Aaron Rodgers named #1 on Top 100 Players in 2011

[21isSuperman]

Actually our Colts were no longer SB contenders even with Peyton. Cassell is no Brady and it's foolish to even make the suggestion.

We were a contender almost every year Peyton was here. I'm not sure what you are referring to

[TAPLOOK]

We were a contender almost every year Peyton was here. I'm not sure what you are referring to

Were is the correct word. We were a 10 win team...one and done once again in his last season and weren't going to win 10 the following season even if he did play. We were old and no longer contenders. The Patriots still had a great veteran D the year Brady went down but the O had no edge to them at all. Give BB credit. He changed things up an got the most out of what he had.

[TAPLOOK]

Wow. throwing Welker under the bus. You wouldn't have made it to the SB without Welker.

Or maybe if the pass had been a little better...

It's the chicken and egg dilemma. Welker was nothing before going to the Patriots. It wasn't a perfect pass but one that should have been caught. Hernandez and Slater also dropped passes late that would have gone a long way towards putting the game away.

[21isSuperman]

Were is the correct word. We were a 10 win team...one and done once again in his last season and weren't going to win 10 the following season even if he did play. We were old and no longer contenders. The Patriots still had a great veteran D the year Brady went down but the O had no edge to them at all. Give BB credit. He changed things up an got the most out of what he had.

One and done isn't Peyton's fault though. Peyton helped us get to the playoffs almost every year he was here. You can't say we weren't contenders because we did win a Super Bowl, and we had another appearance in the Super Bowl. Just because we didn't win, that doesn't mean we weren't contenders.

[Gavin]

Peyton made us contenders every year, I thought that was clear enough last year, now how well he performed once he got us there can be debated though, he might still be seeing Ty Law in his nightmares and Tracy Porter

[southwest1]

Agree with most of your points. And yes the Packers defense needs to improve, fast. Actually a lot of D's from last year need to improve.

What is interesting to me is how much Rodgers actually DOES remind me of Steve Young now....from his style to the concussions so far. Honestly I know many love to compare the potential of Andrew Luck to Aaron Rodgers but as time goes on this offseason....Luck is reminding me less of Rodgers, especially as a person. But, there is a lot to be determined with Luck so I won't get into that right now. I will just say, I agree with Warren Moon.

Rogers and Steve Young do share a lot of similarities: Both are primary pocket passers who only scramble when they have to, both have a quiet confidence in their abilities to win any game, both distribute the ball well never catering to 1 favored WR or TE, and both QB's will take whatever the defense gives them and they are happy to beat you through the air or on the ground. A W is a W. They could care less if they win pretty or ugly just win.

Andrew Luck hasn't proven anything to me yet. I don't care what he did at Stanford. This is the NFL son. Earn my respect. You are not Peyton Manning 2.0 to me. Every field general brings something unique to the table. Show me a quick release, effective corner, safety, & DB manipulation in the secondary, superb flee flicker & play action pass execution, a high 70-80% completion percentage, avoid hits, contact, & run out of bounds, if no one is open either scrabble or throw the ball away, & if you throw a pick, forget about, clear your head, look at pre & post snap formations, & throw a TD on your next possession.

Maybe I am old school too at times, I sometimes hate all the rules favoring offenses and QBs today. Completely average QBs can put up huge numbers and get raved over. Jesus, Imagine the numbers Marino could put up in today's NFL.

That is why I respect you so much Jules. As a woman, you appreciate the value of defense, the history of former greats in this game like Warren Moon & Dan Marino, & you understand how NFL rules today favor the offense & hamstring & restrict the defense by & large. Don't even get me started on how so many zebras throw the penalty flag over ridiculous roughing the passers calls or the Brady Tuck Rule or we we be here all day long. Let the Defense play man! Yes, if Marino were allowed to play with such lax rules under his QB tenure in Miami, there is no way Drew Brees would have broken his single season TD completion record. No way, No how.

Hey, Peyton could have ran it up more when he broke the TD record. The Colts didn't. Rodgers probably could have broken more records last year, the Packers didn't. I respect that at times. The Saints and Patriots over the years have been obvious record chasers at times and have run up the score, thats their choice and they have the right to do it but sometimes it feels forced to me. You watch a lot of GB games last year they take the foot off the gas in the 4th with a big lead. Sadly though sometimes with their crappy D they almost blew a few games with the conservative approach.

I subscribe to that philosophy too. Once game victory is in sight & unavoidable, why humiliate another team's squad? Yes, I know the other side of the argument. It's the other team's responsibility to stop you. I get it. Look, I have no problem with putting in backup players in order to gain valuable game experience, but keeping veteran players to demolish your opponent is counter productive to overall good sportsmanship. Individual benchmark achievements are meaningless if you don't win a Championship. That's why you play the game. As ESPN analyst says "You play to win the game." Or more accurately, you play to win a Championship. Something that, as Steve Young said "No one can ever ever take away from you."

[dynasty13]

Tom Brady carried a team with the 31st ranked defense to the Super Bowl, and would have won it if Welker had caught the ball.

Brady, in my opinion, was the better player. Rodgers was one-and-done in the playoffs.

[Gavin]

A case for Rodgers over Brady cant be made yet, Rodgers is very talented and has a heck of an harm but so does Brady

[IndyTrav]

A case for Rodgers over Brady cant be made yet, Rodgers is very talented and has a heck of an harm but so does Brady

As in a career arguement I assume? Because that would be true. Toms accomplished some amazing things.

But as for last year and moving forward its easily Rodgers. No contest.

[Gavin]

As in a career arguement I assume? Because that would be true. Toms accomplished some amazing things.

But as for last year and moving forward its easily Rodgers. No contest.

[IndyTrav]

Moving forward it probably is Rodgers but certainly not easily, it wasn't Rodgers by alot last year and Brady did have more passing yards, Brady finished 2nd in passing yards behind Brees by 241

[Gavin]

1.Raji. Woodson, Matthews are all defensive players,

2.Packers only allowed 4 more sacks then Patriots and Rodgers is every bit as much a scrambler as he is a pocket passer he does both, so last year that to me means the Patriots had one of the worst they gave up 32 while the Packers gave up 36 and I dont know for sure but I can just about bet I can find 4 plays where Rodgers scrambled where he was sacked

3. Patriots beat the Ravens

Rogers has the bigger upside but thats based on he can scramble alot better and age

Rodgers finished 592 yards behind Brady, seeing as how Rodgers average was 309.5 yards per games he would have needed two more games to finish with more yards

Bradys 611 and Rodgers 502 are skewed do to that 1 game missed by Rodgers, I have no doubt those numbers would much closer probably by 30+

[IndyTrav]

1.Raji. Woodson, Matthews are all defensive players.

Yes....I didn't think they weren't. I was just listing the PB/AP players on both teams.......

2.Packers only allowed 4 more sacks then Patriots and Rodgers is every bit as much a scrambler as he is a pocket passer he does both, so last year that to me means the Patriots had one of the worst they gave up 32 while the Packers gave up 36 and I dont know for sure but I can just about bet I can find 4 plays where Rodgers scrambled where he was sacked

I don't think anyone would really debate that the Pats line is better than the Packers, and you can find those 4 plays, Im sure, but Im also willing to bet you could find 10 where Rodgers scrambled to avoid the sack.....Football Outsiders has the Pats ranked 2nd in Run Blocking, and 8th in Pass Blocking.....Pack are ranked 16th and 23rd..... http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol

3. Patriots beat the Ravens

In the playoffs, which weren't taken into consideration. Your not adding Bradys passes/yards from the playoffs, why the wins?

Rogers has the bigger upside but thats based on he can scramble alot better and age

Yep.

Rodgers finished 592 yards behind Brady, seeing as how Rodgers average was 309.5 yards per games he would have needed two more games to finish with more yards

Once again, Brady attempted 109 more passes.Give Rodgers the same amount of attempts and its not even close.

Bradys 611 and Rodgers 502 are skewed do to that 1 game missed by Rodgers, I have no doubt those numbers would much closer probably by 30+

The most attempts Rodgers had all season was 46(by 7att)...He threw for 369 4Tds 1 Int....Lets say Rodgers attempted that many passes in his missed game...Thats still 62 more attempts by Brady..... We will split those is half based on his production from similar games......46att=184.5 2 TDs....Then we will take his two lowest attempt games....29/26 totaled 563yds 7 TD 1Int...So 281.5 3.5TDs .5Int..... So taking his largest att, and then his two smallest attempted games for a total of 101 att (still 8 less than Brady) and cutting his production in half....466yds 5.5Tds.... So he'd have a total of 5109 50.5Tds.......This is with him having horrible games.....

[Gavin]

[LuckyColt]

Tom Brady carried a team with the 31st ranked defense to the Super Bowl, and would have won it if Welker had caught the ball.

Brady, in my opinion, was the better player. Rodgers was one-and-done in the playoffs.

[Gavin]

elite guys make that catch, it wasnt a grwat throw but it was VERY catchable. sp catchable as a matter of fact Welker had it in his hands before losing control and dropping it, he will tell ya I am sure

[IndyTrav]

1. From a pure Offensive Line stand point I dont know who I would take, Patriots had Matt Light, Green Bay had Chad Clifton both were pretty good in my opinion as far as the rest of the line I'd probably take the Pats but they were very close

2.so your banking on Rodgers throwing for 592 yards in one game? its possible especially in the league now but still unlikely, you still need to run some to keep teams honest, Brady has a better shot at throwing 6 TD's in one game them Rodgers does of 592 yards,

Im not banking on Rodgers throwing 592 in one game....You are so caught up in yards you continually fail to recognize the massive descrepency in attempts....If Rodgers had attempted an additional 109 passes like Brady....and completed an abysmal 50% (he was 68.3% last year) for his career avg. of yards per completion of 12.6 ( he was 13.5 last yr) he would have put up an additional 675yards, completely obliterating Brady in every single aspect of last season....He already beat him in TDs, Comp.%, Rush Yards, Qb Rating, Wins, and the MVP race...

[The Fish]

It's very important that the Patriots lose, so who cares.

[Gavin]

Im not banking on Rodgers throwing 592 in one game....You are so caught up in yards you continually fail to recognize the massive descrepency in attempts....If Rodgers had attempted an additional 109 passes like Brady....and completed an abysmal 50% (he was 68.3% last year) for his career avg. of yards per completion of 12.6 ( he was 13.5 last yr) he would have put up an additional 675yards, completely obliterating Brady in every single aspect of last season....He already beat him in TDs, Comp.%, Rush Yards, Qb Rating, Wins, and the MVP race...

Im not 100 percent sure cause anything can happen but I am 99.9 percent sure even if he played that 1 game he wouldnt have thrown the ball 109 times, he missed 1 game not 2 not 3....1 ok so if he completed nearly 70 percent of those passes lets say he throws 40 times at 9.2 yards an attempt which was his average, thats 28 pass completions if my math is correct for 257.6 yards.........thats not that close at all and yes he had a better completion percentage by 2.7 percent or roughly 1 completion, also your not taking into account Brady was ahead of him until Rodgers had 5 touchdown passes vs Chicago Bears in week 16, also both quarterbacks had 3 rushing touchdowns for the season, yes Rodgers had more yards, but thats to be expected he had 257 for the season if I remember right to Brady's 109

[IndyTrav]

It's very important that the Patriots lose, so who cares.

I think Bradys been the best QB in the NFL since probably 2007....including leading up to last year, ahead of Brees, Rodgers, Manning...But last year and moving forward the new man is Rodgers.....

[GoPats]

Rodgers is the QB standard for 2012, no matter what anyone says. He's the reigning MVP and had a record-setting season, and brings an element to his game (running with the ball) that Brady, Manning, and Brees do/did not.

So Rodgers absolutely deserves to be #1 on this list. This was never a list acknowledging career accomplishments. It's a "here and now" list for 2012. You could make an argument for Brady ranking higher than Brees or Megatron (and I think the top three or four spots have to be QBs), but there's really no contest this year for the top spot.

And Welker should have made that catch in the SB. It wasn't a perfect throw but it was catchable. That's not a route Welker runs a lot, so he adjusted poorly to the ball and got handcuffed. He'll be the first to tell you he should have had it.

[funktacious2]

With age combined with talent, I think Rogers might deserve this.

[Qwiz]

With age combined with talent, I think Rogers might deserve this.

He's basically the new Brady, #12 and all. Except he can run as well...it's dangerous lol. I would say a certain rookie quarterback who also wears 12 could be the new Brady as well, but I think most would rather me call him the next Manning . But in all seriousness Rodgers will probably win two or three Super Bowls in his time in the NFL. Heck, who knows, maybe even more.

[JoKeR]

Maybe the players opinions aren't all that great when they rank offensive tackles better than SB MVP QBs.

[southwest1]

Rodgers is the QB standard for 2012, no matter what anyone says. He's the reigning MVP and had a record-setting season, and brings an element to his game (running with the ball) that Brady, Manning, and Brees do/did not.

So Rodgers absolutely deserves to be #1 on this list. This was never a list acknowledging career accomplishments. It's a "here and now" list for 2012. You could make an argument for Brady ranking higher than Brees or Megatron (and I think the top three or four spots have to be QBs), but there's really no contest this year for the top spot.

And Welker should have made that catch in the SB. It wasn't a perfect throw but it was catchable. That's not a route Welker runs a lot, so he adjusted poorly to the ball and got handcuffed. He'll be the first to tell you he should have had it.

GoPats,

I will be honest with you. I wanted Eli to win his 2nd SB in LOS, the house that Peyton Manning built in INDY. But, I will acknowledge that I have a ton of respect for WR Wes Welker and it really ticked me off when so many NE fans dropped off all those Butterfinger candybars mocking his drop that could easily have changed the outcome of that game.

You can run the same route a thousand times and make the catch and then the 1 time you fail to make a connection you lose your opportunity to raise the Lombardi trophy. Wes Welker is a great WR; he didn't deserve to be treated like crap IMO. Real knowledgable football fans know this. Disappointment and heartbreak I get. Treating 1 of your best WR's like an insignificant scrub. I have absolutely no tolerance for.

[ViriLudant]

You can run the same route a thousand times and make the catch and then the 1 time you fail to make a connection you lose your opportunity to raise the Lombardi trophy. Wes Welker is a great WR; he didn't deserve to be treated like crap IMO. Real knowledgable football fans know this. Disappointment and heartbreak I get. Treating 1 of your best WR's like an insignificant scrub. I have absolutely no tolerance for.

gtho

Show me the Patriot fans that are "treating Welker like an insignificant scrub."

[southwest1]

GoPats,

I will be honest with you. I wanted Eli to win his 2nd SB in LOS, the house that Peyton Manning built in INDY. But, I will acknowledge that I have a ton of respect for WR Wes Welker and it really ticked me off when so many NE fans dropped off all those Butterfinger candybars mocking his drop that could easily have changed the outcome of that game.

You can run the same route a thousand times and make the catch and then the 1 time you fail to make a connection you lose your opportunity to raise the Lombardi trophy. Wes Welker is a great WR; he didn't deserve to be treated like crap IMO. Real knowledgable football fans know this. Disappointment and heartbreak I get. Treating 1 of your best WR's like an insignificant scrub. I have absolutely no tolerance for.

gtho

Show me the Patriot fans that are "treating Welker like an insignificant scrub."

This is the news story in Boston shortly after the Superbowl I was referring to:

http://youtu.be/3VSS82iaAQ4

In reference to this incomplete SB pass:

[Jay Kirk]

GoPats,

I will be honest with you. I wanted Eli to win his 2nd SB in LOS, the house that Peyton Manning built in INDY. But, I will acknowledge that I have a ton of respect for WR Wes Welker and it really ticked me off when so many NE fans dropped off all those Butterfinger candybars mocking his drop that could easily have changed the outcome of that game.

You can run the same route a thousand times and make the catch and then the 1 time you fail to make a connection you lose your opportunity to raise the Lombardi trophy. Wes Welker is a great WR; he didn't deserve to be treated like crap IMO. Real knowledgable football fans know this. Disappointment and heartbreak I get. Treating 1 of your best WR's like an insignificant scrub. I have absolutely no tolerance for.

Your right on Brother,unfortionate that fans treat sports figures like that,seems to go with a certain geographic area of the country or general direction,i can think of an incident of throwing batterys at a baseball player among other things,personaly as a pro athlete i would never play for a team in this general direction because of these things.It ludicrous

[Jules]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kG4Dh5UlXw&feature=related

[southwest1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kG4Dh5UlXw&feature=related

Jules,

I realize of course that you are a BIG Aaron Rogers fan. Does this mean you wanna take "Edith's" spot and hang out with "Discount Double Check" Championship Belt QB for a day instead?

Since I live in WI & we are Forum friends, I'll put in a good word for Ya okay Jules.... Just Kidding!!!

[Jules]

Jules,

I realize of course that you are a BIG Aaron Rogers fan. Does this mean you wanna take "Edith's" spot and hang out with "Discount Double Check" Championship Belt QB for a day instead?

Since I live in WI & we are Forum friends, I'll put in a good word for Ya okay Jules.... Just Kidding!!!

I think Miss. America might have beaten me to it. Thanks though.

http://larrybrownspo...ll-video/110781

[ViriLudant]

Your right on Brother,unfortionate that fans treat sports figures like that,seems to go with a certain geographic area of the country or general direction,i can think of an incident of throwing batterys at a baseball player among other things,personaly as a pro athlete i would never play for a team in this general direction because of these things.It ludicrous

That's odd; many professional football players go out of their way to come to New England for the chance to win.

Philly, on the other hand, is a completely different matter...

[Jay Kirk]

That's odd; many professional football players go out of their way to come to New England for the chance to win.

Philly, on the other hand, is a completely different matter...

Just a generalization,i see you know the incident i reffered to.The Welker incident only one i know about in NE,but have seen many in the eastern US in different Markets,Although i know the trouble is not from the majority,its still a blackeye.No offense meant towards the true sports fans of the east,because true fans have class and show it,unlike the thugs that pull these shinanigans,You do these things in most midwestern markets your going to jail,wich is the way it should be.

[GoPats]

GoPats,

I will be honest with you. I wanted Eli to win his 2nd SB in LOS, the house that Peyton Manning built in INDY. But, I will acknowledge that I have a ton of respect for WR Wes Welker and it really ticked me off when so many NE fans dropped off all those Butterfinger candybars mocking his drop that could easily have changed the outcome of that game.

You can run the same route a thousand times and make the catch and then the 1 time you fail to make a connection you lose your opportunity to raise the Lombardi trophy. Wes Welker is a great WR; he didn't deserve to be treated like crap IMO. Real knowledgable football fans know this. Disappointment and heartbreak I get. Treating 1 of your best WR's like an insignificant scrub. I have absolutely no tolerance for.

It wasn't NE fans who pulled the Butterfingers stunt. It was an online pawn shop.

http://www.nesn.com/...ley-square.html

Pawngo.com, the online pawn shop that dropped 900 pounds of Butterfingers in Copley Square to poke fun at Wes Welker, had to learn that the hard way. The stunt didn't go over too well, which prompted founder and CEO Todd Hills to issue an apology Wednesday on the business' website. "As a die-hard sports fan, I would like to sincerely apologize for a misguided and misdirected stunt that we did [Tuesday] in Boston," Hills said. "In delivering a pile of Butterfinger bars to Copley Square in Boston, and a sign referencing Wes Welker, we were making a lighthearted gesture following Sunday's hard fought game. We thought that Boston fans would get a laugh out of it. But, for many great Boston sports fans, it was taken offensively. Please accept my most sincere apologies.We got caught up in the moment, reacting to a suggestion that we thought would be funny, but we were wrong, and on behalf of everyone involved with Pawngo, I apologize." He also addressed Welker specifically later on in the apology, saying "we at Pawngo apologize for any hard feelings caused by what was only meant to be a lighthearted gesture following Sunday's hard-fought game." If the users' comments are any indication, this might be too little too late.

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/...ley-square.html

[southwest1]

It wasn't NE fans who pulled the Butterfingers stunt. It was an online pawn shop.

http://www.nesn.com/...ley-square.html

Pawngo.com, the online pawn shop that dropped 900 pounds of Butterfingers in Copley Square to poke fun at Wes Welker, had to learn that the hard way. The stunt didn't go over too well, which prompted founder and CEO Todd Hills to issue an apology Wednesday on the business' website. "As a die-hard sports fan, I would like to sincerely apologize for a misguided and misdirected stunt that we did [Tuesday] in Boston," Hills said. "In delivering a pile of Butterfinger bars to Copley Square in Boston, and a sign referencing Wes Welker, we were making a lighthearted gesture following Sunday's hard fought game. We thought that Boston fans would get a laugh out of it. But, for many great Boston sports fans, it was taken offensively. Please accept my most sincere apologies.We got caught up in the moment, reacting to a suggestion that we thought would be funny, but we were wrong, and on behalf of everyone involved with Pawngo, I apologize." He also addressed Welker specifically later on in the apology, saying "we at Pawngo apologize for any hard feelings caused by what was only meant to be a lighthearted gesture following Sunday's hard-fought game." If the users' comments are any indication, this might be too little too late.

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/...ley-square.html

Sorry GoPats & all NE Patriots fans. Clearly, I was wrong & I misinterpreted the Butterfinger fiasco. I can readily admit when I made a mistake. Thanks for rectifying this egregious error on my part. It was not intentional. I respect how your organization is flawlessly run from top to bottom.

I am glad to hear that WR Wes Welker was not disrespected like I thought he was. In the future, I will try not to jump to any unwarranted conclusions. Thank you.

[GoPats]

Sorry GoPats & all NE Patriots fans. Clearly, I was wrong & I misinterpreted the Butterfinger fiasco. I can readily admit when I made a mistake. Thanks for rectifying this egregious error on my part. It was not intentional. I respect how your organization is flawlessly run from top to bottom.

I am glad to hear that WR Wes Welker was not disrespected like I thought he was. In the future, I will try not to jump to any unwarranted conclusions. Thank you.

No worries buddy! We're pretty brutal, but we're not THAT brutal, LOL!

[WSO]

It was actually a good list.

[ViriLudant]

Just read what I always suspected about Rodgers:

He's one of the worst QBs in history when it comes to 4th quarter comebacks.

His record in those opportunities?

3-18.

Eli, for comparison, is 21-22 in similar situations.

Romo, who's widely thought of as a choker, is 13-20.

[Jules]

Today's active QBs are a tad overrated to me anyway compared to past greats. JMO.

BTW anyone can find numbers to show that ANY QB has weaknesses.

[DoomOf21]

So as far as I can tell, the ordering of the list is pretty silly. It happens though that is awesome to actually watch the players talk about their selections, and the highlights of the players themselves.

http://top100.nfl.com/tracker