Playing quarterback at the NFL level isn't supposed to be easy. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers makes it look easy. Everyone probably knows his football story by now. How he wasn't recruited out of high school. How Cal coach Jeff Tedford found him while recruiting another player from Butte College. How he slid to the Green Bay Packers in the 2005 NFL Draft. I can't speak to his play in high school. I never saw him play at that level. I can only speak to what I saw from him while he was at Cal. I saw every one of those games. The quarterback that tears up the NFL now could be seen in the quarterback that helped bring Cal back to relevance. The NFL should have seen it as well. All they had to do was look. His performance at USC in 2004 was one of the best I've ever seen from a college quarterback. He was nearly perfect on that day. The only problem with the Cal career of Aaron Rodgers was that he didn't stay for his senior season. He can't be blamed for that. He was ready for the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers should have been the first pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The San Francisco 49ers had that pick. They were a BART ticket away from where Rodgers played his home games. They had to have heard of him. They had to have seen him play. The 49ers draft day selection of Utah quarterback Alex Smith is a pretty clear indication that they hadn't scouted him much at all. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was the 49ers offensive coordinator in 2005. When the Packers hired McCarthy a year later, Rodgers asked him why the 49ers had passed. McCarthy told Rodgers that they didn't think that he was as mobile as he turned out to be. They must not have seen Rodgers play at all. Rodgers' mobility and accuracy were the traits that stood out the most. If they only bothered to look. McCarthy lucked into a quarterback that he didn't deserve.
Rodgers did have to work on some of his passing mechanics. He held the ball too high and his motion could be streamlined a bit. I didn't think that he needed to sit for three years before he received his starting shot but the Packers had Brett Favre. Rodgers was going to sit. He was going to sit, learn, and get used to the NFL. Whether he needed that wait or not there's no denying that he was ready when he finally got his shot. He completed 63.6% of his passes for 4,038 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in his first season as a starter. He hasn't thrown that many interceptions in a season since. Outside of that first season and the 11 that he threw in the Packers Super Bowl season of 2010 he hasn't thrown more than eight. His ability to avoid interceptions is ridiculous but it shouldn't be a surprise. He showed a similar ability to stay away from mistakes at Cal.
I've been watching Aaron Rodgers closely since 2003. He's always had an "I know more than you do" air about him on the football field. The fact that he so rarely makes a mistake supports that confidence. Despite his high level of play and apparently knowing more than those trying to stop him Rodgers is always looking to improve. He was probably getting better those three years that he wasn't the Packers starter but we wouldn't know it. He has a terrific arm and release. The entire field and every throw is available to him whether he's in the pocket or outside of it. He has the athletic ability to take advantage of that arm in an instant. He always seems to be in a position to throw no matter the pressure around him. He moves well in the pocket and outside of it despite the opinions of the blind coaches and decision-makers that were in San Francisco in 2005. Despite being great or damn-near at everything that a quarterback needs to be great at he's always looking to improve his game. It seems like each year he adds a new wrinkle to his game. A few years ago, he started making pinpoint back-shoulder throws more often. It's a skill that nearly all of the top quarterbacks possess. Some just use it more than others. The ability to "throw open" a receiver. Drew Brees, in particular, has been deadly with back-shoulder throws. Suddenly Rodgers started doing it with Brees-like efficiency and frequency. Despite my great appreciation of Aaron Rodgers from our shared Cal affiliation I'm still a Minnesota Vikings fan. I really didn't need to see Rodgers improve his game. Ever! This season's still early but it already looks like he's gotten even better at moving in the pocket. Are you kidding me?!?
Aaron Rodgers really makes this game look too easy.
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