http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1191783/1/index.htm
If this is posted I really am sorry..But searching for it, didnt turn up at all
If this is posted I really am sorry..But searching for it, didnt turn up at all
I tell the other guys, "There are receivers in this league who don't have good quarterbacks, and they never get a chance to show their talents. We're blessed. We're playing with a guy who's going to Canton if he keeps this up."
—JAMES JONES, Packers wide receiver
Jennings came to Green Bay in 2006, a year after Rodgers. He caught 93 professional passes, all from Favre, before catching one from Rodgers. He has since caught 271.
"He throws with velocity," says Jennings. "You turn, and the ball is going to be there. His deep ball is better than Brett's. His accuracy running outside the pocket is second to none, almost better than when he's in the pocket, which is almost impossible."
Rodgers's leadership grew in other ways. Says Ruvell Martin, a scout team receiver for four seasons, "The first day I'm in the locker room [in 2005], Aaron walks over to me and says, 'Hey, I'm Aaron, what's your number?' He punches my number into his phone. Then on my birthday he sees me in the locker room and says, 'Happy birthday, man.' So how does that happen? Aaron gets everybody's number, looks up their birthday and then sets an alarm on his phone so that he wishes them happy birthday. Pretty cool that he cares about people like that."
Before one 2007 game at Kansas City, Martin was made inactive, and instead of going out early to throw with Rodgers, as he normally did, he sulked in the locker room. "Right before the game," Martin says, "Aaron came up to me and said, 'Why didn't you come and throw with me?'
I told him I was inactive, and he got upset. He said, 'I throw with you every week, when we both know I'm not going to get into the game. And you're inactive for one game and you can't throw with me?' I thought, Wow, this is not all about me. This is about the team. And Aaron brought that to my attention."
Talent helps smooth any transition. James Jones was a third-round draft choice in 2007 and caught balls from both Favre and Rodgers every day. "This kid was making throws in practice that Brett was not making," says Jones. "I know Brett was older then. And you could never say that Aaron was going to be as good as he's turned out to be. But he was throwing no-look passes, deep balls on a string. I had never seen throws like that."
