Aaron Rodgers Has More to Prove
Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 7:04PM Replacing the most popular quarterback in franchise history might be too much for a young football player to handle. Not for Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers recorded his first career playoff victory as the Packers’ starting quarterback, leading some to insist that he had somehow shed a huge weight off his shoulders.
FOX sideline reporter Pam Oliver even asked Rodgers after the game about the so-called monkey. In the locker room on Tuesday Rodgers shrugged off the topic.
“Honestly I’ve never felt like there was a monkey on my back," replied Rodgers.
After posting a 122.5 passer rating and throwing three perfect touchdown strikes against the Eagles, Rodgers finds himself at the top of the list in the NFL record books.
Adding his four-touchdown playoff effort last year against Arizona, Rodgers’ seven TD passes in his first two postseason starts are the most in NFL history. Five other QBs held the previous mark of six.
Rodgers also became the first quarterback in league history to post 120-plus passer ratings in each of his first two playoff starts.
Rodgers’ career playoff passer rating of 121.8 is tops in NFL history among players with 50 or more passes. He also ranks first in league history with a 98.4 rating in the regular season.
That is saying something in a league where a quarterback's value is determined by how many playoff games and then how many championships they win. Rodgers now has one in the win column and is looking for more.
But Rodgers will be the first to admit football is a team game and it's going to take a team effort to get by the Atlanta Falcons this weekend. The Packers are slight underdogs against the top-seeded Falcons, but I'd like my chances against any team with Aaron Rodgers leading my team.
