Aaron Rodgers

Nothing Aaron Rodgers does on the football field surprises me. It's just unfortunate that it has to be for the Packers. Everyone laughs now about the debate over whether Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf deserved to be the #1 pick of the 1998 Draft. I think that the debate over Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers in 2005 was just as laughable. The first time that I ever saw Rodgers throw the ball, I wondered how could this guy not have been recruited out of high school. How did everyone miss on him? How is his presence at Cal the result of blind luck? It's a well known tale now that Cal coach Jeff Tedford went up to Butte Community College to check out TE Garrett Cross, who by the way had a fine career at Cal. Rodgers just happened to be the guy that was throwing to Cross. Tedford liked what he saw, and Rodgers finally had himself a long overdue scholarship. It still amazes me that no one saw anything of Rodgers in high school or his one year of junior college. I have often wondered what would have happened if some other QB had thrown the passes to Cross that day. Would we have missed out on one of the finest QBs of this generation?

I have always seen in Rodgers, from his first throws at Cal to this past Super Bowl, a coolness, a calm that simply says "yes, I am this good". He isn't cocky. He actually comes across as just the opposite. He's confident in his ability, his work and his preparation. Some considered Rodgers a Tedford creation. Perhaps that is why he slipped in the draft. Akili Smith, Joey Harrington and Kyle Boller were first round QBs molded by Tedford. All pretty much failed in the NFL. Maybe those that knocked Rodgers felt that he would do the same. In Tedford's defense, he is a college coach and all his QBs excelled at the college level. Rodgers has excelled because he is that good. Tedford simply gave him a chance to show it. Rodgers was great in college. He has been great in the pros. Coaches and scouts missing him and underestimating him, 2 or 3 times, shows how inexact the process is. Everyone has an opinion. They just aren't always right. I am happy for him. He deserves it. He has certainly worked hard for his success. But why, oh why, does it have to be Green Bay?