Is Rodgers better bc of Favre?

ivo610

Cheesehead
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
16,588
Reaction score
2,250
Location
Madison
Is Aaron Rodgers a better QB because of working behind Favre? Do you think Favre taught him much? Or was it all Arod and his preparation? I get that he benefited from sitting on the bench a few years but would he have benefited regardless of the QB in front of him?

Does Favre deserve any credit for Rodgers success?
 

GreenBayGal

Cheese Goddess
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
4,368
Reaction score
995
Location
30 Minutes from Lambeau, WISCONSIN
If Rodgers gained any knowledge from Favre, it was by observation only (imo). He definitely had plenty of time on the bench to watch his predecessor and learn the do's and don'ts of a good qb. I don't see the diva taking time and energy to enlighten Little Grasshopper (Aaron) while he had his own goals to obtain.
 

firehire

Cheesehead
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Messages
17
Reaction score
16
Location
Elk Grove, CA
IMHO, it has to do with the system he was brought up in along with personal dedication and hard work. I have a feeling if Aaron was drafted by the forty-whiners, he may of floundered like Alex Smith did.
 

armand34

Cheesehead
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
2,056
Reaction score
273
Location
The Beach, NJ
I think (don't really know for sure) that Aaron Rodgers benefited having Favre as the starter for 3 years...B/C it gave him time to develop himself, improve his arm strength & mechanics, learn the offense, & play with the first string during TRAINING CAMP b/c you know who was never there. As far as the do's and donts'...maybe a little bit....but Aaron over the years has shown to be a HIGH CHARACTER guy & I think he made a real point in really being a better LEADER then Favre was. ( not saying he was or wasn't)

so the answer is YES he is better with they way it worked out playing behind Favre
 

TJV

Lifelong Packers Fanatic
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
5,389
Reaction score
954
Favre stated publically it wasn’t his job to coach Rodgers so I don’t think Rodgers got any help with Xs and Os from Favre. No question Favre resented the pick of Rodgers, not only because he was Favre’s eventual replacement but because it was another opportunity missed by Thompson to “get weapons for Favre”. He had already failed to acquire Randy Moss. (The next pick in that draft, Nick Collins, was another missed opportunity.) I remember reading a story that said it was only after Rodgers had helped Favre with something in “QB class” more than a year later that Favre finally started to be friendly with him. So I don’t think Rodgers got much, if anything, from Favre with Xs and Os.

I think Rodgers got three benefits by being drafted by Green Bay: 1. He got great coaching starting in his second year. McCarthy made his reputation coaching QBs and Tom Clements doesn’t get enough credit IMO. 2. He wasn’t thrown into the fire immediately - remember how he played his first couple of years? He showed his teammates he was physically talented but he was not ready. 3. He got to observe Favre. He no doubt learned positive lessons from how Favre played QB, like looking off defenders, pocket presence and executing run fakes. But I think he also learned two very important lessons of what not to do. The first one was on the field. He probably learned how much McCarthy hates stupid INTs. For all of Favre’s positives and leadership qualities, Rodgers saw Favre throw many ill-advised INTs. I think Rodgers also observed instances of how not to be a leader off the field. For example, I think part of the reason for Favre’s annual “I may retire dance” was he hated the mini camps and OTAs. He didn't need them but the result was he didn’t mesh with the newest members of the team before training camp. Contrast that to Rodgers starting a pre-training camp tradition of hosting a party at his house open to each and every member of the team, once he took over the #1 job. He goes out of his way to learn all the newcomer’s names – from the first rounder to the last UDFA signed. And we don’t - and I’ll bet we won’t - read about Rodgers using a private dressing room at Lambeau. Part of that was probably Favre’s advanced age compared to most of his teammates but it looks to me like Rodgers works at being a leader, perhaps partly because of the shortcomings he observed in Favre.
 

armand34

Cheesehead
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
2,056
Reaction score
273
Location
The Beach, NJ
I think Rodgers also observed instances of how not to be a leader off the field. For example, I think part of the reason for Favre’s annual “I may retire dance” was he hated the mini camps and OTAs. He didn't need them but the result was he didn’t mesh with the newest members of the team before training camp. Contrast that to Rodgers starting a pre-training camp tradition of hosting a party at his house open to each and every member of the team, once he took over the #1 job. He goes out of his way to learn all the newcomer’s names – from the first rounder to the last UDFA signed. And we don’t - and I’ll bet we won’t - read about Rodgers using a private dressing room at Lambeau. Part of that was probably Favre’s advanced age compared to most of his teammates but it looks to me like Rodgers works at being a leader, perhaps partly because of the shortcomings he observed in Favre.

good post, i totally agree with what you said, kinda failed to mention it in my post!
 

PackersRS

Cheesehead
Joined
Dec 22, 2008
Messages
8,450
Reaction score
969
Location
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Favre didn't teach Rodgers anything at all. He didn't even bother.
If Rodgers learned something from him, like GreenBayGal said, it was for observation, and that's solely on Rodgers' merit.

I do think Rodgers is the player he is because of situation, from being overlooked by all colleges, from falling during draft day, from not being rushed onto the field and being able to work under the same HC, OC and QB coach for 3 years.

But it's a big insult to say that Rodgers didn't get where he is on his own. It was him working in the gym to get stronger and bigger. It was him studying playbook and getting better. It was him taking advantage of the cards he was dealt with, and make no mistake, those were awful cards. 99% of the people would crumble under those situations.

Rodgers isn't better because of Favre.
Rodgers is better because of Rodgers.
 
OP
OP
ivo610

ivo610

Cheesehead
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
16,588
Reaction score
2,250
Location
Madison
If Favre went down with an injury in Aarons first year, would Aaron developed into what he is today? I wonder how the fans would have reacted.
 

GreenBayGal

Cheese Goddess
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
4,368
Reaction score
995
Location
30 Minutes from Lambeau, WISCONSIN
Unfortunately, I think the fans would initially have freaked, thinking the Packers w/o Favre would be less than par. He was such an important element of Packer football for so many years. He was god-like in the eyes of many fans. That being said however, I think Rodgers would have developed into the same great quarterback he is today. After all, the talent was already there. It may have taken a little longer (measured in games) to refine his raw talent but the end result would have been the same. The fans likely would have had their doubts at first but only until they saw what a treasure before them. We are a loving group of fans afterall.
Another food for thought...how would Favre's legacy be different if that is how history played out? Favre ending his career due injury rather than trickery & humiliation. (a new thread perhaps) Speaking of which, ivo, thanks for coming up with new threads during the off-season. I'm running out of ways to glorify Matt Flynn. :wink2:
 
OP
OP
ivo610

ivo610

Cheesehead
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
16,588
Reaction score
2,250
Location
Madison
Favre would have gone down in Packer history as the most loved player of all time. His only rival as far as love would have been Reggie and Lombardi.

The police could have found dead babies in his basement and most of us wouldnt have cared. There was only one way he could have ruined his legacy, and that was going after the packers in a vindictive way. For me, the final straw was calling the lions and telling them everything he knew about our offense.
 

Wood Chipper

Fantasy Football Guru
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
4,180
Reaction score
1,028
Location
Virginia
other rookie qbs could benefit from sitting on the bench. btw can i pop my rommates friends in the face for being annoying and thinking they are gangsta?
 

weeds

Fiber deprived old guy.
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
5,692
Reaction score
1,791
Location
Oshkosh, WI
Truthfully, I don't think there is an answer to this question. No disrespect intended to Favre ... but ... he really pissed me off with his careless play almost from the day Holmgren left.

Rodgers is the whole package including disciplined and cerebral play. He plays football like it's chess ... Favre played it like the guy who drove the the earth mover through the building being demolished.

I don't think that in reality Favre had anything to do with Rodgers' development.
 

GBPack2010

Cheesehead
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
483
Reaction score
67
Location
CA
Aaron certainly benefits not having to play so early so I guess Favre indirectly helped him a lot there. On a personal mentoring perspective I don't think Favre helped him much if at all.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest posts

Top