Rodgers is looking infinitely better

[Scott Campbell]

I wouldn't care if his stats fall off a little if were able to pound it on the ground more effectively, and put up lots of points.

[sheepshead]

A-rod may never have the stats of Favre but is on track to win more super bowls than #4.

Until he wins one, he is on track to do no such thing.
This is a big season for Rodgers. Is he a leader, or just a stats generator?

The least of our problems last year was the QB. As long as we stop comparing him to Brett Favre highlight videos, he'll be fine.

[Patler]

A-rod may never have the stats of Favre but is on track to win more super bowls than #4.

Until he wins one, he is on track to do no such thing.
This is a big season for Rodgers. Is he a leader, or just a stats generator?

The least of our problems last year was the QB. As long as we stop comparing him to Brett Favre highlight videos, he'll be fine.

I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with Rodgers last year, or that there is likely to be anything wrong this year. But Rodgers wasn't (I hope) a finished product last year. There is another level to get to, and I am hopeful that he can get there. With a top level QB who you might be able to ride to multiple Super Bowls, the offense especially and sometimes the whole team becomes "about him". That is what I want Rodgers to become, because in a lot of ways it makes it easier for other players to just play. The focus, both good and bad is directed at him. He gets both more credit and more blame than he should, sometimes much more.

Others are just stats generators who don't really lead their teams anywhere. Last year Rodgers genreated impressive stats, but didn't lead his team anywhere (I'm not suggesting it was his fault). Until he does lead them somewhere, he has only generated stats.

[oregonpackfan]

One of the hurdles Rodgers have to overcome last year was the continual comparison to Brett Favre. Not only were sportswriters and fans comparing him to Favre's accomplishments in past years but they were comparing him to Favre's current achievements with the New York Jets.

When Favre "retired" from the Jets this past spring I thought to myself, "Now Rodgers does not have the cloud of the present day Favre hanging over him."

Man, was I wrong!

Now, Rodgers will continue to be contrasted with Favre playing for the Vikings!

Rodgers handled last year's comparisons with Favre with remarkable poise and maturity. I hope he can do that again this year.

[sheepshead]

A-rod may never have the stats of Favre but is on track to win more super bowls than #4.

Until he wins one, he is on track to do no such thing.
This is a big season for Rodgers. Is he a leader, or just a stats generator?

The least of our problems last year was the QB. As long as we stop comparing him to Brett Favre highlight videos, he'll be fine.

I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with Rodgers last year, or that there is likely to be anything wrong this year. But Rodgers wasn't (I hope) a finished product last year. There is another level to get to, and I am hopeful that he can get there. With a top level QB who you might be able to ride to multiple Super Bowls, the offense especially and sometimes the whole team becomes "about him". That is what I want Rodgers to become, because in a lot of ways it makes it easier for other players to just play. The focus, both good and bad is directed at him. He gets both more credit and more blame than he should, sometimes much more.

Others are just stats generators who don't really lead their teams anywhere. Last year Rodgers genreated impressive stats, but didn't lead his team anywhere (I'm not suggesting it was his fault). Until he does lead them somewhere, he has only generated stats.

Frankly, I think he's already there in that regard, which is another testament to his leadership and maturity.

[MadtownPacker]

With a top level QB who you might be able to ride to multiple Super Bowls, the offense especially and sometimes the whole team becomes "about him". That is what I want Rodgers to become, because in a lot of ways it makes it easier for other players to just play. The focus, both good and bad is directed at him. He gets both more credit and more blame than he should, sometimes much more.

Sounds like you want him to be the next Favre.

[Patler]

With a top level QB who you might be able to ride to multiple Super Bowls, the offense especially and sometimes the whole team becomes "about him". That is what I want Rodgers to become, because in a lot of ways it makes it easier for other players to just play. The focus, both good and bad is directed at him. He gets both more credit and more blame than he should, sometimes much more.

Sounds like you want him to be the next Favre.

...or Montana, or Bradshaw, or Brady. You know, a future Hall of Famer. Is that asking too much?

[Patler]

A-rod may never have the stats of Favre but is on track to win more super bowls than #4.

Until he wins one, he is on track to do no such thing.
This is a big season for Rodgers. Is he a leader, or just a stats generator?

The least of our problems last year was the QB. As long as we stop comparing him to Brett Favre highlight videos, he'll be fine.

I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with Rodgers last year, or that there is likely to be anything wrong this year. But Rodgers wasn't (I hope) a finished product last year. There is another level to get to, and I am hopeful that he can get there. With a top level QB who you might be able to ride to multiple Super Bowls, the offense especially and sometimes the whole team becomes "about him". That is what I want Rodgers to become, because in a lot of ways it makes it easier for other players to just play. The focus, both good and bad is directed at him. He gets both more credit and more blame than he should, sometimes much more.

Others are just stats generators who don't really lead their teams anywhere. Last year Rodgers genreated impressive stats, but didn't lead his team anywhere (I'm not suggesting it was his fault). Until he does lead them somewhere, he has only generated stats.

Frankly, I think he's already there in that regard, which is another testament to his leadership and maturity.

I don't think he is there yet, but I think the way he handled everything last year he showed that he can get there. I don't think that MM put him in that category last year either, because he was unwilling to put it all in Rodgers' hands at the end of several games when he should have. Once MM shows enough faith to rely on Rodgers to get another first down rather than playing for a game-winning 52 yard FG, and when he concedes that Rodgers throwing the ball is a better scoring option than bullheadedly trying to run the ball at times, then Rodgers will have achieved the level I want for him.

[MadtownPacker]

Sounds like you want him to be the next Favre.

...or Montana, or Bradshaw, or Brady. You know, a future Hall of Famer. Is that asking too much?

Fair enouigh. Thing I dont like is that he threw for 4K last season. Is he now gonna be expected to do that or more yearly? If anything he needs to throw a few less yards because it means the D played better and the run game was strong. The fact that two WRs had 1000yds while grant had 1200 doesnt set right with me. The 6-10 records seems to agree.

[Patler]

Sounds like you want him to be the next Favre.

...or Montana, or Bradshaw, or Brady. You know, a future Hall of Famer. Is that asking too much?

Fair enouigh. Thing I dont like is that he threw for 4K last season. Is he now gonna be expected to do that or more yearly? If anything he needs to throw a few less yards because it means the D played better and the run game was strong. The fact that two WRs had 1000yds while grant had 1200 doesnt set right with me. The 6-10 records seems to agree.

No one should expect, or necessarily even want Rodgers to throw for over 4k yards this season. The yardage production last year by the offense shows an offense good enough for a team to have a much better record. The issues then become:

- Timeliness of the offensive production, and I don't just mean at the ends of games. Putting a team away early is important in the final record too. First drives of a half can be nearly as important, to make the opponent immediately play catch-up. For all their offensive production in '08, the Packers were bad in first drives of the halves. An improvement in this alone could change the final results.

- Defensive play,

- Special Teams play.

- Coaching decisions.

[Scott Campbell]

Sounds like you want him to be the next Favre.

...or Montana, or Bradshaw, or Brady. You know, a future Hall of Famer. Is that asking too much?

Fair enouigh. Thing I dont like is that he threw for 4K last season. Is he now gonna be expected to do that or more yearly? If anything he needs to throw a few less yards because it means the D played better and the run game was strong. The fact that two WRs had 1000yds while grant had 1200 doesnt set right with me. The 6-10 records seems to agree.

No one should expect, or necessarily even want Rodgers to throw for over 4k yards this season. The yardage production last year by the offense shows an offense good enough for a team to have a much better record. The issues then become:

- Timeliness of the offensive production, and I don't just mean at the ends of games. Putting a team away early is important in the final record too. First drives of a half can be nearly as important, to make the opponent immediately play catch-up. For all their offensive production in '08, the Packers were bad in first drives of the halves. An improvement in this alone could change the final results.

- Defensive play,

- Special Teams play.

- Coaching decisions.

........grinding out a clock killing drive in the 4th quarter to protect a lead. Rodgers shouldn't have to throw the ball at all in that situation. Just feed the rock to Grant and Co.

[Scott Campbell]

Though I'm now thinking about the 07 Pats and their juggernaut offense. Brady's production didn't seem to drag that team down.

[HarveyWallbangers]

No one should expect, or necessarily even want Rodgers to throw for over 4k yards this season. The yardage production last year by the offense shows an offense good enough for a team to have a much better record. The issues then become:

- Timeliness of the offensive production, and I don't just mean at the ends of games. Putting a team away early is important in the final record too. First drives of a half can be nearly as important, to make the opponent immediately play catch-up. For all their offensive production in '08, the Packers were bad in first drives of the halves. An improvement in this alone could change the final results.

- Defensive play,

- Special Teams play.

- Coaching decisions.

While I agree with your premise that Rodgers isn't a finished product, I also tend to think people are nitpicking Rodgers first year as a starter. The team was good offensively, scored points, scored in the 4th quarter. However, Rodgers isn't getting a lot of breaks. Green Bay struggled in first drives of halves and at the very end of games after the defense let yet another team take the lead with under 6 minutes left. Conversely, they were very good at scoring and taking the lead in the first 9 minutes of the 4th quarter and they must have been very good after the first drives of halves to amass the scoring and yardage totals they did. You get the feeling that if Rodgers stats were the same, but they scored more on their first drives in halves, people would complain that they didn't do more on their second drives. We should just look at it as Rodgers had a hell of a first year as a starter. It would be nice to have better starts to halves (and maybe it will help that McCarthy trusts Rodgers more), he can improve his pocket awareness slightly, and he'll need to win more games at the end (it will help if the defense is more stout in the 4th quarter). However, he showed a great arm, accuracy, leadership, mobility, toughness, and the ability to bring the team back several times in the middle of the 4th quarter.

[sheepshead]

A-rod may never have the stats of Favre but is on track to win more super bowls than #4.

Until he wins one, he is on track to do no such thing.
This is a big season for Rodgers. Is he a leader, or just a stats generator?

The least of our problems last year was the QB. As long as we stop comparing him to Brett Favre highlight videos, he'll be fine.

I'm not suggesting there was anything wrong with Rodgers last year, or that there is likely to be anything wrong this year. But Rodgers wasn't (I hope) a finished product last year. There is another level to get to, and I am hopeful that he can get there. With a top level QB who you might be able to ride to multiple Super Bowls, the offense especially and sometimes the whole team becomes "about him". That is what I want Rodgers to become, because in a lot of ways it makes it easier for other players to just play. The focus, both good and bad is directed at him. He gets both more credit and more blame than he should, sometimes much more.

Others are just stats generators who don't really lead their teams anywhere. Last year Rodgers genreated impressive stats, but didn't lead his team anywhere (I'm not suggesting it was his fault). Until he does lead them somewhere, he has only generated stats.

Frankly, I think he's already there in that regard, which is another testament to his leadership and maturity.

I don't think he is there yet, but I think the way he handled everything last year he showed that he can get there. I don't think that MM put him in that category last year either, because he was unwilling to put it all in Rodgers' hands at the end of several games when he should have. Once MM shows enough faith to rely on Rodgers to get another first down rather than playing for a game-winning 52 yard FG, and when he concedes that Rodgers throwing the ball is a better scoring option than bullheadedly trying to run the ball at times, then Rodgers will have achieved the level I want for him.

I'll give you that one.

[gbgary]

Re: Rodgers is looking infinitely better

I'm well known as a Rodgers detractor here, but I think he has a chance to be a pretty good, top 1/3rd QB in the league right now. He looks really good this preseason. His footwork and pocket presence look light years better. I believe this is a combination of another year of experience and the new found nastiness of the offensive line.

It's still really early obviously, but I will give credit where credit is due. It's like watching two different players and lines to this point.

Keep it up, A-Rod.

With this kind of improvement, we can look forward to a 6,000 yard passing season.

he's not the only one looking good. the whole first team looks fantastic (knocking on wood). i can't remember seeing them so fired-up for a friggin preseason game.