Competition will make Rodgers better

[Andy]

I agree with this article. History is a blueprint for the future.

Packer Report.com

Competition will make Rodgers better

By Bob Fox
[email protected]
Posted May 8, 2008


The history of Packers quarterbacks shows what competition can do. Packer Report's Bob Fox examines the dynamic between Starr and McHan, and Favre and Brunell.

It was apropos the Green Bay Packers ended up selecting quarterback Brian Brohm in the 2008 NFL draft. Brohm slid down in the draft, similar to what happened to Aaron Rodgers in 2005.

Rodgers was selected in the first round, compared to the second round for Brohm, but Rodgers was talked about as being a possible No. 1 overall selection in 2005. Brohm was considered a first-round pick by many experts.

The history of the QB position in Green Bay says the selection of Brohm will help make Rodgers a better quarterback.

Rodgers is definitely the starter in 2008 after the retirement of Brett Favre in March. Rodgers showed he had excellent comprehension of Mike McCarthy's offense in the preseason of 2007 and in a regular-season game at Dallas, where Rodgers almost led the Packers to a win after a Favre injury.

In the Dallas game, Rodgers threw 20 completions in 28 attempts (71.4 percent) for 218 yards, with one touchdown and a passer rating of 106. McCarthy and quarterback's coach Tom Clements would take those stats every week.

Brohm does not have Rodgers’ arm strength or athleticism, but he does have great touch and is accurate (66.2 percent at Louisville). A lot of scouts felt Brohm would be a natural for the West Coast offense and he would be a quick learner adapting to the NFL.

Let's take a look at some QB history for the Packers. Bart Starr became a Hall of Famer by leading the Pack to five NFL titles in seven years, including the first two Super Bowl victories, in which Starr was MVP in both games. However, it was not easy for Starr to win the trust of coach Vince Lombardi.

Lombardi came to the Packers in 1959, and up until that point, Starr had been mediocre after being drafted in 1956. In three seasons, Starr had thrown 13 touchdowns to 25 interceptions. Lombardi felt he needed better options at QB, so he traded for veteran Lamar McHan from the Chicago Cardinals in 1959.

McHan ended up starting 11 games in 1959 and 1960. But it was Starr (12 starts) who led the Packers to winning streaks to close each season, including a trip to the 1960 NFL championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles. By 1961, Starr was the guy at QB for Lombardi, and helped lead the Packers to the first of five titles.

McHan helped Starr become a legendary quarterback. The same thing happened to another quarterback you may have heard of ... Brett Favre.

Favre led the Packers to a winning season in his first year on the team, 1992, and to the 1993 playoffs. But Favre was inconsistent, and in 1993 threw 24 interceptions to just 19 TD passes. That was the year when the Packers drafted Mark Brunell, and by 1994, Brunell had shown the coaching staff enough to perhaps grab the starting role away from Favre.

Favre started out slowly in 1994. After an early-season loss to Minnesota in which Favre was sidelined by an injured hip, coach Mike Holmgren polled the coaches to see who should start at quarterback the next week. Brunell won the vote, but Holmgren stuck with Favre.

The competition of Brunell helped Favre lead the Packers to one Super Bowl victory and develop into a certain Hall of Famer.

Rodgers will enter training camp as the unquestioned starter, something Brohm understands.

"Obviously, Aaron Rodgers is the starter right now,” Brohm said, “but I'm just going to come in and work as hard as I can and do whatever I can, and do what the coaches ask me and hopefully show them some stuff that they like."

This is a win-win situation for the Packers. Hopefully, Rodgers will utilize the competition from Brohm like Starr and Favre did, and have a successful career in Green Bay. If not, or if the injury bug should happen again, the Packers have another quarterback in Brohm who has the skills to be successful in the McCarthy system.

Bob Fox is a frequent contributor to PackerReport.com. E-mail him at [email protected]

 

[Zombieslayer]

Ah. Mark Brunell.
Imagine how different history would be if Holmgren started Brunell instead.

Of course competition is good. It will help Rodgers. The sad thing is the QB position is the one position that's so coveted that you simply cannot have 2 good QBs on the same team. When other teams realize you have 2, they communicate and make offers with the guy carrying the clipboard and suddenly, you find yourself with only 1 good QB.

 

[Raider Pride]

Ah. Mark Brunell.
Imagine how different history would be if Holmgren started Brunell instead.

Of course competition is good. It will help Rodgers. The sad thing is the QB position is the one position that's so coveted that you simply cannot have 2 good QBs on the same team. When other teams realize you have 2, they communicate and make offers with the guy carrying the clipboard and suddenly, you find yourself with only 1 good QB.

That is a fact Zombie..

One addition to that thought.... They have to get a chance to prove they are good first. Look at how many years Rodgers has being carrying the clip board and even as a first round QB I do not remember the offers flying in for him?

R.P.

 

[favre2driver]

wonder if rodgers is ever a pro bowler, will they trade brohm?

 

[Zombieslayer]

That is a fact Zombie..

One addition to that thought.... They have to get a chance to prove they are good first. Look at how many years Rodgers has being carrying the clip board and even as a first round QB I do not remember the offers flying in for him?

R.P.

The thing is, there probably were plenty of contacts made. They probably were all declined before they made it to the press. I have a feeling Rodgers wanted to be in Green Bay and stay here.

 

[Raider Pride]

That is a fact Zombie..

One addition to that thought.... They have to get a chance to prove they are good first. Look at how many years Rodgers has being carrying the clip board and even as a first round QB I do not remember the offers flying in for him?

R.P.

The thing is, there probably were plenty of contacts made. They probably were all declined before they made it to the press. I have a feeling Rodgers wanted to be in Green Bay and stay here.

Good point. I never thought of that.

 

[Greg C.]

The article was a reminder that the two best QB's in Packer history each struggled for a few years before they began playing at a consistently high level. I knew that about Favre, but I didn't know that it happened with Starr as well. Fans nowadays will be a lot less tolerant if Rodgers has similar struggles.

 

[bozz_2006]

True, Greg. I will most certainly be one of those impatient fans.

 

[Zombieslayer]

The article was a reminder that the two best QB's in Packer history each struggled for a few years before they began playing at a consistently high level. I knew that about Favre, but I didn't know that it happened with Starr as well. Fans nowadays will be a lot less tolerant if Rodgers has similar struggles.

Agreed.

QBs take awhile to develop. They just don't come from college and start in the NFL AND look good. They usually look bad, very bad.

Best thing that ever happened to Rodgers was that he waited 3 years behind the best QB to ever play the game. He's now ready. Will he have some bad games? Sure. But if he stays healthy, he's gonna be good.

As fans though, we have to be patient.

 

[Greg C.]

True, Greg. I will most certainly be one of those impatient fans.

I'll try to be patient, though it won't be easy. I'd like to give him at least a year to get up to speed. In his first year he needs to show that he CAN be a very good QB, even if he is inconsistent.

It will be harder for him than for Starr and Favre for a few reasons. Mainly, people have shorter attention spans nowadays than they did even in the early 90's, especially with the 24/7 media coverage. Also, Starr and Favre were on up-and-coming teams, so there was a good argument for letting them grow with the rest of the team in spite of their struggles. The Pack's 13-3 record last year means that fans will be hoping for a fully-formed NFL QB right from the start.

Also, Starr and Favre did not have highly-regarded draft picks playing behind them. I don't think that will necessarily make things harder for Rodgers on the field, but if Brohm looks good, there will be pressure for a quick hook for Rodgers if he falters.

Notice that all of these factors are about fans, though. The key will be the coaching staff. They need to keep their heads on straight and stick with the best approach, even if it is not the most popular approach with fans right at the moment.

 

[Andy]

Greg, the coaching staff is the key. Will the Packers go with Rodgers and two rookies all season? Or will the Packers bring in a guy like Tim Rattay or maybe a Chris Simms if he is released by Tampa Bay. I personally think that McCarthy and Clements think they have some quick learners in Brohm and Flynn. I think the team will try and stay young at QB. If Rodgers does have an injury, and Brohm and Flynn aren't ready yet, than perhaps Favre might be an alternative, at least according what Brett said. Holmgren in 93 had three very young QB's in Favre, Detmer and Brunell, so it can be done with proper coaching. The key for Rodgers is just staying healthy. If that happens, than I think success will come. But I definitely think Brohm pushing him will also make him better in the long run.

 

[cheesey]

I don't think they will go after a veteran backup. Unless maybe throughout camp they think one of the 2 rookies is garbage, and they dump one of them. Then maybe they go get a vet. But really, is there anyone out there worth plugging into our game that would be any better then Brohm?

 

[Cal2GreenBay]

"Obviously, Aaron Rodgers is the starter right now,” Brohm said,

He could've just left it as "Aaron is the starter" and I think that would
be more respectful. If you guys recall, when Aaron had Brett in front of him,
Aaron would say "Brett is the starter" never said "right now".

Some might say it's just semantics..but no. There's a tinge of arrogance and competition that's coming from Brohm. BUT..I'd still like to see a little respect from the rookie.


Brohm does not have Rodgers’ arm strength or athleticism,

Funny how they were saying Aaron wasn't that athletic when he was in the draft.

AR's completion percentage is higher than Brian.
AR's wonderlic score was higher than Brian.

Not much else to say.

 

[johnny_blood]

He plays QB, right? So lacking a tinge of arrogance and competitiveness would be a serious problem. Surely Packers fans want competition at the QB spot? What's wrong with that?

You've seen respect. What you seem to want is him to have his tail between his legs. He was drafted by a team with one incumbent QB who has zero starts. His comments are dead on and, in fact, are deferential.

Your expectations seem unrealistic. A highly touted QB gets drafted by a team with no QB experience and he says upfront that someone else is the starter. But you'd like to "see a little respect"? Come on man, this is football.

 

[Zombieslayer]

"Obviously, Aaron Rodgers is the starter right now,” Brohm said,

He could've just left it as "Aaron is the starter" and I think that would
be more respectful. If you guys recall, when Aaron had Brett in front of him,
Aaron would say "Brett is the starter" never said "right now".

Some might say it's just semantics..but no. There's a tinge of arrogance and competition that's coming from Brohm. BUT..I'd still like to see a little respect from the rookie.


Brohm does not have Rodgers’ arm strength or athleticism,

Funny how they were saying Aaron wasn't that athletic when he was in the draft.

AR's completion percentage is higher than Brian.
AR's wonderlic score was higher than Brian.

Not much else to say.

Cal - Are you reading into what Brohm said? Words can always be interpreted, and I don't see anything wrong with right now. It is exactly what he meant. Aaron Rodgers is the starter right now.

 

[IronMan]

He plays QB, right? So lacking a tinge of arrogance and competitiveness would be a serious problem. Surely Packers fans want competition at the QB spot? What's wrong with that?

Nothing wrong with that at all. For Packers fans that is. Rodgers fans may not like it. I like it.

 

[hybriddragonfly]

i think rodgers is going to choke and Brohm will be our QB by the end of the year

 

[Cal2GreenBay]

i think rodgers is going to choke and Brohm will be our QB by the end of the year

Nice.

Aaron had a battle w/another QB at CAL. They shared the starting job initially but Aaron took it and never let it go.

I expect the same here w/his competition w/Brian Brohm