Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Passing of the Torch

With the retirement of Brett Favre, the Aaron Rodgers era officially begins. As I said before, I am perfectly fine with Brett's retirement, but the adjustment is still there. As Packer fans, it is time to accept the Aaron Rodgers era with open arms. We know Brett had an amazing career and there are not enough superlatives to describe it. So I'm not going to try. There are plenty of people singing his praises already, and I will choose to do so, only not on this blog.



So without further a due, Aaron Rodgers, starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.

At a Super Bowl press conference, coach Mike McCarthy said that Rodgers is "the man" after Favre's retirement. Well Mr. Rodgers, you are officially "the man." So let's learn a little about the man.

Aaron Charles Rodgers was born December 2, 1983 in Chico, California. Rodgers was a two-year starting quarterback at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, where he set state records with 440 all-purpose yards and 6 touchdowns in one game and 2,466 total yards in a season. Rodgers gained 4,419 passing yards in his two years at quarterback. Lightly recruited out of college, Rodgers' only offer was to walk-on at Illinois, an offer which he declined. Rodgers attended Butte College, leading them to a 10-1 record, and decided to transfer to a Division I school after his sophomore year.

California coach Jeff Tedford discovered Rodgers while recruiting another player, and offered him a scholarship. Rodgers arrived on campus in 2003 and started in the fifth game of the season against Illinois. Rodgers started the rest of the year leading Cal to an 8-6 record, including a victory over USC in his second start. Rodgers also started the Insight Bowl against Virginia Tech, a game which the Golden Bears won. He tied the school record for 300-yard games with five and had only 1.43% of his passes intercepted, a school record.

In his junior campaign, Rodgers helped Cal acquire a No. 4 ranking in the regular season. The Golden Bears lost only one game that year, a 23-17 overtime heartbreaker to USC, a game in which he completed 23 consecutive passes. Rodgers also set a school record for completion percentage in that game, completing 85.3% of his passes. Rodgers shared Cal's Offensive MVP award in 2004 while being named First Team All-Pac 10 and Honorable Mention All-American. After a 45-31 Holiday Bowl loss to Texas Tech, Rodgers decided to enter the 2005 NFL Draft.

Going into the draft, the San Francisco 49ers were thought to pick either Utah quarterback Alex Smith or Rodgers with the first pick in the draft. This decision was a hot news story in the days leading up to the draft, creating much debate on who should be picked first. San Francisco opted to choose Smith, who has had a below-mediocre career, over Rodgers. Thus began Rodgers' freefall to the Packers at the 24th pick. Rodgers was at the draft, which created one of the worst P.R. nightmares in draft history, as he was ushered off into a side-room during the draft.

He signed to a rookie contract worth $7.7 million with $5.4 million guaranteed over five years. The contract could be worth up to $24.5 million if all incentives were met. Rodgers spent the Packers 4-12 season as backup to Favre, and saw limited game action against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens. In his second year, Rodgers relieved Favre after an injury in a 35-0 loss against New England and broke his foot, ending his 2006 campaign. In 2007, Rodgers was again relegated to backup duty, but got his first taste of the spotlight. Against Dallas on November 29, 2007, Favre suffered an arm injury and Rodgers rallied the Packers from a 17-point deficit to within three points, before the Packers succumbed 37-27. Rodgers oozed potential in this game, completing 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards and his first career touchdown. The next week in practice, Rodgers pulled his hamstring and did not see action for the rest of the season.

If Rodgers wants to be "the man" in Green Bay, he will have to overcome many different obstacles. First off, he has an unreasonably large pair of shoes to fill. Second, he has plenty of doubters. Scouts criticized his size before the draft, saying that, at 6'2", he was too small to play quarterback in the NFL. There are also questions about his pedigree, as many speculate he is just a Tedford product. In his career as a college coach at Fresno State, Oregon, and Cal, Tedford has had six quarterbacks picked in the first round, including Rodgers, Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, and Kyle Boller. Quite the list there, eh?

However, Rodgers is not that green. He has sat for three years behind one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. Although Favre was initially reluctant to help Rodgers learn the ropes, he came around and provided some leadership to the young quarterback. Rodgers has a multiple offensive weapons at his disposal as well. Ryan Grant will take a huge amount of pressure of Rodgers, giving the Packers a reliable running game and easing reliance on the pass. Rodgers has one of the best young corps of receivers to rely on as well, with Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. However, if the Packers want Rodgers to be able to do anything, they will need to shore up a mercurial offensive line. The key to Rodgers' performance will be the aging Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton along with the young guys up front. If they are not able to mesh, Rodgers will be taking a seat. Often.

Brett Favre is gone. We must accept that, as hard as it is. I myself may be taking this a little hard, as I am in a four-day mourning period where I am wearing my Favre jersey non-stop, before putting it away until the first Packers game of next year.

As Packer fans and PackerNation, we must give Aaron Rodgers our full support.

And yes, ladies, he is single.

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