Rodgers Takes a Step Toward Greatness

In Super XLV Aaron Rodgers played an incredible game, throwing for 304 yards while completing 61.5 percent of his passes.  Three of his 39 passes connected for a touchdown leading his team to a 31-25 victory over the Steelers.

The 27 year old Packers quarterback earned the game’s MVP award, in a game that his team controlled the entire way.

Pittsburgh was really never able to make a game of it trailing 21-3 at one point.  They did cut the differential to three points late in the game but a Rodgers led Packers offense answered quickly, sealing the fate of Steelers.

After such a marvelous performance by Rodgers many in the media are ready to christen him the greatest Packer quarterback ever and evening claiming he is in the highest echelon of NFL passers equal to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

These statements are simply not well thought out; I mean Aaron Rodgers is not better than Brett Favre was.  Favre was a two time MVP at the same point in his career, Favre is the NFL’s all time leader in passing yards, passes completed, and touchdowns thrown.  Rodgers is a very good player but winning one game does not put him on Favre’s level.  Even Among his competitors Rodgers should not be compared to the game’s best, Manning and Brady who may be two of the all time greats. 

Brady won the MVP this year, his second, and he as three super bowl titles.  Compare that to Rodgers one Super Bowl and no MVPs.  Brady has put up great numbers and won every year of his career, not to say Rodgers numbers are poor, he just has not done it long enough to claim he is on that level.

Peyton Manning has been named MVP a record four times and has shown the ability to be the best passer in the league while never having elite targets.  Marvin Harrison was very good and Reggie Wayne is nothing to scoff at but neither has the physicality of Greg Jennings or his athleticism.  In fact the Packers probably have the best receiving corps in the league; Donald Driver is their fourth receiver and Jordy Nelson may be a rising star. Would the Packers even have a winning record if they had to count on undrafted rookie Blair White, or Pierre Garçon who came out of division three Mount Union?  These players look serviceable for Manning but could they even make another team’s roster?

I don’t want it to appear I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is a very good player; he is just not on the level that many are now claiming.  Does anyone not remember that Drew Brees was the best quarterback ever coming into the season after a great Super Bowl performance?

The Playoff Beard: Making Athletes Look Stupid for a Quarter Century

As the Super Bowl approaches we as fans are being afflicted by one of the greatest travesties that comes upon the sports word, the Playoff Beard.  Both starting quarterbacks have been growing their facial follicles in the weeks approaching the big games and neither has found a favorable look.

The Playoff beard was started by NHL teams as a sort of good luck charm and has unfortunately transcended other sports.  These athletes choose to make themselves look like homeless vagabonds roaming the sidelines of their respective sports.  The beard in and of itself is favorable on almost no one,  it almost screams from ones silent face “ I am less sophisticated and articulate” or “look at me I can’t groom myself properly”.

In the case of the quarterbacks the grooming statement is even more peculiar because how they present themselves is a reflection on themselves and at a position that requires poise, attention to detail, absolute focus, and precision.  Allowing ones face to grow into a mangled hairy mess exemplifies none of these characteristics.

Aaron Rodgers did attend Cal Berkeley, a school and region renowned for its harboring of hippies, in recent history the school had students live in trees so that they would not be cut down.  They are known for protesting causes that are generally supported by the ungroomed, like marijuana legislation, and free love.  And maybe Rodgers is simply returning to his roots by donning the hippie facial hair.

For Roethlisberger the beard is not terribly different from his usually groomed and trimmed goatee, but as the playoffs carry on his beard grows thicker and stupider looking.  But maybe he’s just preparing for his offseason look, after all a grotesque and bushy beard is the facial hair I would expect an alleged sexual assailant to fashion.  Roethlisberger should at least consider this when styling his face and try not to look like a guy who goes to small towns to fornicate unconsensually with college students in bar bathrooms.

Now there is one playoff beard I must commend, it is a beard of epic proportion, one that is stylistically unmatched, and so grand it deserves its own identity.   That is the beard of Brett Keisel.  Like most beards it is extremely unattractive and even foolish looking but the by itself it is a work of art.  It is its own entity separate from the Steelers defensive lineman.  When the two combine and Keisel pulls his head gear over the monstrous facial hair it makes him looks almost alien in appearance.  Packers center Scott Wells may look up at some point in the game and wonder if he is blocking Chewbacca of Star Wars fame.

The Bottom line is the gimmick of the Playoff beard needs to stop.  Players making themselves look ridiculous for tradition is of no merit, it is not lucky, it is not cool, it only creates an unpleasant attraction that distracts from actual attributes the player might possess.

One Yard and a Cloud of Dust: Can Raji Make History

William “the Refrigerator” Perry is one of the most recognizable and well known defensive lineman to have ever played in the NFL.  This is largely due to a one yard touchdown run he had in Super Bowl XX as the game was already decided.  The 330 pound fullback plowed through the Patriots defense and created a legend. 

Perry is remembered as an all time great because he had the ability to be a run stuffing defensive tackle and a short yardage blocker for Walter Payton.  Had Perry been one of these things his career would have been largely unnoticed.  Perry was never a stellar Defender but was definitely an asset to the Bears.  Perry had his best year in his second season, 1986; Perry had 84 tackles a mark he would never reach again.

The Green Bay Packers have started using their 337 pound nose tackle B.J. Raji as a power formation blocker in the playoffs and we may see a new wrinkle in that set that allows Raji the opportunity to touch the ball.  At least that is what Raji is hoping for, after returning an interception in the conference championship game Raji has dubbed himself the “freezer”.  Raji took an errant Caleb Hanie pass to the end zone and he looked impressive doing it, making some wonder if he could actually carry the ball.  Raji became the heaviest NFL player to score a touchdown on that play breaking the mark established by Perry.

If Packers coach Mike McCarthy calls on Raji like Perry he will become a national sensation overnight, celebrated for his unusual accomplishment and skill set possessed by few players his size.  Few players are celebrated for a one yard rush but Raji could etch his place in football lore if he can cross the goal line coming out of the backfield.  We will have to wait in anticipation to see if Raji’s first touch on offense is as spectacular as Perry’s shuffle into the end zone 25 years ago, but I would suspect it won’t be graceful and the celebration will be wild and boisterous.

From Zero to Hero: Who Will Become a Legend of the Game

With the Super Bowl looming we are about to make a national sensation out of a player most of us had never heard of.  In 2008 David Tyree cam into our living rooms has he latched a pass to his helmet keeping the Giants game winning drive alive.  Last year Tracy Porter of the saints grabbed a Peyton Manning pass and returned it 74 yards for an interception.  James Harrison was known by close followers of the NFL but his career had been tumultuous to that point, but as he returned a 100 yard interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII he gained a new level of fame.  But the question is what no name will come up big in this year’s Super Bowl?

David Tyree wowed viewers with one of the most spectacular catches ever, but prior to cementing an Eli Manning pass to his helmet only Giants fans had heard of the sixth round pick out of Syracuse.

Tyree was never an elite receiver but his clutch catch established him a place in football history.  The Super Bowl created what we as fans know David Tyree as, even though in his seven year NFL career he amassed only 650 yards and four touchdowns.

Last year in the Super Bowl Saints cornerback Tracy Porter leaped out of relative obscurity to intercept a Peyton Manning pass.  The interception would be returned for a touchdown that would seal the victory for New Orleans.  The second round pick out of Indiana had earned a starting role for the Saints in his second year in the league but, Porter is not an all pro player or renowned for his skill. Because of his super play when it mattered most he his known throughout the sports world.

James Harrison was undrafted in 2002 and began his career on the practice Squad, by 2005 he started to become a role player and special teamer for the Steelers.  In 2008 he would make the Pro-Bowl but had yet to become a household name.  After Harrison stumbled and bumbled his way to a 100 yard interception return for a Super Bowl touchdown his career has exploded and he has become the become poster boy for hard hitting  linebackers.

So who will become a legend for their performance in this year’s Super Bowl.  Both team’s rosters are laden with stars but who is that guy that will surprise us all and become an icon of the sport’s biggest game.   

For the Steelers that player may be rookie receiver Antonio Brown who has averaged 22 yards a catch in the postseason. He is also the Steelers return man averaging 22 yards a return per kickoff in the playoffs and took one all the way in the regular season. 

For Green Bay it may be John Kuhn, who is a short yardage specialist for the Packers.  Kuhn runs hard and keeps his legs moving, which will enable him to convert a crucial third and short or pound it in the end zone on the goal line.  As a whole the Packers won’t be able to run on the Steelers but when it counts most Kuhn should be called on to convert.  Plus everybody loves a white running back, just ask Peyton Hillis.

Roethlisberger Entering Rarified Air.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger is poised to become part of an elite fraternity of all time great quarterbacks.  He already has two Super Bowl titles under his belt and with a win one week from today he will become the fifth quarterback to win three Super Bowls.  Three of the other four are hall of famers, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, and Troy Aikman the other is Tom Brady.

Roethlisberger won his first Super Bowl as game manager whose primary responsibility was not to lose the game.  In his second attempt he was the leader of the team and was integral in stretching defenses and creating opportunities on offense.  He started this season on a four game suspension but has played well throughout and has been integral in getting his team back to the Super Bowl.

The others Quarterbacks to have achieved this distinguished feat have had their careers defined by winning Super Bowls.  Terry Bradshaw helped create the Steelers dynasty of the 70’s.  He has never been known as exemplary passer or renowned for his field general skills but he brought home hardware and that made him worthy of induction in Canton.

Joe Montana is also remembered for his outstanding postseason performances but no one  has ever doubted his ability to play the position better than anyone who came before him.  Montana was crucial in creating the west coast offense that would almost redefine what teams looked for in a quarterback, valuing accuracy over incredible arm strength.

 Aikman was a tough leader who managed one of the most dynamic teams of modern era but never is considered an all time great he is defined by winning and like Bradshaw was inducted in Canton because of his team’s success.

Roethlisberger can at the least cement his status as one of a few players to win three super Bowls as a quarterback.  If he can proves he is a dynamic passer later in his career then he could become an all time great by winning number three.  It is almost certain his sketchy offseason behavior will be forgotten (until another incident pops up) and throughout the offseason the four letter network will discuss where he ranks among the all time elites.   A victory for Roethlisberger means more than a third ring it earns him a legacy matched by a few of the games greatest.