Going to Another Level

That was his moment.  The Packers didn’t win the football game, but it isn’t going to matter.  You know that when Cris Collinsworth makes the noise he made when that ball was caught, you just witnessed something amazing.  And that was the throw Aaron Rodgers made to send a classic game into OT.

How good was it?  I’m doing a freaking blog on it!  Not on the game, on 1 pass.  But it was that 1 pass that will never be forgotten, and people will remember Rodgers for when it’s all said and done.  Roger Staubach is more well known for his 1975 hail mary, the original, it’s where the play gets its name, then he is for his 2 Super Bowls.

And it’s one thing if this was a one off.  A lot of QB’s have them, they’re like a hole in 1.  Sometimes you’re just lucky enough to have it happen to you.  Rodgers has done it twice in a little over 6 weeks.  And he had another amazing throw to keep the game alive right before the latest one.

Rodgers isn’t like most elite QB’s.  Most elite guys are beloved by their teammates.  You never heard one bad word about Montana, Elway, Marino, Favre, Brady, Manning, you don’t hear a single bad word about any of them from ex teammates.  That isn’t the case with Rodgers.  A few guys have come out and ripped him.  He is very demonstrative and won’t hesitate to show up a guy for running the wrong route or dropping a ball.

So while he isn’t the greatest leader the sport has ever seen, the combination of intelligence, arm strength, arm accuracy and mobility is very likely the best we have ever seen.  The only other guy I can think of that had that combination was John Elway.  I want to say Roger Staubach is in that class too, but I never saw Staubach play.

But while Rodgers has been considered the best QB in football for the last couple of seasons, nobody has been talking about him as one of the all time greats.  That’ll change now.  He has a signature play, in a massive moment.  The fact that all those attributes I talked about last paragraph were on display with the game on the line is why.

You’ll get the morons who’ll say “yeah, but he’s only won 1 Super Bowl”.  Some how much like Peyton Manning, until Rodgers wins a 2nd Super Bowl you’ll get those morons who’ll say “yeah, but Eli Manning has 2 Super Bowl’s” and stupid shit along those lines.  Football is a team game, and the NFL is a coaches league as much as it is a quarterbacks league.  How is it anything of Rodgers fault if the Packers offensive line is bad, or their defense is bad, or they have awful special teams (hello Brandon Bostick)?

This is one of the all time greats we now get to watch in his prime.  Let’s enjoy it.  Don’t nit pick things like how many Super Bowls he’s won.  Enjoy the fact that we get to see amazing things like what he did on Saturday night.  Staubach had his in 75, Elway had the drive in 86, Montana had drives both against the Cowboys in 81 and then against the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, and now Aaron Rodgers will have that throw.  It is a bit of a shame that it wasn’t to win the game, but a coin toss and subsequently his defense let him down.

He’s in the club now.  Unitas, Staubach, Montana, Elway, Marino, Favre, Brady, Manning, and now Rodgers.  Debate the list all you want, but the fact is that he is now on the list, and at 32 we need to enjoy this while we can.  It’s something special to watch.

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