1) Introduction: He had a season for the ages. After winning his 100th start in December with a 43-37 win over Atlanta, Rodgers became No. 1 in NFL history in touchdown passes (222), passing yards (27,520) and passer rating (107.3) for any quarterback all-time at the century mark. For the fifth time in seven seasons as the Packers’ starter, Rodgers has tallied double-digit wins and single-digit interceptions.
2) Profile:
Aaron Charles Rodgers
- Age: 31
- Born: 12/2/1983 in Chico, Calif.
- Height: 6’2″
- Weight: 225
- College: California
- Rookie Year: 2005
- NFL Experience: 10
3) Expectations coming into the season: After coming off a clavicle injury that sidelined him for seven games in 2013, Rodgers wanted to prove that he was back. It’s understandable that Rodgers feels pressure to perform because he has to be perfect in order for the Packers to achieve greatness.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Rodgers had never faced Tom Brady before the Patriots visited Lambeau Field on Nov. 30. Rodgers outdueled Brady in a game that you could tell he had circled on his calendar for months. Rodgers was an amazing 9-for-12 on third down as he shredded New England for 368 yards and two touchdowns.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Unquestioned. He is arguably the best signal caller in the NFL and the reason why the Packers won the NFC North for the fourth straight season. He had a passer rating of 130 or higher five times.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: Even though Rodgers hobbled into the playoffs with a bad left calf, he still showed greatness by shredding the Cowboys for 316 yards with completions to seven different receivers. Seattle however, was a different story. He looked tentative at times and made several questionable throws that should’ve been intercepted, and that’s why he turned out the second-worst game of his MVP season with a 55.8 passer rating.
7) Intangibles: The biggest reason he is so valuable is because he is so accurate on the move. Even when a pass rush force gets him out of the pocket, he can still beat a defense with perfect precision. The viability of future Packers’ postseasons will rely on keeping Rodgers healthy.
Season Report Card:
(A) Level of expectations met during the season
(A) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(A-) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade: A-
——————Cory Jennerjohn is from Wisconsin and has been in sports media for over 10 years. To contact Cory e-mail him at jeobs -at- yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter: Cory Jennerjohn
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Being voted the league MVP says that Rodgers already received his grade for the season. To me the only thing keeping Rodgers from an A+ was his calf injury and even then he played well enough to win the division title against Detroit, defeat Dallas in a playoff game and play well enough to have won against Seattle in Seattle. Sorry Cory, but I respectfully disagree and would have given Aaron at least an A for his overall grade and I’m still close to going with A+ when I factor in his injury. If Rodgers is healthy in Seattle he runs for a few first downs and keeps drives alive and takes time off the clock to prevent a Seattle comeback. Also, on at least one of the early red zone possessions the Packers roll him out giving him the chance to run for a TD if no one is open in the end zone and the Packers likely convert one of those opportunities into a TD. The best in the league and one of the best in history deserves at least an A for 2014. Thanks, Since ’61
Tom Brady is the best in the league and has the CV to prove it. All the ‘Rodgers is the best’ is empty homer hype.
Sorry, but it does get old.
There’s a difference between being the most successful quarterback and being the best quarterback. The former relies more on team play than the latter. Just look at the difference between Terry Bradshaw and Dan Marino.
I’m not saying Tom Brady isn’t one of the best, but I don’t think his entire skill set matches up better than Rodgers’.
“You play to rack up stats!”.
No wait, that’s not how the saying goes…
Packer fans can’t mewl about how Starr was the best because he has the titles in one breath, and then discredit Brady’s accomplishments and proclaim AR is the best when he lacks them with another. It doesn’t hold up under rational scrutiny.
I’m not making that argument, and I’d say you’re right about anyone who does.
I also think you have to consider the era in which the players played, though. It’s much easier to compare Brady and Rodgers than it is to compare, say, Rodgers and Montana or even Starr and Aikman.
On the same token… I will say that if you consider both skills and accomplishments, Brady ranks ahead of Rodgers.
Chad – agreed, but my comments like the article are based on Rodgers 2014 performance not career wise.
Brady would currently rank ahead of Rodgers on a career versus career basis. But for the 2014 season, Rodgers was and is the better player currently. See my response to Savage below. Thanks, Since ’61
I’m certainly on board with that opinion, Since 61.
That’s really at the core of my thought process. The championships are the objective proof of both, not a proclamation based on subjective opinion.
Brady is an assclown
Savage – there was a time when Brady was the best in the league but that time has passed. Brady is an all-time great but Brady no longer throws the deep pass as effectively as Rodgers and he has never had the mobility or accuracy on Rodgers has. No one in the history of the league throws or has thrown as accurately as Rodgers does. In fact, it is that element of Rodger’s game that elevates him among his peers as the best today and as one of the best of all time. It may be homer hype but in a poll of NFL GMs when asked who they would pick if they were starting a team today, (age irrelevant) they unanimously chose Aaron Rodgers. When age was factored in the GMs were split between Rodgers and Luck, favoring Luck by 2 out of 3. Luck has more long term upside at this point. Yes, I am admittedly biased for Rodgers but I think that my observations about Rodgers are fair and I don’t think that the NFL GMs are biased towards Rodgers. Thanks, Since ’61
The guy that’s on the podium at the end of the last game the most times gets the nod as ‘best’ in my view.
You see it different and I respect that.
Savage – I agree with you over the length of Brady’s and Rodger’s careers. But my comments, like the article, are based on Rodger’s performance in 2014. At this point Brady would be ranked ahead of Rodgers on a career versus career basis. But I think that Rodgers has been the better player since the 2011 season, not counting Rodger’s injuries. Whether or not Rodgers will equal or surpass Brady, especially in SB wins, by the time his career ends remains to be seen. Again, referring back to the article, my point is that Rodgers is currently the best QB today. As for comparing QBs from past eras like Starr, Marino etc… the discussion becomes more complicated. But even though Marino did not win any SBs if you watched him play you know that he was one of the all-time greats, like Brady, Montana, Unitas and Rodgers. Thanks, Since ’61
Sorry, but you’re going to hear it until Rodgers shows he can do it again. A better game from him and the Packers would have gone to the Super Bowl. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one who played a crappy game, but you kinda expect more from Mr. MVP.
Lol A- Lmfao! Torn calf muscle comes back and beats Detroit. On one leg he throws for 300+ yards/3 TD’s. Wins the MVP for the second time.
Just the realization of how irrelevant this team becomes without Aaron Rodgers is a nightmare we never want again.
Subjective grades are great for banter.
“The viability of future Packers’ postseasons will rely on keeping Rodgers healthy.” That’s half true. The other half is solving that 4 year old problem of having a defense that can make whatever AR and his posse might do hold up long enough to get the W.
On another less encouraging note, we’ve seen the differences between Favre and Rodgers and we’ve lauded AR for those things he does better than Favre did. We’re also starting to see the differences between those two as AR gets older and is starting to break down.
It will be interesting to see if the trend of the last two years abates or if the injuries start to stack in lockstep with the years and if Rodgers becomes brittle.
We’re also starting to see the increase in head size that comes with multiple MVP’s, constantly hearing the Manningesque ‘the best QB in the game’ BS without the rings, the distractions of the burgeoning endorsements, the B-list actress GF, etc.
I wish the Packers had the chippy AR who had something to prove back.
Still only one choice anyone would make at QB, Rodgers
I agree that Rodgers deserves an “A” for the year, but after the Seattle game, I feel like he should get a lower grade for the playoffs. He really wasn’t that effective.
If the Patriots defense & special teams would have created five turnovers against Seattle, they would have EASILY scored 40. The Packers were only able to muster 22. I don’t think that Brady is better than Rodgers, by any means, but the Patriots spread them out and Brady got to throw 5-10 yard passes all game. By understanding defenders responsibilities, the Patriots schemed better and were able to get better match-ups, keeping the linebackers so busy, they weren’t able to gang tackle receivers as soon as they caught the ball. The Patriots actually racked up yards after catch and it killed Seattle.
Hopefully, the change in play calling will put Rodgers in a better position come playoff time next year.
61 your right 57 your wrong that is all I will say on the subject 🙂
Expectations A+. Contributions A+ (can’t be less than an A+ since he got the MVP). Since you break out playoff performance I would give him a B but I make it a B+ because of the calf injury.Overall: A.
Starr’s numbers hold up very well. Not elite, but a very good QB. More importantly, for the guys making the argument that he won championships, Starr was very clutch in those games, and his QB rating in the postseason is excellent, especially for the era.
I’ve never seen a QB as accurate as Rodgers. But I have not really seen Brady enough to be sure which was better. I suspect that Brady has accomplished more with less, and with more revolving pieces, too. Rodgers has a chance to change that opinion.
An A- for his Peyton-esque, constipated performance in the playoffs? Whatever he good he did in the Dallas game he made up for with his stinker of a game in Seattle. Talk about easy grading.
A !