Rodgers Is Steamrolling Towards Another MVP Award

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus
http://losthatsportsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/aaron-rodgers-draft.jpg

Aaron Rodgers

In 2005, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was given a harsh dose of humility. Heading into the 2005 National Football League Draft it was up in the air as to whether or not that it would be Rodgers or another West Coast based quarterback in Alex Smith that would be selected first. The San Francisco 49ers who owned the first overall pick decided on Smith, but Rodgers couldn’t have imagined what would happen next. Rodgers would get extremely familiar with the green room at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on New York City’s West Side as he wouldn’t hear his name called by former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue until the 24th overall pick of the first round. The Green Bay Packers were sold on Rodgers’ ability to be an NFL quarterback and they looked at him as far as being the heir apparent to longtime quarterback Brett Favre in Green Bay.

In his first three seasons Rodgers saw limited action, but once the Packers front office got tired of Favre’s “retire-unretire” circus, the team would trade him in 2008 to the New York Jets which opened the door for Rodgers to be the starter in Green Bay. In 2008, Rodgers passed for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns as he was beginning to write his own legacy with the Packers. In 2009, Rodgers helped the Packers make the playoffs as he threw 30 touchdown passes that season to just seven interceptions. But in 2010, Rodgers was able to have his name put in the same breath as Favre and another legendary Packers quarterback in Bart Starr as he helped Green Bay win their fourth Super Bowl Championship.

In 2011, Rodgers took his game to another level as he passed for 4,643 yards with 45 touchdowns to just three interceptions which resulted in him being named as the NFL’s MVP. And by the look of things Rodgers could be ready to add another NFL MVP to his collection this year.

So far this season Rodgers has passed for 2,957 yards with 30 touchdown passes to just three interceptions. But aside from the on-the-field stats, it is the leadership of Rodgers that shines the brightest.

http://www.femalefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/83391611.jpgIn Week 3 the Packers lost to the Detroit Lions by a score of 19-7 which made Green Bay’s record 1-2. While some Packer fans began to panic, Rodgers simply told them to “R-EL-A-X”. Since the statement by Rodgers, the Packers have gone on to win seven of their last eight ballgames and in the process they have overtaken the Lions for the top spot in the NFC North. In Week 4, Rodgers was 22-of-28 passing for 302 yards with four touchdowns as the Pack throttled the Chicago Bears 38-17. In Week 6, the Packers were trailing the Miami Dolphins late in the game 24-20. But Rodgers would orchestrate a game-winning drive in the waning seconds of the game as the Packers won 27-24. In Week 10, Rodgers and the Packers would welcome the Bears to Lambeau Field as the boys from Chicago were dominated 55-14. In the game Rodgers was 18-of-27 passing for 315 yards and six touchdown passes. On the season Rodgers is completing 66.7 percent of his passes to go along with a quarterback rating of 119.2. Rodgers is playing with tremendous precision and his ability to read defenses and get the football out so quickly is simply amazing. The quarterback position in the NFL is very difficult to play, but Rodgers is just making it look so easy right now that it isn’t even funny.

Mike McCarthy became the Packers head coach in 2006 and it has been a big help for Rodgers that he has spent the majority of his NFL career under the same system. Ironically McCarthy was the 49ers offensive coordinator in 2005 as he worked with a young Smith before joining the Packers. Aside from McCarthy, Rodgers has great chemistry with his wide receivers; especially Jordy Nelson. This is the seventh season that Rodgers and Nelson have played together and so far this year he has 68 receptions for 1,066 yards and 9 touchdowns. With five games remaining in the regular season, Nelson has a shot to be the Packers single-season leader in receiving yards if he can surpass 1,497 yards which was set by Robert Brooks in 1995. Brooks did it as the go-to-guy of Favre and now Nelson is the top guy for Rodgers.

For Rodgers, the Super Bowl Title along with an NFL MVP Award has cemented his legacy alongside Favre and Starr. But aside from the legacy of Rodgers in Green Bay, only eight of the players that were drafted ahead of him in 2005 are still in the NFL while he is the only one that is still with the team that drafted him. The Packers were licking their chops on that day when Rodgers fell to them and 23 other teams can look back now and scratch their heads as they passed on a franchise quarterback and possibly a two-time NFL MVP. If Rodgers were to be named NFL MVP this season he would become the eighth quarterback to win the award multiple times, but right now he is number one in the eyes of the folks of Green Bay as he is transcending into a legend.

Source: Pro-football-reference.com

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus
By | 2014-11-25T11:20:45+00:00 November 25th, 2014|Categories: National Football League|Tags: , , |0 Comments

About the Author:

Leave A Comment