sbk92
2
- Messages
- 12,134
- Reaction score
- 6
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
ATLANTA – You can only hope Tony Romo spent Saturday night somewhere watching Aaron Rodgers' performance against Atlanta, the NFC's top seed.
It was fabulous.
Rodgers made a variety of great throws, and it didn't matter whether he was under duress. Too many times to remember, he spun away from potential tacklers, continued looking downfield and found receivers for big gains.
He made excellent decisions, taking the checkdowns when necessary and gambling when appropriate. He rallied the Packers from early deficits of 7-0 and 14-7, leaving the Georgia Dome half-empty entering the fourth quarter, making it easy to hear the frequent "Go! Pack! Go!" cheers from the cheeseheads in attendance.
Pressure? Whatever.
Rodgers controlled every facet of the game, which is why Green Bay will play in the NFC Championship Game.
Rodgers completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers blew out the Falcons, 48-21.
Wow.
No one is talking about how he hadn't won a playoff game anymore. Not that they should've been discussing it anyway.
After all, he was only 0-1 – and he passed for 423 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in that game. You can hardly blame a 51-45 loss on the quarterback.
But the city that produced Bart Starr and Brett Favre has incredibly high standards for its quarterback. The fans expect their quarterback to play at a Hall of Fame level.
Do it, and the quarterback is happily handed the key to the city. Fail, and the fans are constantly searching for his replacement.
Sound familiar?
Rodgers, though, is moving rapidly toward becoming an elite quarterback. Actually, he appears to have arrived.
We're still waiting for Romo to ascend to that level. He's close, but he's not there yet.
The NFL has several good quarterbacks, but we can't even add a quality player such as Romo to the conversation about elite quarterbacks until he wins a playoff game on the road.
Rodgers has won postseason road games each of the last two weeks. Romo is 0-2 on the road and 1-3 overall.
When you're debating the best of the best, you have to nitpick because so much of the discussion is subjective.
What's not up for debate is how much Rodgers has evolved in his three seasons as a starter. He has everything you want in a quarterback: athleticism, intelligence and a terrific arm.
His elusiveness in the pocket seemingly demoralized the Falcons as much as his completions. He has mastered sliding forward and backward as well as side to side in the pocket to give his receivers additional time to get open.
When he does run, he's decisive. And he does a good job of pump-faking even after he's crossed the line of scrimmage, creating just enough doubt to gain another yard or two.
And with the Packers leading 28-14 at halftime, he drove Green Bay 80 yards in 12 plays and 6:32 to start the second half. He covered the last 7 yards on a scramble after his protection broke down, running through a defender at the 2 and falling into the end zone.
We really shouldn't be surprised at how well he played. It's not like we didn't see him slice and dice the Cowboys for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-7 victory in November, resulting in Wade Phillips getting fired the next day.
He finished the season with 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Somehow, he didn't make the Pro Bowl.
It's unfathomable to think NFL players, coaches and fans didn't think Rodgers was one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFC.
Well, they can spend next week watching him, while feeling silly about their decision to leave him off the team.
And it'll give Romo another opportunity to watch Rodgers and think about what he must improve to become one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks.
ATLANTA – You can only hope Tony Romo spent Saturday night somewhere watching Aaron Rodgers' performance against Atlanta, the NFC's top seed.
It was fabulous.
Rodgers made a variety of great throws, and it didn't matter whether he was under duress. Too many times to remember, he spun away from potential tacklers, continued looking downfield and found receivers for big gains.
He made excellent decisions, taking the checkdowns when necessary and gambling when appropriate. He rallied the Packers from early deficits of 7-0 and 14-7, leaving the Georgia Dome half-empty entering the fourth quarter, making it easy to hear the frequent "Go! Pack! Go!" cheers from the cheeseheads in attendance.
Pressure? Whatever.
Rodgers controlled every facet of the game, which is why Green Bay will play in the NFC Championship Game.
Rodgers completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers blew out the Falcons, 48-21.
Wow.
No one is talking about how he hadn't won a playoff game anymore. Not that they should've been discussing it anyway.
After all, he was only 0-1 – and he passed for 423 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in that game. You can hardly blame a 51-45 loss on the quarterback.
But the city that produced Bart Starr and Brett Favre has incredibly high standards for its quarterback. The fans expect their quarterback to play at a Hall of Fame level.
Do it, and the quarterback is happily handed the key to the city. Fail, and the fans are constantly searching for his replacement.
Sound familiar?
Rodgers, though, is moving rapidly toward becoming an elite quarterback. Actually, he appears to have arrived.
We're still waiting for Romo to ascend to that level. He's close, but he's not there yet.
The NFL has several good quarterbacks, but we can't even add a quality player such as Romo to the conversation about elite quarterbacks until he wins a playoff game on the road.
Rodgers has won postseason road games each of the last two weeks. Romo is 0-2 on the road and 1-3 overall.
When you're debating the best of the best, you have to nitpick because so much of the discussion is subjective.
What's not up for debate is how much Rodgers has evolved in his three seasons as a starter. He has everything you want in a quarterback: athleticism, intelligence and a terrific arm.
His elusiveness in the pocket seemingly demoralized the Falcons as much as his completions. He has mastered sliding forward and backward as well as side to side in the pocket to give his receivers additional time to get open.
When he does run, he's decisive. And he does a good job of pump-faking even after he's crossed the line of scrimmage, creating just enough doubt to gain another yard or two.
And with the Packers leading 28-14 at halftime, he drove Green Bay 80 yards in 12 plays and 6:32 to start the second half. He covered the last 7 yards on a scramble after his protection broke down, running through a defender at the 2 and falling into the end zone.
We really shouldn't be surprised at how well he played. It's not like we didn't see him slice and dice the Cowboys for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-7 victory in November, resulting in Wade Phillips getting fired the next day.
He finished the season with 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Somehow, he didn't make the Pro Bowl.
It's unfathomable to think NFL players, coaches and fans didn't think Rodgers was one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFC.
Well, they can spend next week watching him, while feeling silly about their decision to leave him off the team.
And it'll give Romo another opportunity to watch Rodgers and think about what he must improve to become one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks.
