The Greenbay Packers are taking a break after a successful seven game winning streak to start off their season. Unfortunately, while the players are able to relax and take some time off, I am not. Thus, as is the case of a blogger doing his story on one of those players, I have to use the last seven weeks in review to gauge how A-Rod has done in the past and how he could perform in the future.
Through week eight of the season Aaron has thrown 20 touchdowns, completed 71.5 of his passes, covered 2372 yards with the pass and 75 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns.
From the standpoint of a viewer Rodgers has looked flawless. He shows statue-like poise in the pocket despite offensive line issues which have left the QB exposed. His passes are accurate, quickly released, and not affected if Aaron is firing off his back foot, perfectly planted, or scrambling. One stat that may not be taken into account is Aaron's rushing stats. While seventy five yards is not up there with Micheal Vick it is still representative of how fearless Rodgers is when scrambling for yardage or first downs is needed. Two rushing touchdowns also add to his league leading 20 passing touchdowns.
If Rodgers can maintain his 71.5 completion percentage than he will hold the all-time NFL record by the end of the season. His QB rating of 125.7 is also a record if he is able to maintain or raise it by the end of the year.
The Packer's schedule is as follows.
San Diego, Week 9.
-The Chargers have a very effective offense led by the likes of Phillip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and Antonio Gates which may pose a problem to a slow-starting Packer's D. Shouldn't pose too much of a problem for A-Rod on offense although San Diego is hardly a pushover on either side of the ball.
Vikings, Week 10
-The Vikings almost pulled out a win against the defending champions with a back field riddled with injuries. If Rodgers cannot perform well against a healthy backfield and if Adrien Peterson breaks out than it may turn ugly.
Tampa Bay, Week 11
-The Buccaneers are one of the youngest and most talented teams in the NFL which may account for their biggest flaw: inconsistency. However, that being said, Tampa Bay can be explosive especially if they can fix their issues by week 11. On the defensive side they have a great tandem of cornerback in Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber which may pose an obstacle to Rodgers. On the other side there is an offense which can make any defense pay once they are on a roll led by Josh Freeman and Legarret Blount.
Lions, Week 12
-The Lions may be the greatest threat of all. They have (In my opinion) the second best offensive in the league led by Jahvid Best, Matthew Stafford, Calvin "Megatron" Johnson Jr. and a young buck in Titus Young. They will make the Packers pay if either the defense cannot stop Megatron, which is doubtful, or Aaron Rodgers can't perform well under a pass rush comprising of Kyle Vanden Bosch, Nick Fairley, Cliff Avril, and the intimidating Nedamakung Suh.
Giants, Week 13
-The Giants, once a team that looked on the brink of failure when it's four starting defensive backs were injured, has now arisen as a legitimate contender in the NFC. While the defense is neither flashy or particularly dangerous I have a feeling that this game could be a sleeping threat on the horizon for Rodgers and the Packer Offense.
Raiders, Week 14
-All I can say is Thank God the Raiders no longer have Pro-Bowler Nhamdi Asumagha who was capable of shutting down an entire half of the field with his coverage abilities. They still have multi-purpose lineman Richard Seymour though and he is a force to be reckoned with.
Chiefs, Week 15
-If the Packers do not win this game (And if A-Rod doesn't have a spectacular performance for that matter.) than I will be genuinely shocked. The Chiefs are a team suffering a massive amount of injuries and they do not have the talent to back them up.
Bears, Week 16
-Jay Cutler and Co. may be a toothless monster nine out of ten times, but they may show up to play. The defense, which is the highest ranked of the Packer's future opponents, will be a challenge. As usual, expect this game to a slug fest.
Lions, Week 17
-Same as before, but it's scary to think that it may be a divisional title on the line in this game.
Gabe Lagarde.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Almost doesn't cut it.
Greenbay held off the valiant efforts of Minnesota's rookie Christian Ponder and their star runningback Adrien Peterson with a 33-27 win over the Vikings. Rodgers posted a spectacular 146.5 passer rating with three TD's, 335 passing yards, and 80% of his attempts were completed. This was a hallmark performance to be sure, but it's greatness is compounded by the fact that Aaron was able to produce these stats under tremendous pressure of the Viking's potent pass rush and a losing game situation during the first half.
There were few mistakes if any for A-Rod during this game. Of his four incompletions, two were drops meaning that without receiver incompetency he would have posted a performance of almost unbeatable perfection. Taking a sack from the defense can throw any quarterback out of rhythm, but after repeated pressures and sacks by the defense Aaron was not even fazed and still performed masterfully using his accurate arm and mobility in the pocket. Although, towards the end of the game the Vikings locked down and held Rodgers to two "three and out" drives which gave the Vikings multiple chances to take the game away. (Which they failed to do, although if Christian Ponder was experienced it could have been an entirely different outcome.)
All in all, A-Rod still leads the league in every major statistical category except passing yardage. (He ranks a close third and the first and second guys Drew Brees and Tom Brady don't even come close to his rushing yardage.) Aaron has been unstoppable up to this point and although they may have hit a bump in the road at the Metrodome they now stand at 7-0 on a break with the bye week. I don't see any real threat until they face San Diego in week 9.
Gabe Lagarde.
There were few mistakes if any for A-Rod during this game. Of his four incompletions, two were drops meaning that without receiver incompetency he would have posted a performance of almost unbeatable perfection. Taking a sack from the defense can throw any quarterback out of rhythm, but after repeated pressures and sacks by the defense Aaron was not even fazed and still performed masterfully using his accurate arm and mobility in the pocket. Although, towards the end of the game the Vikings locked down and held Rodgers to two "three and out" drives which gave the Vikings multiple chances to take the game away. (Which they failed to do, although if Christian Ponder was experienced it could have been an entirely different outcome.)
All in all, A-Rod still leads the league in every major statistical category except passing yardage. (He ranks a close third and the first and second guys Drew Brees and Tom Brady don't even come close to his rushing yardage.) Aaron has been unstoppable up to this point and although they may have hit a bump in the road at the Metrodome they now stand at 7-0 on a break with the bye week. I don't see any real threat until they face San Diego in week 9.
Gabe Lagarde.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Green Bay vs. St. Louis Week 6
What started as a game that followed every indication that it would be a shootout quickly turned into a defensive battle in the second half as Aaron Rodgers and Greenbay cruised to a 24-3 victory over the Rams. Aaron Rodgers performed masterfully throwing 3 TD's, 310 yards, and a final passer rating of 119.6 with a completion percentage of 60%.
At face value Aaron made a mistake in the third quarter when he threw an interception and he also had his worst completion percentage this season, but that was because of his receiver's errors. On multiple plays in second half players like Jordy Nelson, Jarmicheal Finley, and other dropped good throws. On one occasion Jordy dropped a third down attempt that was perfectly thrown to his chest without a defender within five yards, but then inexplicably lost control of the football. But, the worst mistake was by Greg Jennings who took a tightly thrown spiral to the center of the field and accidentally knocked the ball into the air where it was easily caught by the waiting Rams defender.
On a more positive note, Aaron showed more of the poise that has come to define his young career. The entire game can be summed up by one play when the pocket collapsed and it seemed that Chris Long was all, but certain to get the sack. Rodgers used his athleticism and speed to spin from the tackle and then sprinted right where he found an open Ryan Grant for a ten yard gain and the first down. In many ways number 12 makes it look easy, but there never can be enough said about the poise and concentration it takes to outmaneuver charging three hundred pound lineman and then to have the skill to fire a perfect pass down the field for the first down. He turned a negative play into a gain which changed the momentum of the drive and possibly the game.
With that in mind I believe if the receiving core starts to return to form then we can easily expect the Rodgers and the Packer offense to continue their remarkable effort this season. During the game against St. Louis he still showed the poise and talent of a potential NFL MVP despite a slump among other players on the offense and there is not reason to say that he cannot repeat his performance in the future.
Gabe Lagarde.
At face value Aaron made a mistake in the third quarter when he threw an interception and he also had his worst completion percentage this season, but that was because of his receiver's errors. On multiple plays in second half players like Jordy Nelson, Jarmicheal Finley, and other dropped good throws. On one occasion Jordy dropped a third down attempt that was perfectly thrown to his chest without a defender within five yards, but then inexplicably lost control of the football. But, the worst mistake was by Greg Jennings who took a tightly thrown spiral to the center of the field and accidentally knocked the ball into the air where it was easily caught by the waiting Rams defender.
On a more positive note, Aaron showed more of the poise that has come to define his young career. The entire game can be summed up by one play when the pocket collapsed and it seemed that Chris Long was all, but certain to get the sack. Rodgers used his athleticism and speed to spin from the tackle and then sprinted right where he found an open Ryan Grant for a ten yard gain and the first down. In many ways number 12 makes it look easy, but there never can be enough said about the poise and concentration it takes to outmaneuver charging three hundred pound lineman and then to have the skill to fire a perfect pass down the field for the first down. He turned a negative play into a gain which changed the momentum of the drive and possibly the game.
With that in mind I believe if the receiving core starts to return to form then we can easily expect the Rodgers and the Packer offense to continue their remarkable effort this season. During the game against St. Louis he still showed the poise and talent of a potential NFL MVP despite a slump among other players on the offense and there is not reason to say that he cannot repeat his performance in the future.
Gabe Lagarde.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Why I chose Aaron Rodgers' 2011 season to follow with this Blog!
Ah, yes football! To me it is the quintessence of the complete athletic performance in that it promotes the skills of the both the speedy receiver, the nifty runner, the bull rushing lineman, and the commanding quarterback. One player in particular stands out in a hallmark year of impressive and record breaking efforts. Aaron Rodgers now sits at a 5-0 record in the regular season with a passer rating of around 1.20.0 and 14 Touch downs with only two interceptions to tarnish his performance. Each and every week of the season Rodgers will be tested and as much as I believe this will be a dream year for him there is still a great chance that everything could fall apart for last year's Superbowl MVP. Many argue that he is the greatest QB currently in the NFL. Judging by his performance I am liable to agree. During the duration of this blog I will examine the stats, poise, excitement, leadership, and influence that A-Rod has over the games. Enjoy!
Also, I will pattering my blog after the style of Sports Illustrated which I feel best represents the players in a way that is both factual and engaging to the reader. Sports Illustrated presents the information in a way that both reflects the stats and other factors on the field that simply cannot be taken into account with numerical data which is exactly what I would also like to achieve with this blog.
Sincerely, Gabe Lagarde.
Also, I will pattering my blog after the style of Sports Illustrated which I feel best represents the players in a way that is both factual and engaging to the reader. Sports Illustrated presents the information in a way that both reflects the stats and other factors on the field that simply cannot be taken into account with numerical data which is exactly what I would also like to achieve with this blog.
Sincerely, Gabe Lagarde.
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