Packers Stock Report: Aaron Rodgers > Tom Brady Edition
If you listen to the Boston homers employed by ESPN, you’d think the Patriots dropped 10 touchdown passes and had 14 pass interference penalties mistakenly called against them during Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.
They’ll tell you the Patriots just had an off game, that a few bounces in the other direction and a call here or there would have resulted in a Pats’ victory.
Nonsense. The Patriots were lucky the game was as close as it was.
If Green Bay scored touchdowns while in the red zone instead of field goals, the game’s a blowout. If Davante Adams doesn’t drop an easy touchdown pass, the game is more of a blowout. If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t misfire on a couple of early throws, the rout would’ve been on. If Mason Crosby doesn’t whiff on a late field goal, the margin of victory would have been wider.
Despite what the Boston homers at the Worldwide Leader would have you believe, it was the Packers, not the Patriots, who kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Of course, I’m not saying the Packers are head and shoulders better than New England. If this game is played 10 times on a neutral field, the Packers probably win six times and every game would be a nail-biter.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to see these two teams play each other 10 times this season. But we might get a chance to seem them square off again in February. On a neutral field. In a little game called the Super Bowl.
Rising
Aaron Rodgers
The best player in football. There’s really nothing else to say about him. Tom Brady is still a great quarterback, but Rodgers has without a doubt passed him by. That’s not a knock on Brady, he very well could eat the Packers’ lunch should these two teams meet again the Super Bowl, but Rodgers is the man now.
Mike McCarthy
This piece from Greg Bedard at Sports Illustrated summarizes how I feel about McCarthy perfectly. The No. 1 people forget about when discussing McCarthy is his role in resurrecting the end of Brett Favre’s career and helping shape Aaron Rodgers into the quarterback he is today.
Sam Barrington
Yeah, I’m probably putting Barrington in the rising category prematurely, but how nice was it watching a middle linebacker wearing Packers’ colors delivering big hits to running backs as they try to explode through a hole? Barrington delivered a couple of shots on Sunday to the Patriots’ power runners. If this kid can learn the defense and operate inside without being told where to be and who to cover all the time, watch out.
Steady
Tramon Williams
This is another controversial selection, but hear me out. Yes, Williams got beat a few times in pass coverage, but he made several open-field tackles that prevented big plays and kept Patriots’ receivers short of the first-down marker. Remember when Williams wanted no part of tackling anybody a few years back? Those days are long gone. He’s now a willing tackler. On Sunday, he was willing and effective.
Mike Daniels
The way to contain Tom Brady is to pressure him up the middle. Daniels has been solid all season, and delivered interior pressure all day on Sunday before finally getting home and sacking Brady on the Patriots’ final offensive play from scrimmage.
Randall Cobb
Cobb line up here, there and everywhere on Sunday. He managed to get open from all angles, and even sealed the game on a catch from Rodgers before the two-minute warning where he really wasn’t that open.
Falling
Darrelle Revis
The BS was flowing off of Revis Island after the game. Revis said Nelson pushed off on his 45-yard touchdown catch. Wah. Wah. Wah. You got beat, Darrelle. Badly. Man up and stop with the excuses.
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