Has Aaron Rodgers surpassed Tom Brady?

Look at these QB average career numbers: 3,474 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns a season with only 10 interceptions vs. 3,903 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns a season with only 11 interceptions vs. 4,131 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns a season with only 11 interceptions. The first one is Tom Brady in 10 seasons as a starter. The second is Phillip Rivers in 5 seasons as a starter. Finally, the 3 rd is Aaron Rodgers in 3 seasons as a starter. No one considers Rivers among the elite Quarterbacks. But too many critics are ranking Rodgers ahead of Brady, which should only be done in fantasy leagues, not the real NFL. A 3 season career should not be compared to a 10 season career. However, it is not the duration of his success that makes Brady so great. It is the 3 Super Bowl wins.

When evaluating players we always say “but he never won a championship”. But is that 1st championship so much more important than the 2nd? Or the 3rd? In the last 20 years only 1 other Quarterback has even won 2. All NFL teams spend relatively the same amount. Great franchises need to constantly replace key players. The salary floor is expected to increase bring payrolls even closer. Rookie wages are about to decrease, which will help weaker teams even more. This makes it so hard to maintain dynasties in the NFL.

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Too many people are using 1 title to justify a career worth of statistics. They are forgetting how hard it is to win 3 Super Bowls. In his 2nd season, Brady came in as the guy. The 2001 Patriot team relied heavily on its defense, but it was the final drive led by Brady that won the game.

By no fault of his own Rodgers rode the bench for his first 3 seasons. Contrastingly, Brady put the team on his shoulders and led a game winning Super Bowl season in only his second season. In 2003, Brady led the Patriots to another Super Bowl with minimal offensive weapons. He did not have a Greg Jennings type receiver. And the Patriots had a terrible running game, which has been the story for most of Brady’s career. In 2004, the loaded Patriots repeated as Super Bowl champions. Brady had a 130.5 Quarterback rating against the #1 Steeler’s defense. But that's Tom Brady. He can carry a team, any team. The Patriots can have the youngest defense in the league, which cannot stop anyone. They can have no star athletes around him, but he can still carry a team to 14-2. Can Rodgers do that? Rodgers went 6-10 in his first season as a starter, because he did not have enough of a supporting cast. That was Rodgers fourth season of his career. In Brady’s fourth season he won his second Super Bowl; and he still has never had a season with a losing record.

You can blame it on Brett Favre or whoever you want, but Rodger’s career started so much slower than Brady. It is very difficult to win 3 Super Bowls even if nothing goes wrong. It is difficult even if you never miss an entire season with a fluke injury; even if you never lose a Super Bowl that you would have won if it had not been for one stupid lucky play. Even if you get lucky every season it is nearly impossible to win 3. Rodgers has emerged as an elite Quarterback, but Brady did it much faster; and has been evolving his game ever since.

Critics use to say that Brady could only complete the short passes underneath. When he was finally teamed with deep threat Randy Moss, Brady broke the single season passing touchdown record. Brady has shown he can win; and will win in any system: from the short throws to many different targets and relying on your defense to the airing it out when your defense has to play wide receivers and linebackers as corners. In a league where lineups constantly changed, Brady has consistently adopted his playing style. Only one thing remains constant through his career: the Patriots winning a lot of games. Brady will always be remembered for the better career. Rodgers has finally emerged out of Favre’s shadow, but he will never be remembered ahead of Brady.

There will be more great Quarterbacks. Eventually, another Quarterback will win 3 super bowls. But I doubt it will be Aaron Rodgers. But for some winning is not everything. Some people use statistics to explain circumstances. If you think Peyton Manning is better than Brady; then you might eventually feel the same about Rodgers.

By: Clark Mann
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer