Aaron Rodgers is not to blame for the Packers’ predicament
With the New York Jets positioned for an AFC East title and Green Bay’s playoff hopes on life support, some are seriously questioning the wisdom of the Packers’ decision to trade Brett Favre instead of giving him his starting job back. The thinking is that since the Packers made the NFC Championship Game last season and Favre is the most significant subtraction from that team, then his absence is the reason the team is struggling. While this is logical line of reasoning, it doesn’t paint an accurate picture of what is going on in Green Bay.
Back in July, I urged the Packers to bring back Brett Favre. At the time, they had two choices: (1) go with the known quantity or (2) roll the dice on the young guy. Given that the Packers were an overtime interception away from making the Super Bowl, at the time it made sense that the team should go with the proven commodity.
But things have changed. Aaron Rodgers owns the league’s 8th-best QB rating (91.2), and is 9th in yards (241.4) and 6th in touchdowns (20), meeting or beating Favre in all three categories. Some football purists might say that he doesn’t have the swagger or the moxy of his counterpart, and at this point in his career, he doesn’t. But much of that confidence and leadership comes with experience, so it’s not fair to hold it against him.
The bottom line is that Rodgers is not to blame for the Packers 5-7 record. Last week against Carolina, he threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, but the Packers were done in by poor defense (4.8 ypc allowed) and poor execution in the running game on their second-to-last drive, when they couldn’t convert on two carries at the Panthers’ goal line. They had to settle for a field goal, and on Carolina’s next possession, Jake Delhomme’s 54-yard bomb to Steve Smith set up DeAngelo Williams’ go-ahead touchdown.
Are there areas in which Rodgers can improve? Absolutely. On the Packers’ final drive, he had 1:19 to play and two timeouts. Instead of just moving the chains, Rodgers tried to force a long pass to Donald Driver. It was picked off and the game was lost. In that situation, Rodgers needs to take a page from Favre’s book and just keep moving the chains. It’s fairly easy to do that when you’re down four because the defense is guarding against the big play. Get yourself on the Panthers’ side of the field and put yourself in a position where you can take three or four shots into the endzone. But, as we learned in the NFC Championship Game, even 38 year-old veterans are not immune to ill-advised passes in crunch time.
In these situations, Rodgers will improve with experience. After all, he is only 25 and is in his first season as a starter in the NFL. Still, despite the pick against Carolina, he has shown comeback ability this year. In Week 10 at Minnesota with the Packers trailing by one and 2:15 remaining, he threw a beautiful 19-yard pass to Driver to put Green Bay in position for a game-winning field goal. Even though the Packers were still at the edge of Mason Crosby’s field goal range, they got conservative and called two Ryan Grant runs, which totaled three yards and eventually led to Crosby’s 52-yard missed field goal. Is that loss somehow Rodgers’ fault? Of course not.
Just take a look at the defense. The Packers are 17th in total yards allowed. Last year, they were 11th. They are 27th against the run. Last year, they were 14th. They are 22nd in points allowed. Last year, they were 6th. The only area in which the defense has improved is against the pass (11th in 2007 to 5th this year), and that’s because they are so bad against the run. Oakland and Indianapolis are also in the Top 8 against the pass but are 29th and 25th respectively against the run. There are teams that are good against the pass and then there are teams that seem like they are good against the pass because they are so bad against the run.
So if Favre were still in Green Bay, the team would probably be 5-7, or 6-6, or maybe even 4-8. QB play has very little to do with the defense, other than to put the unit in a tough position by throwing bad interceptions (and Favre has thrown more picks than Rodgers). We could also point a finger at the special teams, which allowed Mark Jones back-to-back 51-yard and 45-yard kick returns that set up two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Panthers. Throw in Crosby’s missed field goal against the Vikings and there’s clearly plenty of non-QB blame to go around.
Finally, you have to think about the future. If the Packers had brought back Favre, Rodgers wouldn’t have re-signed. He would have looked for an opportunity elsewhere, especially when Favre inevitably started his whole retirement dance the following summer. So, removing the names for a second, which QB would you rather have?
QB1 – 39 years-old, 90.4 QB rating, 20 TD, 14 INT
QB2 – 25 years-old, 91.2 QB rating, 20 TD, 10 INT + a second-round pick
Assuming the Jets make the playoffs, that’s how this trade is going to work out.
Despite the team’s current predicament, the Packers made the right decision.
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ur a moron. the only stat that matters is wins
last year jets 4-12 this 8-4.
last year packers 13-3 this 5-7.
the nfl is win now. rogers inexpierence is the direct cause of packers offense woes. if u knew football instead of fantasy stats u could see that
Thank you for your insightful analysis, Charlie. I am in awe of your superior football knowledge.
What offensive woes are you talking about? Last year, the Packers had the #4 scoring offense. This year, they are #5. Not much of a dropoff at all.
I hate to burst your bubble, but there is a lot more to winning and losing than QB play. The Jets made several other moves that helped them make the jump.
offensive woes such as increased sacks, increased penalties, no running game, game ending interceptions. dont forget the defensive and special teams scoring that skews that stat.
bottom line jets have a proven savvy team leader, the packers do not.
Sacks are down from 2.3 per game last season to 1.7 this season. Other than a couple of delay of game penalties here and there, the increase in flags is not Aaron’s fault. “No running game” – again, not Aaron’s fault – doesn’t the offensive line, full back and running back hold most of the responsibility there? And Favre had his fair share of game-ending interceptions in a Packer uniform.
So I don’t buy your “bottom line,” Charlie.
(See how I countered your argument without name-calling?)
Charlie if you think the Packers would be a 13-3 team this year with Brett Favre at the helm, you’re crazy.
They’re getting gashed on the ground, their front seven all of a sudden can’t produce a pass rush and Ryan Grant wasn’t helping Rodgers too much earlier in the year.
The biggest difference with the Jets is not Favre. Yes, with Favre, they now have a quarterback to throw vertically up the field. They didn’t have that in Pennington and Clemons.
However, the biggest addition the Jets made this offseason was adding Alan Fanaca. He’s lifted the play of younger players like D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold – two players that struggled in their second years after having productive rookie campaigns. With the improved offensive line play, Favre is getting time to throw and more importantly, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have running lanes again.
The Jets’ run defense has dramatically improved this season too, which was something of a major sore spot over the last couple of years.
Everything changes year to year in the NFL. Unfortunately it’s not as easy to say, “Put Favre in a GB uniform this year and everything would be like it was last year.” That’s not the case because presumably, the problems with the defense would still be there.
the packers lead the league in offensive penatly yards. last years sack total was 19 for the year and is already 25 this year. same offensive line same running back, so what changed?
rogers holds the ball to long, has poor pocket presence, and not as quick a release. holding and false start penalties are the line trying to compensate for this.
defenfensive coordinators know this and blitz and stack the line against the run knowing rogers cant burn them as farve did
rogers has wonderful stats because he throws mostly slants and across the middle passes. he has yet to win a game when behind entering the 4th qtr, something favre has done some 42 times
Your stats are correct (my sack stats earlier in the thread are incorrect), but sacks and penalty yards are not all his fault. Favre has a quicker release, but Rodgers pocket presence is good and he has shown tremendous running ability which is something that Favre does not bring to the table. 25 sacks puts the Packers right in the middle of the league in that category. (Meanwhile, Favre has been sacked 23 times.)
The offensive line has not played well all season. You put the blame entirely on Rodgers for holding the ball too long and not being able to burn defenses, but Rodgers has burned lots of defenses this year. It’s entirely possible that the same offensive line doesn’t play as well year to year – for example, how about that snap that flew over Rodgers’ head, setting the Panthers up with great field position – was that his fault?
Rodgers throws slants and across the middle passes – so did Favre. That’s been the Green Bay offense since Holmgren was in town.
As for the running game, there was clearly something wrong with Ryan Grant as he worked his way back from injury early in the season. Plus, the O-line wasn’t opening any holes early on. You blame Rodgers for this because you say that defenses stack the line. I’ve watched just about every Green Bay snap this season and I haven’t noticed eight men in the box very often.
As for Rodgers’ fourth quarter comebacks, he’s only in his first season as the starter. He’ll get there.
All good points, Charlie. But this is also Rodgers’ first year as a starter and he’s still putting up good numbers regardless of how many slant patterns he’s completing.
John’s main point (and it was a sound one) is that had the Packers retained Favre, they would have probably lost Rodgers and then team might have been without a quarterback next year. Favre could have easily done his retirement dance again next year while Rodgers walked out the door.
Good teams plan for the future, as well as try to win in the present. And again, Rodgers doesn’t play defense. Teams are owning the Packers on the ground and I don’t think that GB’s front seven would magically be playing better if Favre was under center.
i have no doubt that rogers has the tools to be a good qb. but for this one season to say the packers are a beter team with him at qb doesnt hold water. i admire that after last fall he even has the moxy to take the field.
what we are seeing is last years 13-3 team with rogers at qb
what favre did was open up the field to enhance the running game. notice jones numbers. 2nd in afc i beleive.also rogers has only faced 1 pass defence in the top half of the league when he faced them.
sure farve is at the end of his career but its all the intangebles he brings to the table ala larry bird
anthony. ur kinda saying wait till next year. i think ull be saying that a lot in years to come
No one is arguing that Favre didn’t help the Jets or TJ, but this is not the same 13-3 Packer team as last season. I said in the post that they might be a little better or a little worse with Favre at QB, but in the long haul, they made the right decision by letting him go.
The bottom line is that the Packers can’t stop the run to save their lives and that has absolutely nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers. It’s a testament to his play that they even have 5 wins.
‘Bottom line is wins’…. So by your logic Kerry Collins is the best quarterback in football, hands down. Gosh, why didn’t Trent Dilfer win the league MVP when the Ravens won the Super Bowl? Mystery abounds…
The auther is failing to mention that Favre leads the league in fumbles by a quarterback as well as interceptions. He’s not even the MVP of his own team, that would be DT Kris Jenkins. Last week was the first time any team has run between the tackles on the Jets. Packers are 4-8 with Favre this year if he were there and giving this bad defense the short end of the field with more frequency that any QB in the league. No controversy among the astute fans.
the reason they have 5 wins is their pass defense.
they almost got beat by detroit if woodson haddnt run those 2 back. this team is lucky to be 5-7. they wouldnt be if chicago had tanked it and payton manning was healthy. didnt the jets beat the titans. and why with first and goal at the 7 did the packers run 3 staight times and not pass.
yup dilfer has a sb ring. so does doug williams
but fran tarkenton doesnt, jim kelly doesnt, dan marino doesnt, vinny testeverde, and so on
i guess according to u guys they should give the lombardardi trophy to the team with the highest qb rating and draft picks
the question was asked “which qb would u rather have”
i think a better one is would u rather play in the playoffs or watch
Favre QB’ing the Packers this year doesn’t give them any more wins. Their run defense is awful.
I apparently can’t get through to you, Charlie.
Does anyone else want to give it a shot?
ok all u astute fans, why is this team with the same personnel, coaches,schemes, struggleing so much this year.
every team has injuries so that cant be a factor.
john u dont know that. nobody does. and its not the defense its the coordinator.
think what u want. the proof is in the pudding.
as far as im concerned packer management married aaron rogers and the honeymoon is over.
You just implied that if Favre was QB’ing the Packers they would make the playoffs, didn’t you?
“i think a better one is would u rather play in the playoffs or watch”
How do you know that?
The defense can’t stop the run. It doesn’t matter if it’s the personnel or the coordinator, the Packers cannot stop people from running the ball down their throats. That’s a great way to lose games and it has absolutely nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers.
no
i am dealing in facts not conjecture. the jets are in the play off hunt with favre as the packers were last year. and for 15 out of the 16 years he was there.
this year the packers are not.
You’re comparing two different supporting casts. Your leaps in logic are astounding.
The Jets are STOPPING THE RUN this year and are getting BETTER OFFENSIVE LINE play than they did last year. Those are just two factors in their playoff run this year, just as Brett Favre is.
The Packers, on the other hand, are not STOPPING THE RUN this year and are not getting good OFFENSIVE LINE play. Aaron Rodgers (who isn’t playing that bad) is just one factor why the Packers will probably miss the playoffs this year.
And this is the NFL – teams go up and down every year. The Falcons, Ravens and Jets all picked in the top 10 of the draft this year, but are playoff contenders. The Seahawks, Chargers and Jaguars are three teams that made the playoffs last year but won’t this year.
Can you point to just one thing as to why the Falcons, Ravens and Jets are better? Similarly, can you point to just one thing as to why the Seahawks, Chargers and Jags are bad this year?
That’s what you’re essentially doing with the Packers and Rodgers/Favre. If you don’t like Aaron Rodgers, cool – no problem. But you can’t hang everything on him, not when he doesn’t play defense.
thats right. one was 4-12 last year the other 13-3
i understand u get paid to write ur opinion. but thats all it is an opinion. no more no less.
the object of the nfl is to win the super bowl by putting the best team on the field. the packers did not do that regardless of what u say.
enough
i didnt say i dont like aaron rogers. but i dont see him as the second coming of brett favre yet.
as for the other teams i dont follow them as close and could care less
“the object of the nfl is to win the super bowl by putting the best team on the field. the packers did not do that regardless of what u say.”
That’s your opinion. And like you said, that’s all it is, no more no less.
The Pack paid this losing QB $65 MILIION! Do you really think ANY other NFL team would have been that foolish? NO
He would have bolted to where? He hadn’t played one game or shown anything other than he could wear his baseball cap backwards, hold a clip board and get his foot/leg broken when asked to do a bit of mop up work.
You all act like the world was beating down the Rodgers family’s door to sign this guy.
He was a marginal college QB, going ONLY 8-6 his senior year. History shows marginal QBs, like an 8-6 in college type, means a below average QB in the Pros.
Do you really think this guy is Pro Bowl material?
Much less a 3 time league MVP and Super Bowl winner?
The NFL is the WIN NOW league. Letting Favre get away meant throwing away the ’08 season and it looks like from Rodgers lack of leadership and being a “winner”, the near term future, too.
I stand by my comment that I believe Rodgers will end up being an over paid footnote in Packer history.
$13,000,000 a year and we get 5 wins, so far!
No 2 minute come back scores. Just lots of close loses. That shows he is NOT a winner in this league.
Since when is one season enough to pass judgment on any athlete? You guys bashing on Rodgers are too focused on what Green Bay did last year, and expecting Rodgers to match that. Green Bay won 8, 9, and 9 games in Favre’s first three seasons as a starter.
Rodgers is never going to match what Favre did, granted. But… this argument that “the NFL is all about winning and winning now”? That’s silly. No competent sports franchise ever builds a business plan that doesn’t account for long-term success as well as short-term. Besides, I don’t even root for the Packers, and I was getting fed up with Favre’s “yes I will/no I won’t” retirement issues. I would have done the exact same thing, and I can only imagine how the Packers’ F.O. felt.
One more thing: the Packers have outscored their opponents this year. They may be 5-7, but they’ve played better than their record. This myopic “wins are the only thing that matter” business is terrible analysis. That’s how we get things like “Bartolo Colon is the Cy Young winner instead of Johan Santana”.
Rating, schmating. The bottom line is that Brett is a winner and more importantly, he gets his team to believe they are winners as well. Green Bay would be headed to the playoffs with him.
teams that plan for the future are always saying wait till next year, because they are losers.
many pro athletes waffle on retirement. what made this a circus was packer management.
has anyone ever heard the saying winning isn’t everything its the only thing.
fantasy league stats mean nothing in the real world.
what matters is who wins the last nfl game of the season.
Favre or no Favre, all of the Packers’ defensive numbers are worse this season. They are 27th against the run, 22nd in points allowed. This has nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers.
On the whole, they are a good offensive team, and they probably wouldn’t be much better (if they were better at all) with #4 under center.
no less an authority than andy reid has said numerous head coaches owe their careers to brett favre. wanna bet mike mccarthy off the record would like to have favre back. there is no way to know what would happen if packers hadnt made that trade, none. you can say the packers are better this season with rogers all u want.facts dictate otherwise
tell u what. ur the professional and this is ur blog, and u have to stick by it so u can have last word.
im just gonna keep laughing
I thought you and I ended our conversation, Charlie, but you came back to speak more nonsense and continue to ignore all the facts about the defense. I’m responding to the other posters who claim the Packers would be better with Favre but completely ignore how the defense is in the tank. When you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to make the playoffs. Just look at the teams that are are in the bottom 10 in the league in rush defense – Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, Oakland, Denver, Green Bay, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Houston. These teams are a combined 37-83-1 (.306). Two teams have a shot at the playoffs. Denver, who plays in a division with two other teams on that list (KC and DEN) and IND, which has won five straight games by less than a TD.
And, by the way, I never said the Packers are better off this season. Not once. I said they were better off in the long haul. Go back and read the article.
I don’t know why you have such a hard time comprehending this position, Charlie.
all u talk about is this season and the padded stats rogers has. of course favre cant play for ever. and in other news the sky is blue and water wet
the packers are 16th over all in team defense and 12th in offense. favre has done more with less
why cant u comprehend that
Charlie, you’re failing to see that the Jets added three main pieces this offseason, not just one. Alan Faneca boosted the o-line. Brett Favre boosted the quarterback position. Kris Jenkins boosted the run defense.
Take one of those pieces out and maybe the Jets are sitting at 5-7 instead of 8-4. Favre has been a significant piece, but he he’s had help. It’s not as easy to say that if the Packers still had Favre, they would be 8-4 right now.
You’re assuming that with Favre under center, the Packers would be playoff bound. What has the run defense shown you this year that would make you believe even with Favre, this is a playoff team? Good teams can consistently do two things: run the ball effectively and stop the run. The Packers haven’t effectively done those things this year and those are two things that Favre would have marginal to no effect on.
I understand that Favre is a great leader and has the ability to boost a team. But he’s only one player. Forget the stats – even with Favre the Packers struggle this year. It’s not the same team as it was last year, period.
“Favre or no Favre, all of the Packers’ defensive numbers are worse this season. They are 27th against the run, 22nd in points allowed. This has nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers.”
To a certain extent, I’ll disagree with you here, John. It does have something to do with AR and the full offense. When offense can’t move the ball – can’t convert on 3rd downs, the defense takes it on the chin.
When offense can dominate and move the ball steadily, any defense will look better. Field position has as much to do with offense as defense.
I’ll also state that teams will play better in front of some players than others. The same team might well play better in front of Favre than it does in front of Rodgers.
I think that’s some part of what’s going on. We lost the heart and soul of the team; it’s silly to think that wouldn’t hurt. Many other things hurt, but I do we took a step backward with Rodgers. He doesn’t have the intangibles, can’t make the reads and adjustments as fast, doesn’t have the full respect of his team yet.
It’s just not realistic to expect a first year starter to do all the things that Favre was still doing well last year and seems to be doing well this year.
Favre/Rodgers is the big shift from last year to this, but what’s done is done.
Hopefully, our GM will pull his head out of his butt and get the O-line squared away. Resolve the O-line issues that have haunted us since Wahle and Rivera left, and many other things will resolve easily enough.
Jeff – thanks for chiming in on this. I don’t ignore the intangibles that Favre brings to the table, but given his “will he or won’t he” retirement dance (particularly what he did in March, when he said he was going to come back and then called it off), and what Rodgers has shown us this season, the Packers made the right call.
If Favre were our QB, the defense still wouldn’t be able to stop anyone. They’d probably miss the playoffs, Favre might (or might not) retire, and Rodgers would sign elsewhere for a shot to start. At least this way we know what we have in Rodgers and we get that 2nd round pick for Favre.
The Packers are 5-8 and they just gave up 549 yards to the Texans. They had Houston pinned at their own 2 yard-line and let them drive down for the winning FG. The defense is the biggest problem with this team.
Arrrgh!!!! I answered you beautifully – it was poetry. Truly, freaking eloquent. All gone. Lost. Took too long and didn’t copy it before I posted. Grrrrr.
I won’t even try to redo it, but before you lay the blame on the defense’s failings, please note that we were 1/10 on 3rd down and only scored points when the D gave us a turnover.
Defense wasn’t so good last year either if I recall, but Favre was able to outscore most of our opponents.
I think Rodgers is our problem, but it’s a problem we should all have been expected. A first year starter playing a tougher schedule with a team that made no real attempt to improve over last year? I’m kinda suprised we’re doing as well as we are.
Rodgers is the problem, but he’s also all the QB we need. He’s answered every question I had of him, and I think he’s doing a great job. He just needs a better O-line to win against this year’s schedule the way Favre won last year.
Now if I can just get our GM to listen to what I’ve been yelling since 2005 and fix the damn O-line, I think we’d do OK. We should be scoring more than 21 points against the doggone Texans.
I think the defense is either one hellfire defensive linemen or two pretty good ones away from doing a good enough job for a good offense to outscore most opponents.
I agree that we were awful on third downs, but there’s no getting past the 549 yards we gave up. All those lucky turnovers were the only reason we were in the game. Look in the article for the rankings to see how much worse the defense is this year. Those rankings are only going to head south once this game’s stats are included.
We might be a fringe playoff team with Favre under center, but we might be worse off too. Especially in the long haul.
It probably makes sense to revisit the title of John’s original post:
“Aaron Rodgers is not to blame for the Packers’ predicament”
Obviously, nobody knows if the Packers would be in the playoffs with Favre under center instead of Rodgers. It’s way too easy to look at the Jets (who are imploding, by the way) and look at the Packers, and conclude that the Favre/Rodgers tradeoff is to blame for Green Bay’s failed season. Instead, John’s initial point is a good one: Rodgers is not to blame. Is he part of the problem? As Jeff pointed out a few comments ago, it would be foolish to think that going from a Hall-of-Fame QB to a first-year starter wouldn’t have some kind of negative effect on the team, regardless of what the stats say. But it’s equally as foolish to ignore all of Green Bay’s other problems and instead lay the blame squarely on Rodgers’ shoulders.
Charlie, you said:
“teams that plan for the future are always saying wait till next year, because they are losers.”
Please. The Packers may very well have saved themselves five or 10 years of misery by securing their future at QB instead of rolling with Favre for another year, losing Rodgers to free agency and searching for another long-term replacement for #4. As a Browns fan, I know first-hand just how far a franchise can be set back by instability at the QB position. Choosing Favre over Rodgers may have cost the Packers a win or two; it also may not have made a lick of difference this season. It was, however, the best decision for the long-term stability of the franchise.
I’m too frustrated with my team to continue this much further. The Favre/Rodgers thing is over and done – for better or worse, Rodgers is our QB. I have some bones to pick with our management over the way it happened, but that’s not really relevent anymore.
Our DBs are getting burned deep waaaay too often. That’s partly experience, partly getting burned on double moves recently and partly because the pass rush is weak.
On the Packers front seven, I’m convinced by Kampman and Pickett. Everybody else needs to step the hell up.
Rodgers is playing about as well as anybody could expect – that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a liability at times or that I don’t fault him for being unable to lead the team effectively when it matters most. Experience will be part of Rodgers’s cure.
The issue is what else do we do about it? Personally, I think our GM needs help drafting linemen. In four years, he hasn’t drafted even one good lineman on offense or defense (could make an argument for Jolly I suppose, but nobody else is even close – I know the draft is a bit of a crap shoot, but not one hit in four years??? C’mon, Ted. Call is some help here.
Continue to draft and develop young guys, but give the team a shot in the arm by bringing in a couple good o-linemen. Go out and find us a Sean Jones type guy to balance Kampman. And fer cat’s sake, smack Justin Harrel over the head with a 2×4. More is expected from first rounders.
This is one frustrated Packer fan – over and out.
Okay I have read the arguement that the Team would be worse with Brett under center over and over in this thread?!?
And I have also seen the Very simple to understand counter arguement being ignored over and over! Its the SAME personel!!!! Only thing different is Brett and Rogers…..
Charlie made a ton of good points, but I put it a bit simpler! MOJO Brett brought that too the team in Spades! Takes me back to high school we has an awesome Freshman team and we couldnt scratch together a win the next year! The was a one player difference and we have a more then capable replacement with just as much athletic talent! Only difference was that the guy we lost was our MOJO our energy type guy he inspired the rest of us to believe that we could win! Sure Rodger’s may be talented….. But you have to recognize the simple fact that Brett Wins!
And that more then anything is the bottom line!!!
“Okay I have read the arguement that the Team would be worse with Brett under center over and over in this thread?!?”
Again…again…again…
No one is arguing that the Packers would be any worse with Favre under center! A lot of us just don’t believe they would be that much better (or better at all). You can talk about his mojo, but in the two years prior to the 13-3 season, Brett guided the Packers to a 4-12 and 8-8 record. Mojo only goes so far when your defense can’t stop anyone.
Jeff – I take no issue with anything you said in your last post. I didn’t like the Harrell pick when TT made it and I don’t like it now. It’s hard to judge a pick in the first couple of years, but that is looking like a wasted pick.
First of all teh packers with bret Favre are a better team hands down. NOt only is familiarity and style there players are not learnign a new quarterback and his swagger. Im from wi i have YET to meet a person in the state who believes whole heartedly the packers made the right decision. The only 3 peopel who tend to believe this work for the packers and may not be for long.Second packers record is easily 8-4 considering the packers have a better team defense then the Jets.Brett Favre hasa way of leading ans as every New Yorker will tell you everyone seems to play better around him. YOu cant buy that kinda leadership. Aaron Rodgers is havinga great rookie year but not th eyear he needed to have to convince anyone th epackers made the right choice. If the bulls told MJ to not come back and we dont want you in chicago after being second in the mvp ranking who would of thought they would of made the right decision. Lets face it The green bay office let personality get infront of what fans and people really want ot seew inning and the face of foot ball where he belonged in green bay. Aaron rodgers has YET to prove he can come back from behind in the 4th quarter as where brett whose better…..and worse. as where aaron has yet to win.
Kristan – You make all sorts of assumptions here with very little to back them up other than your own emotion or gut feeling. There’s no reason to think that Brett Favre under center would do anything to improve the Packers’ 23rd-ranked defense (the Jets are 18th, by the way, so I’m not sure why you think Green Bay’s defense is better). Brett Favre is not magically able to make a mediocre or bad team a good one. For example, prior to last years 13-3 season, the Packers went 4-12 and 8-8. Where were those magic powers during those two years?
His swagger only got him a 12-20 record during those two seasons and everyone was saying he should hang them up. I thought he should keep playing because I didn’t think that his play was the reason that the team was struggling. The same goes for Aaron Rodgers and this Packer team.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — the Packers are marginally better (if at all) with Brett Favre under center. If they’re lucky maybe they’re 7-6. This team would be 8-5 if they could make a field goal at Minnesota and stop the run against Carolina and Houston. In the long term, it was a good move to go with Rodgers because now we know that we have our QB for the next 5-10 years.
Rocks, you are an idiot. Rodgers didn’t play a senior year. As a junior, he was 10-2.
Toby – Great catch. Indeed, Rodgers was 10-2 as a junior then declared for the draft.
Personally, I disagree with John. I think this team would be a good deal better if our GM had managed the off-season better. That said, while I know we’re going to be debating this for decades, Brett is gone for better or worse; it’s done.
Aaron Rodgers has thrown for almost 3200 yards in 13 games with 22 TDs and 11 picks. If he averages a modest 250 yards and 2 TDs, that figures out to 28 TDs and nearly 4000 yards.
That’s an unqualified success for ANY quarterback – much less a first year starter with a weak O-line, a weak rush offense, and getting occasionally weak-ass play calling from his coach.
He’s not Brett Favre, but he’s solid. Let’s fix the rest of the team now, shall we? Add two rock solid O-linemen and one hellfire defensive end, and this team challenges.
If we don’t address the line play, we will remain a mediocre team with excellent wideouts and a pretty darn good QB, and Rodgers will leave the NFL without a shot at a ring.
Does Rodgers have the intangibles of a champ?
http://www.onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/begel120908.html
Make no mistake about it. This is his team. He didn’t necessarily earn it, but the bosses gave it to him, so it’s his team. Rodgers now is the quarterback of a team with a 5-8 record. He has great stats. After signing his huge contract Oct. 31, he proceeded to lose five of his next six games. The hints were present when Rodgers was in college. We will never forget that draft day when Rodgers, who some people had talked about being the first overall pick in the draft, slipped all the way to Green Bay at No. 26. Could all of those general managers have been wrong?
There are concrete things to worry about with Rodgers. He doesn’t seem willing to stay in the pocket and work his way through his receivers. He’d rather take off and either run or throw on the run. He’s made some bad throws at moments that demanded a good throw. People say he’s got happy feet, a little too jumpy for a top-flight quarterback.
Don’t scoff. Football, more than almost any game, depends on a measure of inspiration for success. You can tell things about an athlete by watching carefully. And when I look closely at Rodgers, I see an ability to play but no ability to inspire beyond the expected. And if that’s the case, this team better start looking for another quarterback right now.
New Code Word For “Favre”
http://www.620wtmj.com/shows/genemueller/35796204.html
There’s a new trend in Packerland–and not the one that involves the team blowing close, winnable games. There’s something happening in the airwaves, in bar rooms, in man caves and anywhere else the Packers plight comes up. The word that’s popping up more and more as fans try explaining the team’s travails is “leadership”, as in, “I just don’t see the leadership on the field that I used to see.”
It’s not a slam on Coach Mike McCarthy. It’s a euphemism for, “Brett Favre”. Those who invoke the word “leadership” are more often that not trying to say that, with Number Four still in Green Bay, the Packers would be turning these gut wrenching losses into victories, just by virtue of the fact that he would will Green Bay to a “w” through his force, persistence, grittiness, attitude and ability to get the best out of his teammates.
I heard it over and over again Monday night, during the Sports Central Huddle with Bill Michaels and Wayne Larrivee as fans tried to pin down what was wrong.
Packers’ air attack brought to earth
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/35693884.html
The Houston Texans might not scare anyone on defense but at least they had a plan at Lambeau Field. “Stop the run and let Aaron Rodgers beat us,” cornerback Dunta Robinson said after the Texans beat the Green Bay Packers, 24-21, Sunday. A lot of teams have tried to play the Packers the other way around. That is, keep the safeties back to defend Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, and let Ryan Grant try to beat them. The Packers knew what Texans defensive coordinator Richard Smith would do but in the end were unable to defeat it.
Such strategy, acknowledged Philbin, often left cornerbacks Jacques Reeves, Robinson and Fred Bennett on islands against Green Bay’s wide receivers. Reeves is a marginal starter whom the Packers worked over last year when he played for Dallas. Robinson is just back from a serious knee injury and isn’t the same player he was. And Bennett lost his starting job. Driver said it was clear from the way the game was played that the Texans couldn’t cover him and Jennings.
Rodgers did pass for 295 yards but admitted that he didn’t play well. Given the proliferation of man-to-man coverage and the low caliber of the opposition, this was a day in which the Packers might have passed – and, as it turned out, needed to – for Drew Brees-like numbers. On his first opportunity, Rodgers overthrew an open Jennings, who was behind Reeves on a takeoff route. According to Philbin, there was miscommunication between passer and receiver on the play. In all, Rodgers completed two of nine third-down passes for 13 yards.
Was Rodgers telegraphing his third-down passes? “A couple of times he did today,” Bennett said. “The guys on the back side said they could tell where the ball was going so they were able to break on the ball and make some plays.”
Okay, so the run defense dooms the Packers in three losses, Rodgers does it in one and now everything is even? If Houston doesn’t hand Green Bay’s defense two gifts inside the red zone, they the Packers get blown out. But let’s put everything (or at least most everything) on Rodgers.
If you want to blame one guy for a 5-8 season, then I’m blaming Favre for ALL of the Jets’ losses this year. Yep, he was the reason they lost to the Chargers earlier this year, he couldn’t beat Oakland and where was his mojo against the Broncos and 49ers the past two weeks?
Oh wait, does his mojo only work in Green Bay? I’m not familiar with how far Brett’s mojo carries. Maybe it only exists in Green Bay and I’m just not understanding the rules.
If the Jets don’t make the playoffs this year, I better hear everyone saying it was Brett Favre’s fault and not a collection of things. I don’t want to hear about the defense or anything else – I want it all on Brett Favre.
IT’S A TEAM GAME!!!
Charlie –
You seem to think if you throw enough of somebody else’s dung at the wall, something’s gonna stick.
He was drafted 24th – not 26th. We took Javon Walker and Justin Harrell a good deal higher, and look how great that turned out. Hell we took Hawk at #5, and after three years as a starter, he’s still merely an adequate linebacker. Maybe you’d be happier with Alex Smith, Cedric Benson, or Adam Jones, Troy Williamson, or Mike Williams – all top ten picks from that year.
Happy feet – if you’d played in that Minnesota game, you’d have happy feet too. Solidify the O-line and Rodgers will settle in just fine.
No ability to inspire? He’s stepping in for a freaking legend after all the BS this off-season. Give the kid a year in the driver’s seat before you doom his ass. Call this my answer to the leadership question too. He’s not a prodigy is first year out – no shit. Not many are. Many young QBs drafted higher than Rodgers haven’t kicked the league’s ass their first year out either. If you ask me, Eli Manning looked like an also-ran until last year too – until he got a real running game, and his defense could actually generate pressure.
The Texans wanted to stop the run, eh? Did you miss the part where they gave up 104 yards to Grant who averaged 5.5 yards a carry? And Rodgers DID throw for Drew Brees-like numbers against Houston.
We couldn’t convert on third down, couldn’t get it in the end zone when we had the chance, and yeah, some of that falls on our first year starting QB. It also falls on crappy play calling, poor pass protection, and dumbass penalties.
You’re gonna make a Rodgers fan out of me yet, Charlie.
well jeff im just showing u what knowledgeable sport reporters are saying, if u want to be a rogers fan be my guest. its ur problem. i am merely showing farve covered up a multiple of sins and tradeing him was just the beginning of the collapse of this team.
that trade told team and fans that packer management was not committed to winning. and that is now coming to pass.
i beleive history will show this trade to rank up there with dan devines trade for john hadl being as equally poor
i know its the run defense. but you see when u convert 3rd downs u get to keep the ball. (read offensive woes)thus keeping ur weak defense off the feild. its called ball control. if ur good enough to score and get a lead u take the other teams running game away forceing them to pass further helping ur defense. thats how a good qb helps a weak defense.
all this talk of the future is ridiculous. during training all anybody heard was the pack was a lock for the super bowl. now tey will be lucky to beat detroit.
13-3 t0 5-11 or 6-10. the jets dont have to make the playoff to show they got the better of the deal. theve doubled their wins while the packers have tripled their loses
Where was Favre’s ability to cover up a “multiple of sins” (it’s actually “multitude of sins”) when the Packers went 4-12 and 8-8 and missed the playoffs? I was frustrated by the Packer offense plenty of times during those two seasons and Favre was the QB. But I didn’t put all the blame on him because I understand that football is a team game.
The Jets don’t have to make the playoffs to show they got the better end of the deal? The Jets didn’t trade for a quarterback well into his 30’s (for possibly only one year mind you) to go 9-7 and miss the playoffs. What would have been the point?
No, the Jets have to make the playoffs. Several people on this discussion thread have essentially said that Brett’s mojo and leadership can heal broken bones, lift curses and solve global warming. And if it can do all of that, than it damn well better get the Jets into the playoffs or else this argument that the Jets got the better end of the deal is moot. (Especially if he hangs it up after the year.)
Charlie – You brought up third down percentage… The 2008 Packers have converted 42% of their third down opportunities. The 2005 (4-12) Packers converted 41% of their third downs. The 2006 (8-8) Packers converted 39% of their third downs. The 2007 (13-3) Packers converted 43% of their third downs. It’s all right there at NFL.com under “team stats.”
So this really has very little to do with how poorly the run defense is playing.
Charlie,
My point was that a number of your sources were dead wrong on the facts – so much for sports reporters.
Be a fan of whomever you want, Favre was leaving. If not last year, this year. We were going to have to find a new QB at some point. Management decided to make the jump this year when Favre didn’t respond to their management methods –
I do think their management methods suck, and if Ted didn’t have his head up his ass, Favre would have been back in Green Bay, but that’s no longer the point. It’s done, and we have to fix the team we have rather than sit around and grouse about the QB we lost.
John Hadl? The Hadl trade cost us massive draft picks and hurt the team for years. The Favre trade will net us a draft pick and it only cost us a one year downgrade at QB. We can debate this year, but Rodgers next year will certainly be a better option than a 40 year old Favre.
I’ll say it again. Rodgers is a more than adequate QB and will be for the next ten years if he remains healthy. Maybe he won’t be a superstar, but he gets the job done better than most QBs in the NFL. There aren’t more than a few I’d rather see at the helm than Rodgers.
Now . . . to remedy the team we have . . .
Fix the o-line.
Give the d-line a talent boost.
Get the anchors out of the special teams pants.
Certainly some folks would like to head that list with dumping Ted and Coach Mike. I’m game if somebody better is available.
Well i live in wisconsin soo you know i love the packers but i just think the defense needs to learn how to tackle. go for the legs not the shoulders they cant run if they don have there feet. and as for rodgers i think he gets nervous in the 4th quarter comebacks because hes trying to be the so called hero that brett favre was. i just think we shut down in the fourth. and thats when we really need to play. and i think a.j. hawk is a great line backer just not in the middle or maybe its just because he hasnt played that position since HIGH SCHOOL. you cant really pick out a certain area that isnt playing good. as a TEAM they just arent doing the job.
I have been following closely to the Jets and Packers as most fans have for this season. I must admit, Rodgers is good. The team, eh’ not so much. Their defense is suspect as they cannot get any pressure on the opposing QB, causing coverage breakdown and thus, easy scores (Drew Brees). I actually googled nfl stats and I was shocked to see Rodger’s numbers vs. Favre’s numbers. Rodger’s has better stats in every major category. The numbers don’t lie.
The Jets are good not only because of Favre, but because of other major contributors. They’ve gone out and spent a lot of money on Faneca, Pace, and other free agents. The funny thing is, Pennington has a higher QB rating in Miami than Favre does in New York.
The verdict? The packers may have not of handled the situation correctly with Favre, but they have made the right choice. Now they just need to get a legit running game (Grant is over-rated), a pass rusher on the opposite side of Kampman to help him out, and a run-stopping DT to engulf the middle.
I’ll throw in my $0.02, and I’ll do so with a little analogy. I’m an avid poker players. As such, I’ve learned to perfect my game and get rid of all my weaknesses. In poker, this is called “plugging leaks”. The more leaks, you have the more ways your opponents can find to exploit those weaknesses and beat you. This is what people mean when they say that “bad teams always find a way to lose”. they do because they have many weaknesses for their opponents to exploit. That is what is happening to the Packers this years. They have many leaks in their game and didn’t plug a single one as the year went by. And like the saying goes, when it’s not one thing, it’s the other.
– Mediocre pass rush.
– Mediocre run defense.
– Giving out big pass plays.
– Defensive scheme that disregards some players’ abilities.
– Passive and inopportune offensive play calling in the red zone.
– Poor running.
– Mediocre run blocking.
– QB picks.
– QB holding on to the ball.
– Mediocre special team coverage.
– Crosby not making clutch FGs.
– Miscommunications.
– Poor execution.
– Injuries
– Lack of roster depth
Now those deficiencies don’t necessarily appear all the time, and you will sea the team not exhibit some of them periodically and perform well in those same areas. But as mentioned earlier, when it’s not one thing, it’s the other. The 2008 Packers have consistently allowed their opponents to beat them by exploiting some of those weaknesses. Too many leaks. The opposite is the famous: “too many weapons”. Even worse is that the Packers have always allowed their opponents to exploit those deficiencies at the worst time possible (Read:in the clutch). How many close losses? How many last-minute big pass plays allowed, INTs thrown, big kick returns surrendered?
You get the point.
Given the explanation above, and to get back to the article’s main subject, I think it is foolish, and downright a misguided opinion, to believe that Aaron Rodgers is to blame for the poor 2008 campaign. Does he have his share of responsibilities? Of course. They are listed above. However as others have mentioned, most of the losses have been team “efforts”. What people like to do is argue over WHICH leak is more damaging than the other. some blame Rodgers for throwing picks at the worst time, others poor run defense, or poor running game, bad kicks, bad special team play, bad play calling, too many injuries, lack of talent from the second strings etc etc. The truth, in my opinion, is that most weaknesses are connected and that one leads to another e.g. inability to score TDs in the red zone when the times comes to put the game away leads to weak leads and to big plays surrendered by the defense in the last few minutes,, which in turns makes Rodgers try too hard to score quick and throw game-ending interceptions.
The Packers have precisely failed at putting games away when they had a chance, may it be on offense, defense or special team. That’s what coaches refer to when they talk about failing to grab opportunities. They just can NOT build enough momentum and get over that hump, always allowing their opponents to stay in the game one way or the other. In those cases, the mental aspect usually as important as the physical. As much is coach McCarthy deflects questions about morale and meta-game matters, it just is common sense that those be weighing on the players’ morale. I think some players’ interviews have already shown that. The Packers are on a downwards momentum. Much harder to get over that hump in those situations.
As for Brett Favre, I can’t know for sure how the Packers would have performed with him under center, and neither do you. We all have an idea – let’s just leave it at that and focus on what we have and all the things we need to work on, because rest assured that there are many leaks for the Packers to plug.
Good post, Gregory.
I was sitting there watching the Bears game with my mother-in-law (who is a big Bears fan, apparently) and when the Packers got the ball with 9:36 to play, up by a TD, I told her that this was the “put away” drive that the Packers had struggled with all year. If they drive the ball down the field, eat up four or five minutes of game clock and put points on the board, they make things really tough on the Bears. Instead, we get a Ryan Grant 3-yard run, a Ryan Grant minus-6-yard run and an incomplete pass.
It seems like Green Bay has been really conservative on first and second down when they have a 4- to 7-point lead in the fourth quarter. The offense rarely drives down the field and puts the game away, and it’s frustrating as hell. I think this has more to do with the play-calling than Rodgers’ performance in these situations.
Boy, I just reread my post and the punctuation and grammar are terrible (what can I say, even though English isn’t my first language, I am a perfectionist). Anyways, the list of leaks above isn’t exhaustive. I thought of a few more. Here is a good article I read today:
Robin Williams needs to throw his arms around Aaron Rodgers and tell him “it’s not your fault” over and over again until the pain of 2008 subsides.
Rodgers has thrown 25 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and posted a 91.4 QB rating. In the red zone he has thrown 17 TDs and zero picks, posting a 105.5 rating. But there’s no getting around the fact that a team that went 13-3 last year with Brett Favre at the helm has 10 losses heading into Week 17.
If it’s not Rodgers’ fault, who or what is to blame for the Pack’s 1-7 record in its last eight games?
The defense has been decimated by injuries, the schedule has been brutal and lady luck has been taunting them on a weekly basis.
Green Bay lost corner Al Harris and defensive end Cullen Jenkins to injuries in September and linebacker Nick Barnett went down in early November, which helps explain how the Pack were strafed for 110 points in one leaky three-game stretch.
On Oct. 19 the Packers beat the Colts to head into their bye week at 4-3. November would feature games at Tennessee, Minnesota and New Orleans. Those three teams are a combined 17-4 at home this season (the Saints also won a “home” game in London).
The Packers lost in OT at Tennessee and by a point in Minny when Mason Crosby’s last-second field goal attempt scraped wide.
After the defense was humiliated in the Superdome in a 51-29 loss, the Pack came home to lose a 35-31 heartbreaker to a Carolina team that was in the midst of winning seven out of eight games. Even the Texans, who would beat Green Bay the following week, were in the midst of a four-game winning streak. The Packers just seemed to have a season-long knack for catching everybody at their hottest.
A blocked field goal in Chicago — in a game Green Bay dominated — led to loss No. 10. That game was a perfect microcosm of the Packers’ season. Rodgers played very well in sub-zero conditions. The Packers had 325 total yards to the Bears’ 210. The Packers led by 11 in the second half. The Packers lost.
Like John, I believe that the play-calling needs to be addressed. I can’t remember who the opponent was that day, but McCarthy called three runs on the goal line at the end of the game. At the light of Rodgers’s stats in the end zone, it’s not only a head-scratcher, it’s also a WTF moment for Packers nation. Not only that, but on third down, the ball was handed to the FB. HUH?? Seriously what the heck are they thinking? The only way I call that play on third down is if I am willing to go for it on fourth and goal in case it fails. And McCarthy didn’t learn as he called a FB run on fourth down that got stuffed again just last week. Anyways, the Packers have many leaks to plug, and that includes coaching.
I will differ with you, Gregory, in two places. First – same coach as last year using virtually the same offense and play calling. If anything, the offense should be a little better with another year of experience behind guys like John Kuhn, Darryn Colldge and Jason Spitz. Second – we do have a pretty good idea how Favre would have performed under center. He’s a known quantity after all these years.
In a few situations where we were losing, there would have been more interceptions as Favre tried to force things and make things happen. Some games would have been lost by larger margins.
In other situations, plays would have been changed at the line to shift into more advantageous situations and a small number of additional first downs and touchdowns would have been scored especially against lesser opponents like the Bears, Falcons, Vi-Queens and Texans.
What we can not know is what the results would have been. Personally (and because I like poking John through the bars . . . ), I think it reasonable to hope the Packers would have won those games finishing 10-6 instead of maybe 6-10, but lacking considerable help on both the offensive and defensive line, there’s no way this team goes anywhere in the playoffs.
Last year was Brett Favre’s masterpiece. At the age of 38 to lead that team to the NFC Championship game and battle the future Super Bowl champs to a virtual standstill was an amazing accomplishment, and I think the Packers performance this year is a fairly good lens through which we can appreciate just how good Favre was at times last year.
But all this is neither here nor there. This year’s team isn’t getting it done, so what do we do? If there are proven winners out there to be hired at DCoordinator, Secondary and Special Teams coach, I say go get ’em. Get a d-lineman in free agency and draft one high. Get O-line help however you can. I want our GM to put as much effort into the lines as he did with our wideouts.
It is true that the head coach and defensive coordinator as last year. However there is more to consider. I have a feeling that, just in trying to gauge how Favre would have in green and gold this year, people just claim that, well, so-and-so is usually this good, so that’s not the problem. In my opinion, that’s not the reality of things. Everyone, from coaches to players, can have a bad year, and we have seen bad play-calls from McCarthy this year that I didn’t see last year. Coaches, like players, are not impervious to having a bad year. I feel that this year, Sanders does not into account his starters’ abilities (or lack thereof) when calling coverages. Of course, this is not only a coaching issues as on-field execution is in my opinion even more to blame for the Packers’ woes in 2008. However those quick assumptions about how good or bad a coach is (or has become) leads on one end to not addressing all the issues on the table, and on the other to those quick firings professional sports are known for. It is a coincidence that some quality coaches who keep coaching the same go through a few bad or so-so seasons before winning again? Is it a coincidence that others, who get fired from a team after a couple of bad seasons, move on to another franchise and start winning again? some would like to think that it is only a bad personnel issue, but we also have seen cases of teams taken over by new coaches turn around with little to no roster change. Other teams’ rosters remain mainly unchanged from one year to the other and start winning under the same coach. If anything, all this probably shows that performance issues can be blamed on the coaches and the players. But it also shows that coaches are not immune to under-performing.
In the NFL the line between 10-6 and 6-10 is razor thin. We see teams that couldn’t do anything the year before catch a break here, get an easy schedule there and all of a sudden they’re in the playoffs. It’s true that if you throw Favre under center that the Packers might have gone 10-6. Then again, if we start the season over, Rodgers might have gone 10-6. Just look at all the close games…
Week 5: 3-point loss to ATL
Week 9: 3-point OT loss to TEN
Week 10: 1-point loss to MIN
Week 13: 4-point loss to CAR
Week 14: 3-point loss to HOU
Week 15: 4-point loss to JAX
Week 16: 3-point OT loss to CHI
Other than a 5-point win against MIN in Week 1, the Packers don’t have another close win this season. They are 0-7 in games decided by 4 points or less.
Against the Falcons, Rodgers cut the lead to 3 with a TD pass to Lee. GB tries an onside kick with 1:56 to play, it fails. Packers need a stop, but three Michael Turner rushes later, there’s a first down and the game is over. If the Packer rush defense gets a stop there, GB has a chance. (Rodgers’ line: 313 yards, 3 TD, INT)
Against the Titans, the GB defense allowed a nine-play drive a the end of regulation (that started from the Tennessee 8-yard line) which endd in a missed Rob Bironas FG. TEN won the coin flip in OT and went on 10-play drive that ended in a game-winning Bironas FG. (Rodgers’ line: 314 yards, TD, INT)
Against the Vikings, after a relatively quiet game, Rodgers throws a 19-yard strike to Donald Driver with 2:15 to play. GB gets very conservative (2 runs, 1 short pass) and Mason Crosby misses a 52-yard game-winning field goal. (Rodgers’ line: 142 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT)
Against the Panthers, with the game tied and 11:10 remaining, Rodgers engineers a 14-play drive that eats up 9:10 and ends in a 19-yard go-ahead FG. On the ensuing kick, the kickoff team gives up a 45-yard return. Then the defense gives up a 54-yard bomb to Steve Smith. On the next play, DeAngelo Williams scores his fourth TD to give the Panthers the lead. Rodgers was picked off on the next drive, but realistically, GB’s last drive should have been the game-winning drive. (Rodgers’ line: 298 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT)
Against the Texans, with the game tied, GB took over on their own 16-yard line with 4:37 to play. Rodgers hooks up with Driver on a 59-yard bomb. With the ball on the HOU 25, Moll is called for a phantom holding call and Rodgers is sacked on the subsequent play, pushing the Packers out of field goal range. GB is forced to punt and HOU takes over on their own 3 yard-line with 1:49 to play. They go on a nine-play drive (helped by the Packers’ two timeouts) that ends in a 40-yard game-winning field goal. (Rodgers’ line: 295 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT)
Against the Jaguars, Rodgers orchestrates an 8-play drive that starts at GB’s 26 yard-line which puts Crosby in position for the go-ahead FG with 5:40 to play. On the next possession, the Jags go on a 6-play 80-yard drive for the go-ahead TD. On the next drive, Rodgers is picked off trying to get the ball to Lee. (Rodgers’ line: 278 yards, TD, INT)
Against the Bears, and up by a TD, the Packers give up an 8-play drive (which features a Matt Forte 28-yard run) that ends in the game-tying TD with 3:16 to play. On the next possession, the Packers get a nice return and a Bears’ horse-collar penalty to take over on the CHI 35 yard line. On a third-and-8, Rodgers throws a strike to James Jones (great catch) to set up a game-winning 38-yard FG attempt. The kick is blocked, the Bears win the coin toss in OT, and the Packers give up a long return + penalty to set the Bears up at the GB 35 yard line. Seven plays later, Gould ends the game with his own 38-yard field goal. (Rodgers’ line: 260 yards, 2 TD, INT)
Should Rodgers have played better in certain situations? Sure, but he’s a QB in his first year as a starter and given his 271-yard, 1.7-TD, 0.9-INT average in these seven losses, I’d say on the whole he played pretty well.
The notion that Favre would have magically turned this team into a legit contender is just that, a notion. Where was that magic when Favre led bad Packer teams to 4-12 and 8-8 in 2005 and 2006? In each of these games the defense and/or special teams gave up key plays/returns in the fourth quarter to set the opposition up for game-winning drives/scores. Crosby missed two game-winning FGs and GB lost the coin flip in both overtime games.
A few breaks here or there and this team is fighting for the NFC North title in Week 17. Still, they wouldn’t go anywhere in the playoffs until the rush defense is addressed. The O-line and special teams need work as well.
Well, the Jets are going to miss the playoffs. They went 1-4 over their last 5 games after beating the Titans in Week 12. Favre threw just two TD versus nine INT over those last five games.
I’m a little sad that the Packers won’t get a second round pick as part of the Favre trade since the Jets missed the playoffs, but maybe it will put some of this Favre-would-have-led-the-Packers-to-the-playoffs talk to bed.
Green Bay made the right decision to trade Favre. Now it’s time to button up a few of these holes.
You don’t disappoint, gents, but you went the long way around the barn to essentially agree with me.
There’s nothing magical about thinking Favre’s experience and aggressiveness might well have been the difference between being in the playoffs and struggling to finish 6-10. Confidence and leadership mean something, but it’s as irrelevent as anything else at this point.
You’re just working way to hard to prove a moot point, John, and you’ve proven no more than I have. In the 4-12 and 8-8 seasons, how many games would Rodgers have won behind center those years?
I think it’s likely our draft order would have been considerably higher and we’d have had a good chance of breaking a young QB’s confidence before he even had a shot.
Those two seasons were Favre’s gift to Rodgers, and I think it’s a pity folks use them as a club to bash Favre.
Sorry to pre-empt you by continuing the foolishness. I’m done.
Jeff – Despite your pre-empting and this notion about me going a long way to essentially agree with you (when we essentially agreed in the first place), I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to bash Favre. Hell, he’s my favorite player of all time. But to say that this team is without a doubt a playoff team with him under center is ridiculous. That’s the contention that a few of the people who commented were trying to make. Maybe they’d be a little better, maybe they’d be worse and I said as much in the original piece…
“So if Favre were still in Green Bay, the team would probably be 5-7, or 6-6, or maybe even 4-8.”
There are a number of holes on this team and Rodgers’ lack of come-from-behind play is just one of them. All in all, if you would have told me in September that Rodgers was going to have this kind of statistical season, I would have been thrilled. I also would have expected it would have resulted in more wins, but there you have it.
I would have loved it if the Packers could have won the North and made the playoffs, but they didn’t catch any breaks and didn’t make those breaks themselves. That said, I am comfortable in my belief that the Packers made the right decision (albeit in a fairly ugly way) when they traded away Favre and hitched their wagon to Rodgers.
Good draft position…third place schedule…an extra third round pick…two guaranteed wins against the Lions…this team will make some noise next season.
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