Last night I was scrolling through Twitter for roughly three hours to fill the void when I came upon a good old fashioned quarterback argument. So after it finally was decided that Slingin’ Sammy Baugh was in fact the best quarterback of the 1930’s, I came across another quarterback thread regarding a pair of 12’s: Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
Suffice to say that once the argument swayed in favor of Rodgers given the visual evidence and context of his accomplishments in relation to Brady’s, Patriots fans took it in stride and conceded that while most of them agreed to disagree, they admitted both players are distinct talents and they appreciated the spirit of debate on the internet.
Ha just kidding they all shit their pants just like usual. Of course, Twitter has always been a bit of a challenge for New England.
(As one of my African American friends put it, “the only time Boston fans can pronounce an ‘er’ is at the end of the N word.)
The thing is, you know that if Brady truly was the greatest quarterback to ever play the game then Patriots fans wouldn’t get so damn defensive. Instead, they know in their heart of hearts that while he may be the most accomplished quarterback, he is very clearly not, in the purest terms, the best quarterback in the NFL.
I think that title belongs to Aaron Rodgers for the simple reason that he makes throws that no other quarterback can make, and does it consistently.
For example, I think Brady’s arm would literally fall of his torso and be eaten by hungry dogs if he even attempted to contort his body in this manner:
Brady’s game, for better or worse, is about being the perfect point guard for the West Coast offense that was pioneered in the late 1960’s Bengals and the 80’s 49ers under Bill Walsh. He’s mechanically perfect, he sees the field clearly and quickly, and he puts his receivers in good position to get yards after the catch. But there’s still a handful of quarterbacks in the NFL (Rodgers, Brees, Roethlisberger, Ryan, Wilson) that I think could duplicate his efficiency in that system.
That’s not so much a knock as much as it is an observation. Brady is extremely accurate and efficient, he’s tough on the rare occasion that he faces pressure, and he’s resilient as hell. But we’ve seen that before (and better, some would argue) without all of the shady stuff.
I have never seen a quarterback make the throws that Rodgers makes frequently. The way his arm is able to get enough torque from compromised positions defies physics.
Only one spot to throw it to and it got there.
Whereas Brady throws to open receivers, Rodgers throws receivers open.
Rodgers takes shots and makes insanely difficult throws. I don’t blame Brady for not doing the same, mostly because he and his team don’t put themselves in that position very often.
But if each guy was given the same team and coaching staff, I know I have the best chance to win with Rodgers. I might with Brady too, but it’s contingent on other factors like scheme and supporting cast.
Rodgers has also never had a receiver as good as either Randy Moss or Rob Gronkowski. Between JerMichael Finley and Jimmy Graham, Rodgers has had a void at tight end.
In fact, the year Rodgers one the Super Bowl, his starting tight end was Andrew Quarless and his starting running back was James Starks.
Luckily, he made up for it with some dimes.
You can’t see the quarterback but I assure you it was not Matt Flynn.
Sweet fuck the velocity on that throw.
Alrighty then let’s check up on Tom Brady’s most impressive throws in the big game.
Anybody that says they’d rather watch Tom Brady than Aaron Rodgers would probably prefer being death by 1,000 paper cuts over one shot to the head.
This isn’t meant to be slandering Brady — okay yes it is. I’m just using the eye test to show that which is blatantly clear to everyone outside of the Commonwealth.
The rings argument is a shoddy one. Given Brady’s situation, Rodgers would have as many Super Bowls. Football is the ultimate team sport, and Brady has always had the better team.
Fortunately, the Packers and Patriots are playing head to head on Nov. 4, so we’ll get to see how they play against each other for just the second time.
P.S. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t french kiss his son.
