Scholarship table
Brady is probably near the top (still behind Montana in my book). Cite the championships all you want, but Brady doesn't pull this drive out today with the pressure Rodgers was under. He doesn't pull an 18 yard run out of thin air with the game on the line. Brady's game is predicated on being kept upright and stationary, and the Pats have done an exceptional job of that over the course of his career.
Rodgers is still playing. He may very well win another or 3 more super bowls before he is done. How many did Brady win after the age of 33?
Marino=0Favre=1It's a team game. The difference in the top 1% of all time QBs is negligible. What were the other factors? Coaching, teammates, injuries, luck, etc. Rodgers clearly in that top group.
He might, but he's also wasted several opportunities. This Packers team has played two teams that currently have a winning record, and they lost badly to one of them. I'm not convinced this team even wins the NFC North yet. As good as Rodgers is, and he is great, there are many holes.
For the record, if we're picking on the two game sample size of Matt Flynn in 2013, he beat an incredibly mediocre Cowboy team, and a horse manure Falcon team that quit on Mike Smith and went 4-12. Just sayin.
FWIW, I really enjoy these kinds of discussions/debates. It reminds me of when I was in college and my friends and I would get into arguments about who were the greatest baseball players ever. One of our dive hangouts, the Midget on Wells and 24th (since burned down), had a Baseball Encyclopedia behind the bar that helped settle many of our arguments.Google's a lot easier!
For my money, Rodgers is the GOAT. I'd probably have Elway/Brady a smidge below tied, but all around, Rodgers does every little tangible and intangible you want from that position. Brady has had probably the greatest career of any QB, but gun to head I'd take Rodgers for one game if my life depends on it. It doesn't matter to me that I'm a Bears fan, I appreciate football greatness more than my fan loyalty. That said, tonight we start laying the foundation for the Trubisky wing in Canton baby! (I kid, I kid).
They have a lot of weapons. Funchess and Benjamin are beasts, McCaffrey adds a lot. And hopefully Olsen will be back for the stretch run. Two awesome weeks in a row for Cam ... on the field. Which lays to waste the whole "distractions" thing. Very, VERY rarely are top athletes distracted during games by stuff that happened days or weeks earlier, no matter how many times the talking heads on TV say it.
Call a spade a spade
ok 4/5- you must still be hurting after yesterday's game but lost badly to one of them? yes they were getting their chit handed to them early and part of the comeback could've been due to atlanta chalking it up a little early-cheezus, i thought they learned their lesson last january-eyn'a. but anywhooo, i don't wanna sound like a blame da refs kinda guy, but that penalty(pick??) on matellis right before halftime was a killer. if they could have reviewed that one, it would have been reversed-no doubt. end of series-punt from deep in their territory-atlanta scores, then gets the ball back after halftime...absolute killer.
Based on some of the Rodgers vs Brady comments, you'd think the Patriots have always had kick-arse defenses and the stud receivers, while Rodgers has had to throw passes to slugs and never had any help from the other side of the ball.Rodgers started playing in 2008. Let's throw out that year because he was a first-year starter and Brady was injured almost the entire season. That means the two have had 8 full seasons in the league as starters together, 2009-2016.In 4 of those 8 years, the Packers' defense was rated higher than the Patriots' defense. In 2014, when the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl, they had the better defense but it was only 2 spots higher (13th vs 15th). In 2011, when the Patriots went to the Super Bowl (and lost) and the Packers went 15-1 but promptly got crushed in the playoffs by the Giants, both teams did it all with offense, as GB was ranked last defensively and NE was next-to-last. In 2010, when the Packers won the SB, their defense was ranked 20 spots higher than NE's (5th vs 25th).During the 8 years, the Patriots' average defensive ranking was 18th and the Packers' average defensive ranking was 16th. The Packers had bigger advantages earlier in Rodgers' career while the Patriots had the bigger advantages more recently.So it seems a bit simplistic to imply: "Brady always had great defenses but Rodgers had crap."Now, let's look at the receivers. Brady has had Gronk, as good as any TE ever when healthy, which is always a question mark with him. He had Moss for a couple of years, including one incredible season before Moss got old real fast. He had Branch, a good (but not great) receiver.Nowadays, we can see that Edelman, Amandola and Hogan are very good receivers, but Edelman was a 7th-round draft pick and the other two weren't drafted. Brady made them (and yes, the system obviously is a factor, too). Wes Welker, who also wasn't drafted, had one fine season in Miami before becoming a perennial superstar with Brady throwing to him. Others who have had very good seasons with Brady throwing to them: Brandon LaFell, Kenbrell Thompkins, and an aging Brandon Lloyd (who had his second-best season with Brady). Rodgers certainly helped make many of his WRs greater than they otherwise might have been. Anybody who would deny that hasn't paid attention. Still ... Cobb, Jordy, Jennings and Adams were all 2nd-rounders. Finley and Jones were 3rd-rounders.Is it more surprising that Nelson, Jennings, Jones, Cobb and Finley are all top-20 receivers in Packers history ... or that Edelman, Amandola and Welker became stars for the Patriots?Love me some Rodgers. So much fun to watch, and such a great QB. Still finding it hard to find much evidence to support the thesis that he's had a better career than Brady has.
A little misleading. Brady has played 7 seasons on teams whose defense ranked in the roughly top 40% of the league. Including 4 of his 5 Super Bowl wins. Rodgers has played on 3 such teams, 2009, 2010 (Super Bowl win) and 2012. More importantly NE typically averages in the top 5 or top 10 offensive lines in the league. Since 2009, Brady averages getting sacked on 4.83% of attempts. Rodgers 7.5%. Brady plays behind top 10 offensive lines, Rodgers plays behind bottom 10 offensive lines.Brady benefits from substantially better defenses and offensive lines. Those win championships.
Respecting the thread I wont start a new topic .....but this weekend was devastating for all Houston Texan fans over the season ending injury to JJ Watt. This guy did not deserve this.A fine man from WI, Houston has fully embraced him as one our sports heroes. His hurricane relief work merits NFL man of the Year honors. We really love this guy.Even if his career ends now I would still vote him to HOF. Kind of like a Sandy Koufax legacy in NFL termsMy sincerest best wishes to a great player and very good man