Rodgers Final QB Rating = 93.8

[LUKE23]

I wonder where that ranks all-time for 1st year starters.

63.6% completion, 4,038 yards, 28 TD, 13 INT, 93.8 QB rating.

He outplayed my expectations, and I had high ones for him. Can't wait to see him in 2009 with another offseason of improvement.

[Captain Erv]

32 total TD's, very nice.

[Simulack]

I was wondering where he would end up after today. 93.8 will likely move him ahead of Garcia and possibly Romo for 6th best in the NFL.

I also mentioned to a friend earlier in the year that I thought Rodgers had to have one of the highest by a first year starter in the history of the NFL. I think Marino had the highest at 96.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... /rookieqbs

That article mentions Greg Cook's 88.0 in 1969 as being the second highest by a rookie as of 2004. Its harder to find somewhere to look up first year starters as opposed to rookies without just guessing at guys who may have been comparable and likely missing lesser known names.

EDIT: Big Ben was at 98.1 as a rookie, didn't realize he was that high.

[xTitan]

How ironic last year Favre through for 4155 with 28 TD's and 15 ints......66.5% with 12 yards rushing and 0 TD's.

The most over-rated player int he NFL might just be Tony Romo, that guy does nothing when the game is on the line or his running game isn't working.

[an_also]

I'm not a big fan of qb rating as it makes 'gamemanagers' look good and sometimes does not tell the whole story.

That being said, Rodgers has had an amazing season. I never thought he would throw for 4000+ and 28 tds in his first year starting. A-rodg's arm strength was a lot stronger than i thought. His arm didnt seem this strong in cal. I was happy to be moving on from favre in the offseason and my opinion hasnt changed now either. Its obv that father time has caught up to favre in a big way.

[Simulack]

Yeah, QB Rating isn't the end all/be all but Rodgers ends up even higher in other categories like TD passes and total yards. He finishes 4th best in the NFL in both of those categories.

Statistically, there are only a few QB's (like Marino and Big Ben) who played so well in their first year as a starter. I'd guess Ryan and Cassel are up there as well.

[aaprigs311]

Great season. He set the bar high.

[ReasonablySober]

[Simulack]

I forgot Warner did so well in his first year, that's right. Or else my hatred of him caused me to deliberately overlook him. Of course Warner had experience in previous leagues and was much older at the start of that season. Still, statistically he was without a doubt the best first year starter in the history of the NFL.

[Bernman]

The only area where I'd like to see him improve is his decision making on 3rd down and 7-10 or so. Too often he easily settles for the check down to a running back, TE, or WR on a comeback route. The only time it's particularly acceptable is if we're gaining necessary extra yardage to get into field goal range. Otherwise you might as well hold it as long as possible, until something opens down the field, because taking the sack isn't the worst thing in the world. Anybody know our statistics on 3rd and long vs. the rest of the NFL? My guess is they are mediocre.

I'm not as negative as most about his supposed clutch ability, or lack thereof. That was a team dysfunction with everyone putting pressure on the next guy to make a play, and he was probably one of the least effected. Led multiple comebacks and game winning drives only for them to be negated by the defense allowing the offense whatever was necessary. If the opponent needed a touchdown quickly, that's what they got. If it was ideal to methodically drive down for the game winning fg, that's what they did. And usually Rodgers had a minuscule amount of time to be a hero, and it took him out of his comfort zone, as it would with many.

Very good year overall for Aaron. Quarterbacks aren't "that" tough to come by for most franchises. It's just the exceptions like Miami, Chicago, etc; that make it seem that way. And us pre Wolf because our GM's just sucked in general.

[El Duderino]

I'm convinced that only suffering multiple injury issues will prevent Rodgers from being the Packers QB the next 5-10 years and being a good one to.

Ted Thompson frustrates me at times, but being able to go directly from Favre to Rodgers without having to suffer any lean years of watching scrubs or stopgaps at QB is the best move he's made as GM.

[Mags FTW]

Kurt Warner Cheered On By Wire-Haired Man-Goblin

[ACGB]

Rodgers: 4,038 yards, 28 TD, 13 INT, 93.8 QB rating
2007 Favre: 4155 yards with 28 TD's and 15 int, 95 QB rating
2008 Favre: 3,472 yards, 22 TD, 22 INT, 81 QB rating

[ReasonablySober]

Bern hit on something I've considered for a few weeks now. This is the first year in a long time that we've had a QB give away possessions, and it can be both a negative and a positive. There were a lot of times this year on 3rd and long where we saw Aaron either run out of bounds before the marker or simply throw the ball away. Favre very rarely did that. He'd almost always at least attempt a pass. It got me to wonder what that had on the outcome on our games and if that was a big reason why the Packers always seemed to be in close ones. They didn't pull away in games but they were always in position to win. I understand that's what someone would call a game manager, but game managers don't toss for 4000 yards or rank this high in TD passes or yards per attempt.

[Buck You]

Favre had more turnovers than 20 nfl teams. Just saying.

[Fort Minor]

He's definately exceeded my expectations. The fact that he played all 16 games is really enough to get me giddy for next year.

[Mags FTW]

Rodgers: 4,038 yards, 28 TD, 13 INT, 93.8 QB rating
2007 Favre: 4155 yards with 28 TD's and 15 int, 95 QB rating
2008 Favre: 3,472 yards, 22 TD, 22 INT, 81 QB rating

First Full Season Starter Favre: 3303 yards with 19 TD's and 24 int, 72.2 QB rating
Career Avg. Favre: 3831 yards with 27.3 TD's and 18.2 int, 85.4 QB rating

[El Duderino]

Bern hit on something I've considered for a few weeks now. This is the first year in a long time that we've had a QB give away possessions, and it can be both a negative and a positive. There were a lot of times this year on 3rd and long where we saw Aaron either run out of bounds before the marker or simply throw the ball away. Favre very rarely did that. He'd almost always at least attempt a pass. It got me to wonder what that had on the outcome on our games and if that was a big reason why the Packers always seemed to be in close ones. They didn't pull away in games but they were always in position to win. I understand that's what someone would call a game manager, but game managers don't toss for 4000 yards or rank this high in TD passes or yards per attempt.

I don't think at all that Rodgers was just a game manager like say Collins is for the Titans. That said, with our miserable defense and below average running game, McCarthy had to count on the passing game to produce both lots of yard and points.

Aaron really did a fine job throwing the ball downfield, i'd assume that our offense was in the top 5-7 at most in pass plays over 20 to 40 yards. He throws a very catchable and accurate deep ball. Rodgers is also very smart and know the great importance of turnovers, but i do think here and there, he'd play it a little to safe, especially on blitzes or downs when he felt pressure by getting rid of the ball really quick after he struggled early on holding the ball to long at times. That though is all what comes with being a first year starter. I really think that next year we'll see Aaron as a very confident and high caliber QB. He'll be entering every offseason camp as the clear starting quarterback. He'll have the chance to sit back and watch film of all his games this year, analyze his play from every level.

Rodgers can't control whether Thompson is able to fix our terrible defense, but i'd be quite surprised if he doesn't perform to around a top 10ish level starting QB next year. IMO, he has nearly every skill needed to be an upper tier QB and come next year, Rodgers will no longer be in any situations for the first time. So long as he stays healthy, QB is at the very bottom on my list of concerns for next year.

[Ayt]

I don't think at all that Rodgers was just a game manager like say Collins is for the Titans. That said, with our miserable defense and below average running game, McCarthy had to count on the passing game to produce both lots of yard and points.

Aaron really did a fine job throwing the ball downfield, i'd assume that our offense was in the top 5-7 at most in pass plays over 20 to 40 yards. He throws a very catchable and accurate deep ball. Rodgers is also very smart and know the great importance of turnovers, but i do think here and there, he'd play it a little to safe, especially on blitzes or downs when he felt pressure by getting rid of the ball really quick after he struggled early on holding the ball to long at times. That though is all what comes with being a first year starter. I really think that next year we'll see Aaron as a very confident and high caliber QB. He'll be entering every offseason camp as the clear starting quarterback. He'll have the chance to sit back and watch film of all his games this year, analyze his play from every level.

Rodgers can't control whether Thompson is able to fix our terrible defense, but i'd be quite surprised if he doesn't perform to around a top 10ish level starting QB next year. IMO, he has nearly every skill needed to be an upper tier QB and come next year, Rodgers will no longer be in any situations for the first time. So long as he stays healthy, QB is at the very bottom on my list of concerns for next year.

Rodgers tied for 5th in passes of 20+ yards and tied Brees for 1st with the most passes of 40+ with 16.

Interestingly enough, Rodgers had 1 less pass of 20+ yards and the same number of 40+ yarders as Favre did last year. Also, AR had one more pass attempt than Favre did last year.

We asked a ton of Favre overall in his last year here, and we asked a ton of Rodgers in his first year starting. His upside is massive.