Over on AcmePackingCompany.com, I ran into a post declaring that Aaron Rodgers will finish his career with the most MVP awards of all time.
No, the most likely scenario is that Rodgers has a strangle hold on the MVP trophy for the next five-to-seven years. Rodgers will be 29 years old during the 2012 season, and he is only starting to hit his prime. To be honest, I’m not even sure we’ve seen him play his best football yet.
His 2011 season was simply stunning, and for the majority of the season, it was a collection of mind-blowing performance after mind-blowing performance. He finished the season with 4,643 yards, 45 touchdowns, only six interceptions and a NFL-record 122.5 quarterback rating.
And the crazy thing is that the numbers only paint half the picture. What you can’t see in the above statistics were the throws. Those precise, laser-like throws that literally dropped your jaw to the ground happened all the time. It was almost as if the Zeus himself had fallen to Earth in the form of a 6’2″ quarterback with a funny looking beard.
Alright PackerNation, consider this a word of caution. Football is a game of inches, not an instantaneous declaration of greatness. There will be a time for us all to reflect upon the career of Aaron Rodgers. Now is not that time.
Rewind the clock to 1998. The Packers won the SuperBowl in 96/97 and fell one drive short of repeating in 97/98. A now definitive douche quarterback wore #4 and was in the midst of a three peat as NFL MVP. PackerNation, disappointed with the SuperBowl loss to the Denver Broncos, consoled itself with the prospect of a dynasty in the making.
Guess what? It didn’t happen. The Packers were tantalizingly good, yet not great, for years. He-who-shall-not-be-named played the best season of his career in 1997 at 28 years old (other than that fluke of a 2009 year with the Viqueens) and the Packers never won another SuperBowl with the waffler at QB1.
Is Aaron Rodgers incredible? Yes. Did he just put up one of the best seasons as a QB in the history of the NFL? Absolutely. Does past performance guarantee future results? Heck no. Prospects for the Packers look bright, but let’s wait to scream dynasty or greatest QB of all time until 2030.
Post by @PackerInsanity
These are (most likely) the same people that were saying we would go 19-0 last season. Could Rodgers win the next 5 MVPs? Sure. Will he? Not likely. Brees wasn’t far behind this past season. Cam Newton has a ton of potential. What will Luck and RGIII do? Brady, Manning x2, Rivers, Stafford, Matt Ryan, and so on, could easily put together MVP type seasons.
The more realistic expectation is that Rodgers will make us SB contenders for the forseeable future, which is better than any amount of MVP awards.