It's rather amusing how much devotion Aaron Rodgers has garnered over the years. Sure he's had his share of success including a championship and two MVP trophies. However, he's set to turn 36 this year. He is nowhere close to touching the stats posted by his predecessor Brett Favre and hasn't reached similar heights in accomplishment either. Favre had three MVPs and went to two Super Bowls.
Rodgers hasn't even done that. It's also worth noting that Favre had a losing record just once in his Packers career. Rodgers has done it twice. For a guy whom everybody claims have long since surpassed Favre, the evidence doesn't hold that up. Especially in the realm of durability. Yet the wider NFL media continues to proclaim him as the best in the business. Even over Tom Brady who has won three rings since Rodgers got his first or Patrick Mahomes who is the reigning MVP.
One person finally decided to take a stand against this. Bucky Brooks of NFL.com respects Rodgers, but he is of the belief that the Packers quarterback lost his mantle as the best in the league a long time ago. He was more than willing to back up that statement with facts too.
"Aaron Rodgers is overrated...
...Although I certainly understand why the NFL community has the utmost respect for a quarterback with a Super Bowl ring and a couple MVP trophies on the mantel, the evaluation process is supposed to be a meritocracy where players are graded on their most-recent performances instead of nostalgia..."
Aaron Rodgers doesn't stack up in either wins or stats
Brooks took a two-pronged assault to his argument. He knows that there are two lanes that people tend to stick to in regards to arguing for a quarterback: wins and stats. Using a specific point four years ago, he presents an argument that Rodgers has experienced a significant decline in both categories.
"...Let's go back to Week 7 of the 2015 season. The Packers were actually on bye that week, but they were sitting pretty at 6-0. Following the week off, Green Bay went 4-6 down the stretch and lost in the Divisional Round. The Pack then won the division in 2016 with a 10-6 record, but posted losing records in 2017 and '18. Now, let's focus in on Rodgers' play in this context…
...Prior to that line of demarcation -- Week 7 of the 2015 season -- Rodgers sported a 76-33 QB record with a 66.0 percent completion rate and a gaudy 107.0 passer rating. That is, undoubtedly, first-class production. Since that point, though, Rodgers is just 24-24-1 as a starter with a 62.7 percent completion rate and 96.4 passer rating. Additionally, the QB is fresh off a season that saw him record the second-lowest completion percentage (62.3) of his starting career, as well as the fewest touchdown passes (25) in a season where he played in at least 10 games."
Care for some context? Drew Brees along that same timeline has completed 71.17% of his passes with a 105.8 passer rating and a 35-21 record. Both are clearly superior to what Rodgers has accomplished. Yet he doesn't get mentioned nearly enough in the "best quarterback in football" argument. Maybe because a ton of the credit gets shifted to head coach Sean Payton but facts are facts. Brees has been better for a considerable amount of time.
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