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Aaron Rodgers article


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McCarthy believes in Rodgers

 

By TOM SILVERSTEIN

tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com

 

Posted: April 2, 2008

 

Palm Beach, Fla - It's a bit of a stretch to think that Aaron Rodgers can take over the Green Bay Packers offense and be the quarterback Brett Favre was last season when he posted the third best passer rating of his 17-year career.

 

But as far as coach Mike McCarthy is concerned, athletically Rodgers can fill Favre's shoes and do all the things his predecessor did in the West Coast offense.

 

"Aaron's extremely athletic," McCarthy said. "I've said this before, I did not evaluate him properly in the movement phase of quarterback play when he came out of college. I did not see the athletic ability at Cal-Berkeley that I've been able to witness since we've worked together since my arrival here.

 

"He's done a better job with his body. He's a lot leaner. There's not anything from a physical standpoint that Aaron Rodgers won't be able to do."

 

Now that doesn't mean Rodgers will play with the intuitiveness and natural leadership that Favre displayed in the latter years of his career, and it certainly doesn't mean he'll display the durability the Packers' ironman did for 16 years in Green Bay.

 

There simply are intangibles Favre brought to the offense that Rodgers won't be able to duplicate right away. But McCarthy's aim is to put him into position to succeed on the merits of his own abilities, some of which mirror Favre's and some of which don't.

 

It's hard to imagine Rodgers ever throwing the slant with the steam and accuracy Favre has over the years. There probably isn't a quarterback in the game who throws it as well as Favre did, so McCarthy will have to accept that play might not be as effective.

 

McCarthy's task will be to tap into Rodgers' strengths.

 

"I think our offense will be very similar to last year's approach," McCarthy said. "When you look at the quarterbacks, both of them can make any throw in the book. I think Aaron has a top-level arm in the NFL. There's not a throw that I would not be comfortable with him making. From that approach it gives us the ability to be aggressive downfield, but the core philosophy of three-step, quarterback movement, all that will be intact. None of that will change."

 

The difference could be in the number of deep balls the Packers throw. Favre was not a good deep-ball passer through most of his career but started having more success last year after working on it on a daily basis in practice. Rodgers has a much more natural delivery and softer touch and feels very comfortable throwing fade routes.

 

That's one area where the offense may change some.

 

"Brett had one of his better years I felt throwing the football deep," McCarthy said. "And I think that's a tribute to him and (quarterbacks coach) Tom (Clements) and Aaron that they worked on it every Wednesday and Thursday during the special teams (period)."

 

Favre's ability to throw the 15-yard out - save for his final throw in the NFC Championship Game loss to the New York Giants - was a strength. Any pass that required the ball to be delivered on a line was one Favre could make either from the pocket or on the run.

 

Rodgers still has to prove he can make those throws. Part of his success will depend on how well he reads defenses and anticipates changes in coverage. McCarthy gave Favre some leeway to change run plays to pass plays and vice versa, and Favre was generally successful in making the right choice based on the defense he saw.

 

"That will be the same," McCarthy said of the calls at the line of scrimmage. "Those are all things we do from the first day we get together. It all starts with the run game. We have two-way options. We refer to them as box rules that have three- and four-way options. Those are things that I've been doing for years."

 

When he first arrived in Green Bay, Rodgers did not throw the ball as hard as he does now. He was known for his accuracy and tight spiral, but he needed more strength in his legs to get the snap on his throws necessary to play in the NFL.

 

Over the past two seasons, Rodgers has worked hard to reduce his body fat and build up his strength and the work continues currently in McCarthy's off-season quarterback school. An aspect of Rodgers' game that McCarthy would like to explore more is his ability to get out of the pocket and buy himself time.

 

In his brief relief appearance against Dallas last November and in a solid game against Pittsburgh during the exhibition season, Rodgers used his legs to get first downs. McCarthy has a package of bootleg and sprint-out plays that he could use with Rodgers, but much of it depends on whether the Packers can sell a play-action fake with their running game.

 

"The thing that was a constant conversation with Brett and I was more movement, more movement passes," McCarthy said. "I've had an opportunity to look at those in the cut-ups. There's reason to do more of that. To me, your offense, everything you do in the passing game, particularly the action, is based on how you run the football.

 

"Not having as many movement plays as we did, looking back probably had a lot to do with how we ran the ball early in the year. That will answer itself."

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As a first round QB, behind Favre for as long as he was, Rodgers is the most prepared and promising of 'new' QBs. It won't hurt him that the Packers refound their running game last season.

 

I would swing a shot at him as my QB2 (back-up), or grab him ahead of any rookie QB in dynasty leagues. He will disappoint as a replacement for Favre, but might become a sturdy, producing fantasy QB in his own right.

 

Von

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I'm cautiously optimistic about his performance next season. It'll be interesting to see how much the playbook changes with his mobility.

 

I agree with what has been said so far. As a backup QB I would have no problem picking Rodgers.

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I'm cautiously optimistic about his performance next season. It'll be interesting to see how much the playbook changes with his mobility.

 

 

I think he may be better at staying within the 5 WR offense than Brett was. He won't be as good at big plays, but have fewer interceptions too.

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I think he may be better at staying within the 5 WR offense than Brett was. He won't be as good at big plays, but have fewer interceptions too.

I agree with this 100% Also, whenever the play breaks down, he has the speed and mobility to make something happen. People will say that Favre could do that well, but for every play that he makes something happen out of nothing, like the Seattle playoff game, he would have 4-5 head scratchers... Anyone who watched the Bears/Packers game in week 5 last season knows what I'm talking about...

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He will disappoint as a replacement for Favre,

I'm not so sure that this is accurate as one would think. I don't think the knowledgeable packers fans are going to compare Rodgers to the MVP era Favre. The MVP caliber Favre ended with the just before the start of the current decade, and from that point on, there were some trying years on pack fans. Five strong years, but four years in which he turned the ball over way too many times, and didn't have the touchdowns to offset his to's.

I don't really think Rodgers should be compared to Favre, but if you must, I think comparing him to the Favre of the past 4-5 years is more fair... A player that from week to week, we were not sure what we were going to get from him... He could be on, like the game in Oakland where nothing could go wrong, or he would throw a duck for an INT in a playoff game. Favre is by far my favorite athlete ever, but it was maddening knowing that the crazy look in his eyes could show up at any minute, and that look meant there was a duck about to be thrown, which would be plucked by a db and probably end the game. So for the past four or five years Favre has had ups and downs, and I would have considered him a very good, but not great or elite qb.

Rodgers doesn't have to live up to being a three time MVP or Super Bowl winner, because that Favre left a long time ago. All Rodgers has to do is his part. He doesn't have to carry the team on his shoulders, nor does he have to throw rockets down field. All he has to do is play within a system and not make stupid plays.

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I'm not so sure that this is accurate as one would think. I don't think the knowledgeable packers fans are going to compare Rodgers to the MVP era Favre. The MVP caliber Favre ended with the just before the start of the current decade, and from that point on, there were some trying years on pack fans. Five strong years, but four years in which he turned the ball over way too many times, and didn't have the touchdowns to offset his to's.

I don't really think Rodgers should be compared to Favre, but if you must, I think comparing him to the Favre of the past 4-5 years is more fair... A player that from week to week, we were not sure what we were going to get from him... He could be on, like the game in Oakland where nothing could go wrong, or he would throw a duck for an INT in a playoff game. Favre is by far my favorite athlete ever, but it was maddening knowing that the crazy look in his eyes could show up at any minute, and that look meant there was a duck about to be thrown, which would be plucked by a db and probably end the game. So for the past four or five years Favre has had ups and downs, and I would have considered him a very good, but not great or elite qb.

Rodgers doesn't have to live up to being a three time MVP or Super Bowl winner, because that Favre left a long time ago. All Rodgers has to do is his part. He doesn't have to carry the team on his shoulders, nor does he have to throw rockets down field. All he has to do is play within a system and not make stupid plays.

+1 Well put.

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All Rodgers has to do is his part. He doesn't have to carry the team on his shoulders, nor does he have to throw rockets down field. All he has to do is play within a system and not make stupid plays.

 

 

 

 

 

I think a lot of us wanted Favre to do that a long time ago.

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All Rodgers has to do is his part. He doesn't have to carry the team on his shoulders, nor does he have to throw rockets down field. All he has to do is play within a system and not make stupid plays.

I think a lot of us wanted Favre to do that a long time ago.

That's why Favre was so great this season - he played within the system, Dallas game excepted, and look how things went.

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All Rodgers has to do is his part. He doesn't have to carry the team on his shoulders, nor does he have to throw rockets down field. All he has to do is play within a system and not make stupid plays.

 

That's all well and good; and Rodgers did look great last year in the game against the Boys.

 

For as much as Favre had success playing within the system and not making stupid plays last year; there was a lot more to the Packers overall success last year than having Joe QB staying within himself. The Green Bay team is talented; but, IMO, not to the point they can do without a savvy QB running the show and expect grandiose success in the short term. Jennings, Driver, and Jones are a good trio of WRs, but they (mainly Jennings and Driver) thrived in running precise routes and knowing that Favre would almost always find them if they got open. For better or worse, there isn't a Randy Moss or Terrel Owens type WR on this team.

 

We are now talking about a guy, in Rodgers, with very little experience, that will undergo growing pains, at the very least. I'm not saying he can't bring them to the playoffs; he is just a complete wildcard in my mind.

 

For every youngster like Romo or Cutler, who are both effective QBs in their early careers, you still have a plethora of youngsters, waiting in the wings, who never made it as a NFL starting QB. And then you have guys like Hasselbeck , who was benched in his first two seasons for Trent Dilfer, before he learned to play within the system.

Edited by bushwacked
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That's all well and good; and Rodgers did look great last year in the game against the Boys.

 

For as much as Favre had success playing within the system and not making stupid plays last year; there was a lot more to the Packers overall success last year than having Joe QB staying within himself. The Green Bay team is talented; but, IMO, not to the point they can do without a savvy QB running the show and expect grandiose success in the short term. Jennings, Driver, and Jones are a good trio of WRs, but they (mainly Jennings and Driver) thrived in running precise routes and knowing that Favre would almost always find them if they got open. For better or worse, there isn't a Randy Moss or Terrel Owens type WR on this team.

 

We are now talking about a guy, in Rodgers, with very little experience, that will undergo growing pains, at the very least. I'm not saying he can't bring them to the playoffs; he is just a complete wildcard in my mind.

For every youngster like Romo or Cutler, who are both effective QBs in their early careers, you still have a plethora of youngsters, waiting in the wings, who never made it as a NFL starting QB. And then you have guys like Hasselbeck , who was benched in his first two seasons for Trent Dilfer, before he learned to play within the system.

Stop making sense dangit! :wacko:

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Stop making sense dangit! :wacko:

 

 

Minnesota Vikings

Detroit Lions

Chicago Bears

 

We're in the NFC North. He'll be fine. He has most of the year to get his legs. It reminds me of last year and not having a running game. We had time to develop one.

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