Who do we have a better chance of winning with this year?
Favre or Rodgers?
Ah, that is the ultimate question, isn't it? That's all TT and MM have to really look at objectively in order to make a decision on who should be this teams starter for the 2008 season.
I'm sorry, but if it was only TT's job to objectively look at the team for the next 6 months, he'd be doing a pretty **** poor job as a GM. Now, I'm not saying he shouldn't be concerned about the product he'll be fielding this season, but he's also got to be very concious of future seasons as well. Seasons, more than likely, Brett won't be here for.
But, back to the original question. I would have agreed with Brett being this teams best option in 2008 IF he had been on board from the first week of March onward attending at least the mandatory OTAs and mini-camps and preparing for the regular season like he did during the 2007 off-season on his own schedule. He hasn't done nearly anything remotely similar to what he did last season at this time other than riding his tractor and tossing footballs to high school kids and not NFL calibur recievers. I'm sure he's probably kept in somewhat good shape, but is he going to be in football shape by the time he attends the first training camp practice? Probably nothing close to what he was at this time last season.
Now I think we all remember during his retirment press conference he stated he was just mentally worn out and not wanting to deal with all the preparation aspects of getting ready for an NFL season as well as mentioning on numerous occasions during his playing career not being a fan of weekday practices. How mentally committed is he going to truly be going into training camp and really giving a 100% effort during those weekly regular season practices to get ready for gameday on each Sunday this year? No one truly knows, but looking at the evidence at hand, I'd say less so than in years past.
Then you have to objectively look at the Aaron Rodgers side of the coin. Everyone is saying he doesn't have any experience and we really don't know what he's capable of. Well, how is he supposed to show anyone anything if he can't get on the field to prove himself because he's holding a clipboard for 17 weeks each season? Aaron has been a class act patiently waiting for his turn the last three season, and other than one dumb comment he made to SI that he later apologized for, he's been a good teammate and locker room presence since being drafted. Even in his statements today, he's still going about things business as usual despite all the media circus over this situation.
Let me pose these questions to everyone since it's just not as simple as some of you make it out to be:
Q. Does Aaron Rodgers have any chance of leading this team to a Super Bowl in 2009 (assuming Brett would truly retire after the '08 season) if he has to sit on the bench again this season?
A. By the general feeling and reading of everyone posts in favor of a Favre return this season, my guess would generally be no he doesn't because he doesn't have any regular season experience.
Q. Is it going to be worth resigning Aaron Rodgers before his contract expires after the 2009 season based on just the one developmental season he played in 2009? (again assuming Brett would truly retire after 2008)
A. Based on Carson Palmer's first season after riding the bench his rookie year, maybe so, assuming it would be a decent one. But it's nice to have an extra season on tap to work out a new deal during 2009 if he would come out and have a pretty good 2008. This is assuming he'd even want to stick around after being benched in favor of Favre during the '08 season, which is also something TT & MM would need to concern themselves with if they go in favor of Favre in 2008.
Q. If we go with Aaron Rodgers next season instead of Brett, what can we hopefully expect out of him?
A. Obviously this is a difficult question to answer, but there is some precedent for this. Everyone remember a QB named Aaron Brooks who we drafted in 1999 and later traded to the Saints in 2000? 2000 also happened to be the first year McCarthy was named the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator. Between 2001 and 2004, McCarthy was able to get some decent offensive output from him and that offense despite the somewhat erratic and inconsistent play of Brooks. When McCarthy left New Orleans after the 2004 season, Brooks fell apart even more and was eventually benched and out of the league entirely.
Now, I'm not sitting here saying Aaron Rodgers is going to be an inconsistent QB like Brooks was. What I am saying though is, if McCarthy can get some even remotely decent, albeit somewhat inconsistent, offensive output of a QB the caliber of Brooks who had Horn and Stallworth to throw to as well as a healthy and effective Deuce McCallister behind him, don't you think it's remotely possible he could get quite a bit more out of Aaron Rodgers, who has a lot more potential upside than Brooks ever had, with the weapons he will have around him for the next few years? Now obviously, a lot of this hinges on Rodgers staying off IR, but McCarthy has a decent record of getting a lot out of pretty mediocre QBs. Whose to say he can't turn Rodgers into an upper tier QB if Rodgers truly lives up to his potential? Hasselbeck and Brunell both backed up Favre for a couple of years and they went on to have pretty productive careers. Obviously, we won't know this until AR actually gets some real playing time under his belt, and the longer he has to sit on that bench after being told it was finally his turn, the less likely it is he's going to want to stick around and if we are going to be able to find out if the 3+ year investment this team made in him is going to pan out.
Look, I apologize for writing a book again, but Ted and Mike have a lot more to objectively look at then just which QB gives this team the best chance to win THIS year. Trying to simplify this whole situation down to one basic question does little for the long term success of this football team, something both TT and MM have to take quite a bit into consideration if they plan on both lasting for the duration of those big contact extensions they signed last year.
