Those silly Vikings

[Guiness]

To be fair, the reason the Vikings had a pretty good reason for passing on Rodgers: Daunte Culpepper was coming off a fantastic season in 2004 (4700 yards, 39 passing TDs, 11 INTs). Since they didn't exactly know he would shred his knee in the 2005 season, they didn't exactly see QB as a need. The Vikings deserve scorn for badly whiffing on both of those picks, yes, but not necessarily on passing on Rodgers.

In all fairness, Erasmus James was highly rated, and taken where he should have been. Sure, he'd been injured, but nothing that raised many flags. I really thought he'd be a force for years to come.

Williamson, however...boneheaded pick.

[Tarlam!]

Small sample, but Rodgers QB rating his second and third preseasons was 101.1 and 98.3. He threw 6 TDs and 1 interception in those two preseasons combined.

Thanks Guiness.

Harvey, I see what you're saying - but I disagree. Rogers is often compared to Young. Well, Young was tossed into the deep end and his record at Tampa? 3 - 16. He was deemed a bust! He got the chance to grow by sitting for 3 years and doing spot duty behind a HOFer. I have to wonder if Young would have become cream and floated to the top if he hadn't gone to SFR.

As Guin so aptly pointed out, Rogers was not fully developed physically when he got to GB. He's was a smart, tough, dedicated kid. But, he got his foot broke cause someone stepped on it. Brittle. He was still frequently criticized after his second pre-season. Only after his third pre-season and the Dallas game did people start thinking he had a shot. But, just go back to the Favre wars and you'll realize it was anything but unanimous.

[Tony Oday]

What I am saying is the Vikings suck

[mraynrand]

Teams are sure to be kicking themselves for passing on Rodgers, but I'll bet more than a few are kicking themselves for missing Stubby too. The two go hand in hand - the talented QB with a weird style, and the unproven head coach with great ability to teach. Winning!

[Pugger]

He has always been tough, Zool. He finished that Patsies game with a broken foot i.e. in great pain. But he broke pretty easily on that play. Didn't he get injured again the following year? No matter, he strengthed greatly during his clipboard years. Something Alex Smith never has had a chance to do, because he's always rehabbing. It'll be interesting to see if Stafford suffers a similar fate in Detroit. I don't watch any other team closely, but he seems brittle. He certainly could have used a season or two of strengthening, I'm sure.

I'm high on Rodgers and I always have been, but IMO, he got lucky (we all did!) in his development process. I think it all came together very nicely.

Didn't he tweak his hammy or knee the following year but it wasn't a big deal cuz he wasn't the starter? I thought I read somewhere at the time that had he been the starter he would've played the next game.

[Pugger]

Rodgers struggled in his first preseason (like most rookie QBs), but by his second preseason I thought he had a good chance at succeeding. After his third preseason and after the Dallas game in the regular season, I thought he had a chance to be pretty damn good. I don't buy that he sucked his first three preseasons. I see it as struggled in his first, made vast improvements in his second, and shined in his third.

I also don't buy that Alex Smith would be succeeding in Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers would be sucking in San Francisco, if the tables had been turned. The cream rises to the top. What he went through was helpful to his development, but I suspect that he would have been pretty damn good no matter what. His skills and mental fortitude are top notch. I doubt Alex Smith would have handled succeeding Favre nearly as well as Rodgers did.

I too doubt Smith would have handled the Farp situation nearly as well as Rodgers did but I wonder if he would have benefited from MM's QB school like Rodgers and Flynn have?

[Tarlam!]

I too doubt Smith would have handled the Farp situation nearly as well as Rodgers did but I wonder if he would have benefited from MM's QB school like Rodgers and Flynn have?

I hesitate to nominate anybody that would have handled the situation as well as Rodgers did. That said, any QB coming in would know of Bert's status with the team and fans. The question is would Smith et al have been able to stay on the high road when the provebial do-do hit the fan. To this day, Rodgers hasn't gloated or bad-mouthed the guy he replaced. Smart kid. I wouldn't have been able to contain my schadenfreude, of that I'm sure!

[Tarlam!]

What I am saying is the Vikings suck

Yeah, but we got lucky when they hired Chilly from under TT's nose. IIRC, Chilly was favoured to replace Shermie, but didn't make it out of Minnie. And, I love their fans that post here. I wish Rastak would frequent our little cyber-home more often.

It'll be interesting to see how they develop.

[Iron Mike]

What I am saying is the Vikings suck

Did they even get their pick in in time this year, or were they late??

[RashanGary]

I too doubt Smith would have handled the Farp situation nearly as well as Rodgers did but I wonder if he would have benefited from MM's QB school like Rodgers and Flynn have?

Or would he have flamed out like Brohm?

Good players are good players. Rodgers is great. Flynn is really good. Good coaching beats bad coaching, but almost all NFL offensive coaches are good enough. It comes down, mostly, to the player.

[Pugger]

Or would he have flamed out like Brohm?

Good players are good players. Rodgers is great. Flynn is really good. Good coaching beats bad coaching, but almost all NFL offensive coaches are good enough. It comes down, mostly, to the player.

If what you are saying is true how in the heck did Smith go #1? And he isn't the first kid taken that has struggled big time. There are a boat load of QBs taken in the draft in various rounds over the years that just didn't have what it takes to be successful in the NFL. Sometimes these young QBs are thrown to the wolves on crappy teams but Brohm is proof that a lot of these kids just don't have "it".

[HarveyWallbangers]

If what you are saying is true how in the heck did Smith go #1? And he isn't the first kid taken that has struggled big time. There are a boat load of QBs taken in the draft in various rounds over the years that just didn't have what it takes to be successful in the NFL. Sometimes these young QBs are thrown to the wolves on crappy teams but Brohm is proof that a lot of these kids just don't have "it".

I think scouts are enamored with arm strength and athletic ability. Don't get me wrong, Rodgers has both. However, it's harder to measure accuracy (impossible to do based just off college numbers and throwing at the combine) and football intelligence. I think those end up being bigger factors. Almost every good QB has a good enough arm, accuracy, some mobility, football intelligence, toughness, and ice water in his veins. Many of those are hard to scout.

[RashanGary]

Mike McCarthy calls it, "right now" intelligence and he snaps his fingers as he says it. QB decision making happens very fast. One read college QB's are very hard to scout. College QB's in general are hard to scout. The NFL, the QB has infinitely more on his plate than the college QB.

I would think a huge sign of a good NFL prospect is a college QB who does all of the little things. Knows when to throw it away, knows when to get out of the pocket, high comp %, seems to be in tune and ready to move during crucial situations. . . . After 4 years of college football, most guys can run their one or two read system pretty well. But do they seem in control at all times in the game? Do they seem a step ahead of everyone else in how they're thinking the game. Doe the little things just come to them.

I don't watch a lot of college football, but I would think a good NFL prospect would have the tools, but also have a way of feeling/seeing/playing the game that's a step ahead. If they're bogged down, even the slightest in the college game, they'll be destroyed in the NFL game. You want them to seem in control, ready, prepared, a step ahead at all times, even if their team isn't great, you want the QB to not be caught of guard or surprised by much, if anythiing.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Mike McCarthy calls it, "right now" intelligence and he snaps his fingers as he says it. QB decision making happens very fast. One read college QB's are very hard to scout. College QB's in general are hard to scout. The NFL, the QB has infinitely more on his plate than the college QB.

I would think a huge sign of a good NFL prospect is a college QB who does all of the little things. Knows when to throw it away, knows when to get out of the pocket, high comp %, seems to be in tune and ready to move during crucial situations. . . . After 4 years of college football, most guys can run their one or two read system pretty well. But do they seem in control at all times in the game? Do they seem a step ahead of everyone else in how they're thinking the game. Doe the little things just come to them.

I don't watch a lot of college football, but I would think a good NFL prospect would have the tools, but also have a way of feeling/seeing/playing the game that's a step ahead. If they're bogged down, even the slightest in the college game, they'll be destroyed in the NFL game. You want them to seem in control, ready, prepared, a step ahead at all times, even if their team isn't great, you want the QB to not be caught of guard or surprised by much, if anythiing.

McCarthy has a good way of describing it. I lumped it in with football intelligence and ice water in his veins. Basically, he always knows where to go with the ball and he's not easily rattled.

[RashanGary]

Another thing great NFL QB's do is anticipate coverages, throwing guys open.

If they're doing things like that, the things that make you think they're a step ahead of everyone else mentally, and they have a full toolbox of tools. . . . I would think those would be guys you can project well into the NFL.