Listen in as Anthony Stalter and I discuss how it’s wrong to blame Aaron Rodgers for all that has gone wrong with the Green Bay Packers this season, how Clinton Portis’ outburst affects his prospects this week, and what to expect from the Cowboys/Giants tilt this Sunday. I’ll also throw out a few QB sleepers for fantasy owners in need.
Tag: Aaron Rodgers (Page 28 of 35)
Jets’ wide receiver Laveranues Coles took the opportunity to fire back at the media and everyone else who suggests the team’s turnaround this season has been all because of Brett Favre:
Jets’ WR Laveranues Coles took a couple of shots at QB Brett Favre leading up to today’s game vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Coles’ comments appear on a couple of San Francisco Bay-area web sites this morning and are getting some play on WFAN radio.
In an item on sfgate.com titled ‘Coles not a big Favre fan’, the veteran Jets’ receiver says the Jets’ offense is basically dictated by Favre and that passes delivered by Favre don’t come in any harder than the football-throwing machines the Jets use in practice:
“Day in and day out, I catch balls from the Jugs machine. It probably comes out there harder from there than it does anywhere else,” Coles said. “So there’s nothing different about (catching passes from Favre).”
InsideBayArea.com has another item on Coles, saying that Favre gets too much credit for the team’s success:
“If you understand the game, you understand that it’s more than just Brett Favre in dealing with this ballclub,” Coles said. “Of course, he’s the big name. He’s the (future) Hall of Famer and he’s going to get the majority of the credit. But most of the guys who deserve the credit don’t really get it.”
This is interesting because there’s an on-going debate right now in the comments section of John Paulsen’s latest column regarding whether or not the Packers would be better off with Favre under enter this season than Aaron Rodgers.
Here’s the thing, Brett Favre is only one player. He’s one hell of a player, but he’s only one player. The Jets added a couple of significant pieces this offseason and Favre was only one of those pieces. Alan Faneca has boosted the play of the offensive line, which has led to a bounce back year by running back Thomas Jones, which has aided Favre’s transition from Green Bay to New York. Kris Jenkins was also brought in to boost the run defense, which had been a major weakness until this season.
One player doesn’t make a team and while Coles sounds a little bitter that he’s not receiving the same love as Favre is, that’s just the way it goes. The media loves to praise a quarterback when a team wins and throw them directly under the bus when a team loses. If the Jets continue to implode, then everyone can rest assured that Brett’s going to come under some scrutiny.
Sunday’s Best: Cowboys (8-4) at Steelers (9-3), 4:15 PM ET FOX
The Cowboys are fighting for their playoff lives while the Steelers are trying to stay ahead of the surprising Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. Dallas could be without running back Marion Barber (toe injury), which would be a massive blow going against the best defenses in the league. If the ‘Boys can’t run the ball, expect Dick Lebeau to dial up plenty of blitzes to force quarterback Tony Romo into mistakes. This essentially is a must-win for the Cowboys, who would be left on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today. A loss coupled with a Falcons win over the Saints and the Cowboys would need some help the rest of the way, with a remaining schedule that looks like this: vs. Giants, vs. Ravens, at Eagles. The Steelers, meanwhile, should be at full strength as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Willie Parker are expected to play. We’ll see what the Cowboys are made of come 4:00 o’clock on Sunday. Steelers are a currently a 3-point favorite.
Upset Watch: Texans (5-7) at Packers (5-7), 1:00 PM ET CBS
Houston welcomes back quarterback Matt Schaub this week but he’s not the reason they could pull off a decent-sized upset in Week 14. Rookie running back Steve Slaton is. Slaton is coming off a 130-yard effort against the Jaguars on Monday night and racked up 156 yards three weeks ago against the Colts. Considering the Packers are allowing a whopping 141.2 yards a game on the ground this year, Slaton could be set up for another huge day. The Texans will need to find a way to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers, however, or else it’s going to be tough to win at Lambeau. The Texans’ pass defense is improving, but Rodgers and company are averaging 228.9 passing yards a game and could find success against a young Houston secondary. If the Texans don’t win outright, I say they cover the 6-point spread.
Intriguing Matchup: Vikings (7-5) at Lions (0-12), 1:00 PM ET FOX
There’s nothing intriguing about the winless Detroit Lions, but what is interesting is whether or not Kevin and Pat Williams will play for the Vikings. Minnesota needs a victory to stay at least one-game ahead of the Bears and Packers in the division, but without their interior defensive line, even the Lions are capable of finding some running room. The league suspended the Williamses on Tuesday morning, but a court ruling could change all that and allow the two mammoth d-tackles to play. If they don’t, could Detroit get its first win and turn the NFC North upside down yet again? Can Gus Frerotte keep this team afloat if the defense loses two key players?
Other notable games:
Eagles (6-5-1) at Giants (11-1), 1:00 PM ET FOX
Philly will try and keep its slim playoff hopes alive, while a win would crown the G-Men as NFC East champions and get them one step closer to claiming home field advantage throughout the postseason.
Redskins (7-5) at Ravens (8-4), 8:15 PM ET FOX
This Sunday night matchup is a great one. Both teams desperately need a win to stay within reach of a playoff berth. A loss for the ‘Skins could essentially knock them out of the postseason race.
Buccaneers (9-3) at Panthers (9-3), 8:30 PM ET ESPN
Finally a great Monday Night Football matchup after weeks of utter crap. The winner takes a one-game lead in the NFC South and holds an edge for the second spot in the NFC playoff picture, while the loser gets tossed into the Wild Card mix.
Falcons (8-4) at Saints (6-6), 1:00 PM ET FOX
Atlanta has been a nice story this year, but it can’t relax now. A win would go a long way in securing a playoff spot for the Falcons, who finish with a possibly depleted Vikings and a hapless Rams team in their final two games.
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.
4th and 26 ranks the top five worst offseason NFL moves of 2008.
1 – The Green Bay Packers trading Brett Favre to the New York Jets. Imagine if your favorite team was 1 game away from the championship and traded away their franchise quarterback the following season? I can’t even begin to fathom how frustrating and depressing it must be to be a Green Bay Packers this season. One game away never looked so far.
The Packers are at 5-7 and for all practical arguments, out of the playoff hunt. At the same time last year the Packers were 10-2. What is the biggest difference between this season and last season? Of course the quarterback would be the biggest difference between both seasons. It certainly isn’t fair to put it all on Aaron Rodgers, but it is hard not to do so when Rodgers is following a legend.
Brett Favre hasn’t had the same offensive year this year as he had last year by the numbers. However, the acquisition of Favre has by no coincidence made the Jets one of the top favorites to win the AFC at this point in the season. Favre may not have the arm that Rodgers has, but he has experience. Favre was the unquestioned leader of the Packers and a team without a leader is due to fail.The Packers just can’t seem to get any momentum this season. The Packers are missing that spark that #4 gave them every game day. The old man had plenty left to give and unfortunately for Packers fans, he is giving it to someone else. All good things must come to an end in the NFL, but now was not the time for the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers will go down as not only making one of the worst moves of the year, but maybe one of the worst moves in NFL history.
This was the worst offseason move in 2008? Sucka what? Yes, Favre has lifted the Jets this season, but the reason why the Packers are losing has little to do with Aaron Rodgers. They’re losing because they can’t stop the run, don’t generate a consistent pass rush and didn’t have much of a running game for the first half of the season. Rodgers has thrown for 2,897 yards, 20 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and has a QB rating of 91.2. Favre’s thrown for 2,708 yards, 20 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and has a QB rating of 90.4.
The difference is that Jet Favre had a defense last year in Green Bay. Rodgers doesn’t.
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