Packer's Interview Style Re: Aaron Rodgers 2005

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What separates Rodgers, who grew up in Chico, is his confidence. In high school he refused to believe the college scouts who said he wasn't Division I material; he went to junior college for two years, then signed with Cal and went 17--5 as a starter. Unlike other Jeff Tedford--coached quarterbacks, Rodgers is an accurate passer (63.8% completion rate) who isn't hesitant about making any throw. "I think I'm a guy you can build a franchise around," he says. But he'll have to overcome the reputation of other Tedford-coached quarterbacks-- Trent Dilfer at Fresno State, Akili Smith and Joey Harrington at Oregon, and Kyle Boller at Cal--who after putting up impressive college numbers have been far less successful in the pros. "When I interviewed with the Packers," says Rodgers, "they killed me on that stuff. They asked me, 'How are you different from Harrington?' And, 'Are you just a Tedford product?' It's frustrating. I think I'm the most accurate quarterback Coach Tedford ever had."

The 49ers interviewed Rodgers and Smith at the combine. "I liked them both a lot," says Nolan. "Aaron doesn't ride the fence on anything, which I like. People don't follow fence-sitters. Alex is very smart, very capable. He sees the target and knows what he has to do. My job is to figure out if he can be a great one."

[SnakeLH2006]

What separates Rodgers, who grew up in Chico, is his confidence. In high school he refused to believe the college scouts who said he wasn't Division I material; he went to junior college for two years, then signed with Cal and went 17--5 as a starter. Unlike other Jeff Tedford--coached quarterbacks, Rodgers is an accurate passer (63.8% completion rate) who isn't hesitant about making any throw. "I think I'm a guy you can build a franchise around," he says. But he'll have to overcome the reputation of other Tedford-coached quarterbacks-- Trent Dilfer at Fresno State, Akili Smith and Joey Harrington at Oregon, and Kyle Boller at Cal--who after putting up impressive college numbers have been far less successful in the pros. "When I interviewed with the Packers," says Rodgers, "they killed me on that stuff. They asked me, 'How are you different from Harrington?' And, 'Are you just a Tedford product?' It's frustrating. I think I'm the most accurate quarterback Coach Tedford ever had."

The 49ers interviewed Rodgers and Smith at the combine. "I liked them both a lot," says Nolan. "Aaron doesn't ride the fence on anything, which I like. People don't follow fence-sitters. Alex is very smart, very capable. He sees the target and knows what he has to do. My job is to figure out if he can be a great one."

Good article homey! Just shows how much of a crapshoot the NFL draft is in the first round, esp. at QB. Thank god we the RodMan!!!

[KYPack]

This article shows how Akili Smith got drafted so highly. He blew away all the interviewers. Smith was 25 when he graduated. He took 4 years off to play pro baseball. After failing in pro baseball, he enrolled in college. He was much more mature than other 22 year old prospects and he knew just the right things to say.

The scouts forgot to look at the game films and learn that he didn't know how to play QB.

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The scouts forgot to look at the game films and learn that he didn't know how to play QB.The Lions are on the phone KY, something about a job offer? :lol:

[ND72]

Minus Peyton Manning...I find it foolish for any franchise to play a highly drafted rookie QB in at least his first year. Case in point, Rodgers & Palmer...and I'm sure there are others like that. It for the most part takes the pressure off of them, and allows them to learn the game.

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There is some statistical evidence that success at the Pro level for a college QB can be tied to starting a large number of games in college. The reasons are obvious; experience, winning a competition over a competitor (his fellow team QBs), large body of work to examine, etc.

But it seems to me that if you don't have a ton of starts in college (like Arod), then the best thing is to go to a team that can park you on the bench and let you learn. Palmer only sat a year and was a multi-year starter at USC, but if you are ARod and can learn for 3 years, you can eliminate two reasons for a young QBs struggles: unfamiliarity with the offense and reading pro defenses. That would seem to buy you the time to let the kid rack up some starts for experience sake and also to teach his coach what he can do well.