here's what they all thought back when we drafted him.

Packers Go Value Over Need With Rodgers 

by Jason Bellamy, Special To Packers.com
posted 04/23/2005

If Green Bay Packers fans didn't have a clear enough picture of Ted Thompson's draft philosophy heading into the selection weekend, the general manager brought it all into focus with just one pick.

By taking California quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the 24th overall selection, the Packers did just what Thompson said they would do in the weeks leading up to the draft: looked past current needs in the name of overall talent and value.

In Rodgers the Packers don't have a player who can help fill holes in their defensive secondary or offensive line. And with Brett Favre returning for his 15th season in Green Bay, Rodgers isn't a player who is likely to make an impact next season, or for however long the Packers' ironman stays in the game.

But in Rodgers the Packers do get a player who completed 66.1 percent of his passes last season for 2,566 yards and 24 touchdowns, and who as little as a month ago was predicted to be perhaps the first overall pick of the 70th NFL Draft. Saturday, Utah's Alex Smith was the only quarterback to go ahead of Rodgers, to the San Francisco 49ers with the first overall selection.

In short, Rodgers gave the Packers a value that was too good to ignore.

"It sounds silly to keep repeating myself," Thompson said from the media auditorium at Lambeau Field, just minutes after the selection of Rodgers. "We really and truly wanted to take the best football player on the board, and we felt like he was the best football player on the board."

Exactly how high Rodgers rated on the Packers' draft board, Thompson wouldn't reveal. However, he did note that the Packers wouldn't have taken a quarterback at the 24th spot had Rodgers, and presumably Smith, been off the board by the time Green Bay was on the clock.

"He was up pretty high, pretty close to the ceiling there," Thompson said. "You kind of let the draft and the board just work. If things fall a certain way, then you have a decision to make. In this particular case it fell a certain way where the decision was really pretty easy."

In fact, the Packers think so much of Rodgers that until a few weeks ago Thompson thought there was no way he would be available at pick 24. It wasn't until the 49ers leaned toward Smith and several mock drafts suggested that Rodgers might fall out of the top 10 that Thompson saw a sliver of hope.

"Did we think he was going to be there when we were watching tape? No," Thompson said. "Over the course of the last week or so, there were a couple of Web sites that said maybe he might get (to pick 24), so I went back and gave him another look just to make sure. But I feel very comfortable that this kid warranted getting picked where we were at."

The Packers' interest in Rodgers is by no means a recent fad. Offensive coordinator Tom Rossley attended Rodgers' individual workout at Cal and the 21-year-old was one of the 60 players the Packers personally interviewed at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Speaking on a conference call from draft headquarters in New York, Rodgers said the interest from player and team was mutual from the very start, even if the likelihood of a match seemed low.

"I think we both thought that there wasn't a good chance that I would slide down to 24," Rodgers said. "But at the same time I remember telling them, 'Trade up, I'd love to play for you guys.'"

As it happens, the Packers didn't have to trade up at all. To hear the draft 'experts' at ESPN describe it, Rodgers' slide down the draft board is related to his rather unorthodox carrying of the ball in the pocket: up high, near the ear, a trademark of players coached by quarterbacks guru Jeff Tedford that emphasizes a quick and accurate delivery of short to mid-range passes over long downfield bombs.

But quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell said he's confident that Rodgers can run the Packers' offense, a West Coast attack similar to the one employed at Cal, noting that he was only a "little" concerned about the quarterback's mechanics.

"We'll kind of feel it out when he gets here," Bevell said. "I know that (holding the ball high) is something that he's coached to do with Coach Tedford, and they practice it every single day and work on it. So I'll have conversations with him and we'll go from there.

"I usually don't like to change a lot, but I think possibly if we're not working on it every day (Rodgers' holding of the football) may drop down on its own a little bit. If it doesn't, we may make a change."

The benefit for Rodgers and the Packers is that both have time to work on that change. Other Tedford pupils like Baltimore's Kyle Boller, Houston's David Carr, Detroit's Joey Harrington and Tampa Bay's Akili Smith haven't found in the pros the kind of success they had in college, but none of those players had the pleasure of learning behind a three-time NFL MVP for at least a season, and maybe more.

When Favre does retire, Thompson doesn't expect Rodgers to fill the massive void left by the legend, but he does think Rodgers can take Favre's place behind center.

"I think he'll have to be the quarterback that plays after Brett Favre. There won't be a Brett Favre heir-apparent," Thompson said. "I don't think we need to paint this kid like he has to be Brett Favre. We'll see how Aaron does. We're very excited about his prospects as an NFL player."

Prospects, after all, that were just too good to ignore.



Rodgers: Wait Was Worth It 

by Jason Bellamy, Special To Packers.com
posted 04/23/2005

Generally, players who get taken with the 24th overall pick of the NFL Draft don't complain about the wait. But then most of those guys don't go to draft headquarters in New York with 17 of their family members thinking that they might be the first overall selection.

That was the situation Saturday for California quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who, up until NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called the name of Utah's Alex Smith, thought his wait to be drafted might be the shortest of all.

Instead his stay in the green room was a test of endurance, watching hours go by instead of minutes, until a situation he initially thought impossible started coming into view.

"It was pretty difficult," Rodgers said of the wait. "We had an idea that if things didn't go our way between (picks) 14, 15, 16 that the Packers were looking more and more (like an option) ... I think the need for a quarterback after the first pick just wasn't there."

Of course, the Packers don't have a need at quarterback either. At least, not immediately. Three-time NFL MVP Brett Favre is due back for his 15th season in Green Bay and has set no definitive timeline for when he might retire.

But as general manager Ted Thompson noted, Favre will hang 'em up someday. And while the possibility of succeeding Favre carries with it some pressure, Rodgers said it wouldn't be "as much pressure as being thrown in the fire right away without a supporting cast."

And so in that respect, Rodgers figures his wait was worth it. Instead of going to a rebuilding franchise like San Francisco that's coming off a two-win season, Rodgers slipped down the draft board and landed in the cozy lap of a team that hasn't had a losing season since 1991.

"I totally recognize the fact that Brett is the guy back there and he's a legend, and my goal for this next year is to tap into his resources as a player," Rodgers said. "As a competitor, I'd obviously love to play right away. But if you get in a situation where you don't have a great supporting cast or maybe an organization not dedicated to winning, you can have a rough career."

Besides, Rodgers said that by falling down the draft board he'll enter the league with a chip on his shoulder, eager to prove himself. From any other player, such comments might be nothing more than cheap talk. But coming from Rodgers there's extra meaning.

Coming out of Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, Ca., Rodgers didn't get a single NCAA Division I scholarship offer. Instead, he took his game to Butte Junior College, where he completed nearly 62 percent of his passes for 2,408 yards and 28 touchdowns with only four interceptions.

From there, Rodgers went straight to the University of California, where he further blossomed under quarterbacks guru Jeff Tedford, leading the Bears to a 17-5 record over two seasons, and once completing 23 straight passes against the eventual national champion USC Trojans.

"I definitely have a lot to prove," Rodgers said. "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, even this draft. I made the most of a good situation and I'm very excited about being a Packer."



UserPostedImage

I wonder what Rodgers thinks now everytime he passes that plaque.
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British
15 years ago
Thanks for posting this.

I wonder if Ted will keep the same philosophy and would pick Clausen if he fell to 23 this year.

I'm almost certain he wouldn't.
UserPostedImage
dhpackr
15 years ago
i found it interesting in the first paragraph they discuss the Packers needing defensive secondary help and offensive line help and 5 yaers l8r its still the teams weakest positions!

hmmm....whats that say??
So if you meet me Have some courtesy, Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse, Or I'll lay your soul to waste
Cal2GreenBay
15 years ago
Aaron is Ted Thompson's masterpiece pick to his vision of the packers.
AJ Hawk, Greg Jennings, Clay Matthews...are all pieces to the orchestra...but Aaron is the piece that makes all of the vision come together.

We are not witnessing the beginning of the Aaron Rodgers era.

Arizona and Minnesota got lucky this year.
JUST WAIT..until next year. Aaron will be stronger, and more masterful of the offense.

The packers will be reloaded and more powerful than ever next year.

#4 will be older and more whiney.

The best is yet to come.
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shield4life
15 years ago

Aaron is Ted Thompson's masterpiece pick to his vision of the packers.
AJ Hawk, Greg Jennings, Clay Matthews...are all pieces to the orchestra...but Aaron is the piece that makes all of the vision come together.

We are not witnessing the beginning of the Aaron Rodgers era.

Arizona and Minnesota got lucky this year.
JUST WAIT..until next year. Aaron will be stronger, and more masterful of the offense.

The packers will be reloaded and more powerful than ever next year.

#4 will be older and more whiney.

The best is yet to come.

"Cal2GreenBay" wrote:



Hasn't yet hit his prime :physassult:
Glad To Be A Packers Fan.
The_Green_Ninja
15 years ago
Crazy how Aaron Rodgers looks like a mix of Jorge Posada and my High School Band teacher.
UserPostedImage
Greg C.
15 years ago

We are not witnessing the beginning of the Aaron Rodgers era.

"Cal2GreenBay" wrote:



Did you mean "now" instead of "not"?

At any rate, it's good to have you back. You've had every right to gloat about Rodgers all season, because you told us from the beginning that he was going to be really good, so I'm not sure why you've been so scarce around here.

As for the articles, I enjoyed them. It was interesting to me that Ted Thompson said that he was watching the mock drafts on the Internet. I'm not too surprised that he did that, but I'm surprised that he admitted it. Seems like he was a little more outspoken back then than he is now. Which isn't saying much.
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TheEngineer
15 years ago
Yeah, I found that interesting as well Greg. Heck, maybe if we all make enough mock drafts we could get him to draft Best or Bulaga. 🙂
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IronMan
15 years ago

UserPostedImage

I wonder what Rodgers thinks now everytime he passes that plaque.

"TheEngineer" wrote:



What a handsome young man. I have stood on those bricks. Goosebumps.
Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago
lol, I was thinking he looked incredibly dorky in that photo. Gives dorks like me hope.
UserPostedImage
Fan Shout
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beast (1h) : Super competitive Bears fan and WWE "superstar" wrestler, Seth Rollins is supposed to announce a Bears pick and absolutely rip Packers
packerfanoutwest (14h) : Golden
beast (15h) : I want DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
Mucky Tundra (16h) : And I can't be looking at my phone
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Zero2Cool (17h) : btw, new site chat won't delete auto like
Zero2Cool (17h) : because everyone left like wimps
TheKanataThrilla (17h) : I am wondering if there is some type of autoclear when there isn't activity after a certain amount of time.
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dfosterf (18h) : 10-15 min bs plus flyover
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Zero2Cool (18h) : 7pm is when this kicks off????
buckeyepackfan (18h) : I told him. IT'S VONTE MACK , no matter what!
buckeyepackfan (18h) : He asked me who I thought The Browns were taking.
buckeyepackfan (18h) : 2. Would of had to wear Browns gear all week. NOPE I'll watch from my living room.
buckeyepackfan (18h) : He wanted to know if I would go. 2 things, would have had to fly from Detroit to Green Bay. Nope
buckeyepackfan (18h) : All expense paid trip to the draft. He will be in the Browns section. I told him to say hi to J-10VE for me 😃😃i
buckeyepackfan (19h) : For a call from my nephew, he won an sllexp
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : Hope to see everyone in the Chat tonight!!! Go Pack Go!!!
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : Jeanty would be a great pick-up for the Bears. I see Warren mocked to them as well who I think would be a great selection.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : GameDay Chat is open. Posting bits an tids in there.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : Excellent Source: The Bears have a deal in place to move up to 5 if Jeanty is there.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : Probably not until 10pm will be making pick
dfosterf (24-Apr) : But it is still not tonight. Lol
wpr (24-Apr) : Today is finally here.
dfosterf (24-Apr) : I should have put it in quotes
dfosterf (24-Apr) : It is the title of a you tube video.
dfosterf (24-Apr) : I'm not assuming anything
beast (24-Apr) : If they aren't doing it, then why are you assuming they know how to do it?
dfosterf (23-Apr) : Mackelvie
dfosterf (23-Apr) : Michael Macelvie- NFL teams know how to draft- Why don"t they?
dfosterf (23-Apr) : Youtube
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : Packers were not selected for the 2025 Hall of Fame game.
dfosterf (23-Apr) : PFOW Out of our division would be a good thing imo
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : Jameson Williams is done at 24 years old? What? He's a WR, not QB. I'm missing something here haha
wpr (23-Apr) : Tomorrow is almost here.
packerfanoutwest (23-Apr) : would you want him if Pack needed a back up qb?
packerfanoutwest (23-Apr) : JW is done......stick a fork in him
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : You should. He goes to AFC that helps Packers.
packerfanoutwest (23-Apr) : don't care
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : Lions shopping Jameson Williams?
packerfanoutwest (22-Apr) : Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst says Green Bay’s roster can win, even without adding anyone in the draft.
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : It's a poor design. New site has SignalR like our gameday chat
wpr (22-Apr) : Ah today's Shout was very quick to post.
wpr (22-Apr) : now 3
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : Who? What?
beast (22-Apr) : What is he supposed to say? He doesn't want players currently on the team?
Martha Careful (21-Apr) : meh
Zero2Cool (21-Apr) : Sounds like Walker and Wyatt will be with Packers for beyond 2026
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