The Difference in a Goat and a Sheep
While Goats and Sheep are very similar to the average human, there are distinct physical and scientific differences that separate the two. A Sheep has 54 chromosomes and has wool for fur. While a Goat has 60 chromosomes and hair for fur. Another important distinction between the two is the set of horns that comes with the Goat. This weekend a very big football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers will determine who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. However, to me, not only will it make one of the teams NFC Champs but also separate the Goat from the Sheep, at the Quarterback position.
Now, this is not a slight to anything Tom Brady has done throughout his Hall of Fame career, but rather a tutorial on why Aaron Rodgers is the one with the horns. To truly recognize the GOAT, you have to understand his story, Aaron Rodgers was drafted in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, that year it was a debate on who was the top QB prospect entering the draft that year between him and Alex Smith. Alex Smith would end up being the #1 overall pick and Rodgers would fall all the way to Pick #24. Not only did he fall in the 1st round of the draft but the team who drafted him didn’t need his services.
At the time, Green Bay had a more than competent starter in Brett Favre, one of the greatest to ever throw a football. You search “Gunslinger” most likely Brett Favre’s picture would pop up. So, what did this do for Aaron? Well despite the chip on his shoulder from falling in the draft. He would have to sit and wait his turn behind Favre. But while waiting his turn he was improving, so much so that soon enough he would be an upgrade over a first-ballot Hall of Famer. So now let’s Fast Forward a bit to 2007.
It is 2007 again and both the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots are title contenders. The Patriots would add Randy Moss and company to help give Brady the best weaponry of his career at that time. Brady would go on to an undefeated season and have his greatest season ever throwing 50 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. Only to fall short in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. Meanwhile, just two weeks before that epic Super Bowl the New York Giants would be ending the Packers season in the NFC championship game and Brett Favre would be making his last start as a Packer losing 23–20. It was in that game, and probably throughout his 3 years sitting behind Favre that he learned what hurts your team the most, at the QB position, and that’s turnovers. No matter how good your team is or how far you can throw the football, not turning the ball over is the key to winning football games. Aaron would follow this module his whole career to a tee.
Simply put, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t turn the football over. He is the only QB in NFL history to have 400 or more passing touchdowns with less than 100 interceptions. Rodgers is at 412 touchdowns to only 89 Interceptions, respectfully. Take this into consideration in comparison to Russel Wilson a QB highly regarded for taking care of the football; although Rodgers has played 4 more seasons and over 50 more career games, he has only 8 more interceptions for his career than Wilson, who stands at 267 touchdowns to 81 interceptions. That is absurd and what makes matters worse, Tom Brady more than double’s him in career interceptions with 191 interceptions to 581 passing touchdowns.
Aaron Rodgers is the most efficient passer we have ever seen and it’s not even close. Through his 13 years as a starter, he has only had two seasons with double-digit interceptions, and matter of fact the last time he threw for double-digit interceptions was 10 years ago in 2010 with 11 interceptions. There have only been 4 seasons in NFL history where a QB has thrown for 40+ touchdowns and had less than 10 Interceptions. One of those seasons belongs to Tom Brady in 2007 mentioned above. The other 3 belong to Mr. “Discount Double Check” himself, Aaron Rodgers, in 2011, 2016, and this season. While accuracy is one of the main reasons for Aaron’s greatness, it’s most definitely not the only reason. What about him being the prototype of today’s QB?
Now when you watch Aaron Rodgers play you get enamored with his ability to throw the ball, that we often forget about his ability to go on the move and extend plays. Aaron Rodgers is 1 of only 11 QB’s to rush for over 3,000 yards in their career. He has been the prototype at the position for years now and his ability to extend plays with his legs while not losing accuracy or field vision is his separator or horns. Just look around the NFL your everyday pocket passer isn’t the standard in the NFL anymore. Although Aaron wouldn’t consider himself a dual-threat he will take off if he absolutely has to. The main reason Aaron moves out of the pocket is to give his skilled players more time to get open and make a play. It’s a huge X-factor for any offense and is what the NFL has been in search of within the past decade.
Players that can work inside the pocket as well as mobile enough to extend plays outside the pocket or take off when needed. The shift started with the(add year here) draft class that included Andrew Luck, RG3, and Russel Wilson, which led to the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Josh Allen currently dominating. Not only because of their ability to throw but because of the added dimension of being able to extend the play using their legs. Those are just a few of many examples, I can honestly name fewer pocket passing quarterbacks in today’s NFL than ever before and that’s because it’s slowly being etched out of the game. Philip Rivers just retired, Drew Brees needs to retire and young guys like Dwayne Haskins and Jared Goff, don’t seem like franchise cornerstone’s when compared to the young dual threats I mentioned above. The new standard at QB and playing the position has and will be Aaron Rodgers. But what about rings? We’ll get to Brady and Rodgers count in due time.
If you know, you know. Brady has 6 rings and Aaron Rodgers has 1 ring, but what most of you don’t know is the importance of coaching, in particular, when it comes to football. To start, in the sport of football you have more phases, (3) than any other sport. You have offense, defense, and then special teams. For each phase you have 11 players that have to be accounted for; you have your 11 starters on offense and your 11 starters on defense, as well as your kicker, punter, long snapper, returners, and whatever else that makes up the 11 players you need for Special Teams. All the other major sports don’t come with an extra phase and have to account for 11 players each and every possession. With more players being on the field than any other sport and having more phases than other sport, guess what you have to do more than any other sport. You have to put those players in the right position to be successful or COACH!
The NFL, because of the number of players and additional phases in its game, requires more coaching than any other major sport. Having a supremely talented player in a sport, like basketball, that only contains 5 of your players on the court at once and those five players go back and forth between their two phases of offense and defense, coaching isn’t nearly as important in that sport. This is why the best individual in basketball will usually win the title because an individual’s greatness can make up for lack of coaching in basketball. That’s not the case in Football. No matter how great an individual like Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady is he only can account for one phase of the team and that’s the offense.
Ever heard of the Patriot Way? Well, all 6 of Brady’s rings came from New England and a coach named Bill Belichick and the “Patriot Way”. Arguably the greatest coach of all-time no matter the sport, Belichick is known for how prepared he had all his players be- week in and week out, for 20 years. That’s who Brady had as his coach up until this season with Tampa Bay. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, had Mike McCarthy as his head coach, not the worse coach ever, clearly, because he won a Super Bowl in 2011, but definitely, a considerable downgrade in comparison to Bill Belichick, who is the NFL”s standard for consistency. Every football dynasty, while they have all-time great quarterbacks’ also have All-time great coaches like Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, Tom Landry, need I say more.
That’s literally the difference in ring count between the two Quarterbacks; Brady has had the coaching advantage to help put his team in contention each and every year. Rodgers did not and was carrying his franchise, unlike any other QB, until the hiring of Matt LaFleur 2 years ago.
I didn’t know what to expect from Matt LaFleur when hired, but after year 2 in Green Bay and back-to-back 13–3 seasons with NFC championship game appearances, I can confidently say he’s one of the best young coaches we have in the game today. Probably neck and neck with Sean McVay to be considered the best young NFL head coach. LaFleur recognized early that with a guy like Aaron Rodgers, he is going to be great, no matter the scheme, system, or what you put around him. With that in mind, he knew the offense wouldn’t be much of an issue while Aaron Rodgers was still playing at his normal elite level; but to compete year in and year out, you have to have a complete team.
So, what does Lafleur do, started with defense and used most of his draft capital revamping the defense, specifically the secondary, and then used actual capital (money) to target highly productive pass rushers in free agency. The result was turning one of the worse defenses in the league into average at worse. This is a good start considering how great the Green Bay offense has always been and how horrible the defense has always been. Did you know that Aaron Rodgers team had the highest points allowed in the history of the league? Roger’s playoff losses, with his teams, the defense allowed, on average, 36 points. No other QBs team defense is even in the ’30s on average in this category. Do I even need to ask? you know a Bill Belichick led team is not going for that.
What else did LaFleur do? he created balance amongst the offense. Although Aaron is great, you can’t expect him to put the team on his back every single week; as he continues to age, so for the first time in a while, Aaron Rodgers had a back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher in the huddle with him, by the name of Aaron Jones. Before LaFleur, the last time Aaron Rodgers had a 1,000-yard rusher, was with Eddie Lacy, in 2014; when Obama was in office. LaFleur has been great for this Organization but especially for lessening the burden on Aaron Rodger’s shoulders.
This weekend’s matchup between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will be the closest match they have been as far as surrounding parts and IQ simply because Rodgers team is no longer coached by McCarthy, and Brady’s’ team is no longer in New England being coached by Belichick. So, what do you think the end result will be this weekend when these two Titans clash?
This will be the first time Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady will meet each other in the playoffs EVER! This game is highly anticipated because of the age of these two legends, and it possibly being their only meeting in a playoff game. For others, this will be the game that determines who is better. I’m here to tell you Aaron Rodgers has always been better; this weekend will just further cement it. Rogers will try to complete one of the greatest seasons a quarterback player has ever had by throwing 48 TD to 5 interceptions in route to winning League MVP. Greenbay will beat the Bucs on his way to taking on either the Bills or Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
If he wins the Super Bowl, he becomes one of only two players to win Super Bowls with two different coaches. The other being Peyton Manning, a distinction of Tom Brady’s I would add to his resume (like he needs another accolade). Mostly to separate himself from “The Patriot Way” but won’t this season because it will be somebody on the other sideline, this weekend, greater than him, and it’s nothing Brady will be able to do about it but look at Rodger’s horns. Baaaaaaaaaahhhh! *Goat noise*
