My Favorite (Other) Player

Aaron Rodgers was almost the greatest Quarterback in the history of the Washington Redskins. Now I’ve got your attention with that rather outrageous claim, perhaps I should elaborate.

Rodgers was in the conversation for the overall number 1 pick in the 2005 draft (along with a certain Alex Smith!), but when the current Redskins Quarterback was taken by the 49ers with that selection, the Cal product was forced to endure a precipitous slide, before eventually being taken at number 24 by the Green Bay Packers.

Had the Packers gone elsewhere, the Redskins, who picked at 25, would almost certainly have selected Rodgers. Instead, they took Jason Campbell, a Quarterback who showed early promise, but was gone from D.C by 2009.

Ironically of course, the man whose selection by the 49ers lead to the freefall of Rodgers, is now the shiny new Quarterback of the team that the Packers legend almost ended up with.

As a result of the ‘near miss’, I’ve always kept a close eye on Aaron Rodgers and had way too many ‘if only’ moments as a result of his brilliance.

Aaron Rodgers hails from Chico, California, and despite enjoying a record breaking high school career, wasn’t widely recruited by major college programmes. However, after a year at Butte Community College (always referenced by Rodgers when the TV networks introduce the starters), he transferred to the California Golden Bears, where he enjoyed 2 successful seasons as their starting Quarterback, leading to many pundits and analysts feeling he was the best Quarterback in the 2005 draft.

The San Francisco 49ers, the team Rodgers supported as a child, clearly didn’t agree, and selected Smith, leading to one of the most memorable and painful (for Rodgers) 1st rounds since the draft was televised. Rodgers was forced to sit in the ‘green room ‘until he heard his name called, a process that took over 3 hours. For the whole of that time, TV cameras were trained on him, watching his expression become more and more forlorn, as team after team selected other players.

When the Packers eventually selected him, he was still the second Quarterback taken, but most pundits had not expected him to be taken any lower than the top 6.

Having survived the trauma of draft day, Rodgers was then faced with another problem. The Packers Quarterback was a certain Brett Favre, who despite being 35 years old at the time, was still playing at a high level and certainly wasn’t going to hand his job over to the upstart rookie.

Rodgers endured 3 years on the bench behind Favre, hardly seeing the field during that time. It could be argued, that in many ways, his time on the bench, learning the system and not being rushed onto the field, may have helped in his development. Rather than being rushed into action like so many 1st round Quarterbacks, Rodgers learned how to be a pro Quarterback, so, when Favre eventually left town in 2008, he was ready to come in and play at a high level.

Despite a rocky 6-10 first season as a starter, Rodgers quickly became a star, and by the 2010 season the Packers went all the way to the Super Bowl, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. The MVP of the game was never in doubt as Rodgers passed for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Packers have remained perennial championship contenders every season, largely because of Rodgers magic, which was recognised in 2011 and 2014, when he was named the MVP of the NFL. He currently owns the career highest Quarterback passer rating at 103.8 and the all time season high of 122.5 in 2011.

Aside from the statistics, which are of course hugely impressive, the thing that makes Rodgers my favourite player, is his ability to extend plays and make the seemingly impossible, possible.

As a pure runner, he isn’t as fast or elusive as some Quarterbacks, but his ability to escape the pocket and make a ridiculous throw, sets him apart from nearly every other Quarterback, and drives Defensive Co-ordinators crazy when trying to contain him. The roll out to the left, almost to the side-line, followed by drilling a seemingly impossible pass into the arms of TE, Jared Cook, was for me the play of the entire season, against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff in 2016/17.

Other highlight reel classics include the Hail Mary in Detroit 2015, which nearly hit the stadium rafters, and the miraculous 4th and 20 pass, from his own end zone, that went for 60 yards in the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Cardinals, also in 2015/16 season, followed by a 41 yard TD pass as time expired to tie the game.

That’s what sets Aaron Rodgers apart for me. Even when you think he is beaten, he isn’t. He’s like the monster in the horror movie that you think you’ve killed, only for it to come at you again just when you’re expecting the credits to roll. It’s hard to imagine any other Quarterback in the league making the plays I mentioned above, and you are left shaking your head in amazement and awe.

2018 is a big season, as 2017 was decimated by another serious collar bone injury; his second in the last 5 years, and at 35, his window of opportunity is slowly closing. Quarterbacks are playing for longer than ever in this day and age, but Rodgers needs to remain healthy to attempt to add to his 1, NFL Championship.

Despite being arguably the NFL’s best Quarterback, the record of only one championship, and a few near misses (who can forget the agonising NFC Championship Game defeat to Seattle in 2014/15?), potentially leaves him open to the doubters who say that to be truly great, he needs more Lombardi’s.

I know that there isn’t a single player from another team that I enjoy watching more than Aaron Rodgers. I still think he’d look better in burgundy and gold though!