Brady vs. Rodgers: Who Cares?
By jasonperone
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is entering his 11th season as a starter and is well-established as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game.
Among those in that same discussion is New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who will be entering his 19th season, all spent with the Patriots. Brady is also one of the best all time.
As some of the past greats have retired, guys like Favre and Manning, Brady and Rodgers have remained as the top two passers in the NFL.
The Patriots are perennial division winners and deep playoff participants. With Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, they've won five Super Bowls and appeared in eight over the past 18 seasons.
The Packers have just one Super Bowl with Rodgers but have also maintained the high success of reaching the postseason in all but three seasons since he joined the team in 2005.
The Brady vs. Rodgers debate isn't new. It also has many different criteria: Super Bowl wins, passer rating, skill set, arm strength. The list goes on.
Lately and as Brady nears his 41st birthday in less than a month, it seems that Patriots fans are getting more feisty in defending their hero in the debate against Rodgers.
It's like they realize that the end of an era of extreme success and championships is likely coming to an end soon. It's like they fear that they might join the ranks of most other NFL fan bases and have to endure a few down seasons after nearly two decades of partying in the streets.
They should. What goes up, must come down. All good things come to an end. Their star is aging and soon will hang it up. Their head coach will move on to other things in his life. They need to learn to accept it and be grateful for what they've witnessed over the years.
The banter between these two fan bases on social media leads to nothing but Packers fans citing Rodgers athletic ability as something Brady never had. Patriots fans cite the championships and deep playoff runs.
It's a never ending cycle and perhaps the debate is hotter because these teams will face each other this upcoming season in New England. While it's one game out of 16 on the schedule, we can all be assured that the quarterback from the winning team in this match up will get some major juice added to his side of the argument for which is the better player.
These teams aren't rivals. In fact, they've only faced each other three times since Rodgers was a rookie. These teams are connected by their success and the desire of many NFL fans to see these two teams meet in a Super Bowl.
The last time the Patriots and Packers faced off was in 2014 at Lambeau Field. The Packers won in a thriller as head coach Mike McCarthy put together one of his best game plans to date. It was hardly a stand-alone barometer for either quarterback in the debate, but it added legitimacy for Rodgers who has four less Super Bowl rings than does Brady.
For the record, I'm not one who says that Super Bowl rings is what determines the majority of a quarterback's legacy. I'm merely acknowledging those who do in the course of telling the story.
Because Brady has played five more seasons in the NFL than has Rodgers, his numbers are higher. Breaking down and trying to make the comparison, from a numbers perspective, won't likely ever be apples to apples.
Then there's this thing called defense. How were each team's defenses through the years? New England has had some good defenses and won and also won with some statistically bad defenses because of some very clutch play in key situations.
We mentioned Belichick and McCarthy. No other NFL coach seems to be on Belichick's plane and a look at results quickly tells us that McCarthy has a long way to go before he is.
As far as pure talent, Rodgers has it in his arm and moves as well as any quarterback in the game with his feet. Brady has made a living behind solid offensive lines and solid accuracy. His statue-esque manner in the pocket is something Brady has become famous for.
So with all of the factors involved in the discussion, which side are you on as far as Rodgers vs. Brady? Does it matter to you?
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Jason is a freelance writer on staff since 2012 and also co-hosts Cheesehead TV Live, Pulse of the Pack and Pack A Day podcasts. You can follow him on Twitter here
Comments (20)
TKWorldWide
July 16, 2018 at 06:15 am
Who cares indeed!?!
I applaud you.
PAPackerbacker
July 16, 2018 at 06:38 am
Both of these players are outstanding QB's. Winning a Super Bowl is a team effort, not an individual one. Brady has earned respect and so has Rodgers. Both worked hard to get to where they are. Nothing was given to them. They had to earn the respect they both deserve. So you are correct, who cares? I wish them both the best in the future. For sure they both bring a level of excitement to the game that not many can match. They are both fun to watch. Go! Pack! Go!
RCPackerFan
July 16, 2018 at 06:58 am
"Brady vs. Rodgers: Who Cares?"
Love it!!!!
Look they are both great QB's. If the deciding factor between the 2 on who is greater is the amount of Super Bowl wins, its a flawed system. Super Bowl wins are not a QB stat. Its a team victory. Brady could easily have lost more super bowls then won them.
Both are great QB's. How about leaving it at that.
Fire_Gute
July 16, 2018 at 08:15 am
I agree as well. You can love or hate both guys for what they are, but if you are even remotely a real NFL fan you have to appreciate their greatness. I personally feel that Rodgers would have gone a whole lot farther on the Pats and with BB then Brady would have gone with GB and MM. There is no one metric that definitively states who is the best, rings, arm strength, wins /loses, ect. Its an endless debate. Maybe that's the appeal of it, no one can ever really be right or wrong. Unless you are Gil Brandt and don't even have Rodgers in the top 16. Then you are wrong.
I do like the debate better than other sports though, especially the NBA. At least Rodgers and Brady played at the same time and same era. The whole everyone /LeBron to Michael comparison gets old quick.
Handsback
July 16, 2018 at 08:33 am
Who was better...Starr or Unitas in the 60s/ Favre or Aikman in the 90s and finally Montana or Elway or Marino in the 80s? Does it matter? They are all HOF and have their strengths and weakness and the question on who's better can really never be answered.
TarynsEyes
July 16, 2018 at 09:20 am
Who cares!?
The same people who voice different opinions as to how the Packers will play this season. It's called opinion and how things are viewed differently about everything and anything. Those who need to write about a subject they try to say they don't care about. Those who read and comment saying they don't care. Those who claim others are pessimistic about a player or team care. Who cares...everyone who ever voiced an opinion care.
Everyone that comes here cares and to attempt to say you don't makes you a hypocrite...period.
TKWorldWide
July 16, 2018 at 11:22 am
Are you saying I’m a hypocrite?
Are you alleging that I actually care when I think I don’t?
Is there some kind of psychological voodoo going on here??
TarynsEyes
July 16, 2018 at 12:06 pm
If one truly doesn't care, one will not offer an opinion or even attempt to justify saying they don't care...they just completely ignore it. The level of one's caring is another thing entirely and should be stated as such with equal investment of words as dictated by the level of care.
As to calling you a hypocrite....not directly but the shoe may fit or you taking exception to my comment may already have the shoe on your foot,..because you... care.
WKUPackFan
July 16, 2018 at 01:22 pm
People offer opinions about subjects that they do not care about all of the time. It happens every day in a variety of ways. For example, if someone is conversing with a friend or co-worker who is expressing an opinion, that someone may very well express the same opinion just to be nice, even though he/she actually cares nothing about the subject.
Or the gossipy person saying "Can you believe that "X" did such a horrible thing?". The gossipy person does not care about X or what X did, he/she only cares about spreading the gossip.
The entirety of sports talk media is built on hosts expressing opinions on subjects that they care nothing about.
The examples are endless of people offering opinions about things that they care nothing about.
TKWorldWide
July 16, 2018 at 01:39 pm
Enough with the mind tricks, woman!
Get out of my head!
(BTW: heavy ~~~~~)
NickPerry
July 16, 2018 at 09:36 am
Championships to me are a HUGE part of it. I Guarantee you if Rodgers wins 2 more SB's Packers Fans would be twice as vocal citing it's only a difference of two AND he had Bill Belichek as his coach. Brady has had a TREMENDOUS advantage with FA additions and trades every year. Rodgers not so much.
Hey it's a valid point. He also did it with a GM who buried his head in the sand after each draft and didn't come up until September and that was just to scout college players. I still believe Rodgers will end up with at least 3 Lombardi trophies. IMO the Packers are about to go on a 5 or 6 year run of excellence lad by the GOAT!
croatpackfan
July 16, 2018 at 10:36 am
Who cares indeed!?!
I applaud you and The TKstinator, from whom I stole this post!
TKWorldWide
July 16, 2018 at 08:44 pm
Public domain brother, it’s all good.
PETER MAIZ
July 16, 2018 at 10:40 am
Both will go down as totally talented. Rodgers tries to extend his plays and moves out of the pocket which has resulted in injuries. But he is the most versatile of the two. Rodgers is deadly accurate, even in the run. What delayed Rodgers getting a second ring was Dom Capers continually scary numbers at defense. At 41, Brady is getting old. But the big question in my humble opinion is whether Rodgers will adapt to new wide receivers.
PatrickGB
July 16, 2018 at 06:28 pm
I thought it was an Interesting article but for a different reason. I loved the reference to the last time NE played GB. MM really did have a good game plan. I loved seeing Brady swearing on the sideline. I wonder what happened to the game plan after that? In any case, our defense was better then too. I don’t get involved in the AR/TB debate. Because I don’t really care.
Thegreatreynoldo
July 17, 2018 at 12:28 am
The line in the article I noticed most was noting NE/Brady have appeared in 8 super bowls in 18 seasons and then sliding down the scale to GB/AR's playoff consistency. Green Bay/AR have appeared in one super bowl in 11 seasons with AR as the starter. Brady has appeared in 12 conference championship games in 18 seasons while AR has appeared in 3 in 11 seasons, advancing once. Those differences are stark.
Johnblood27
July 22, 2018 at 11:14 am
weak AFC east
weak AFC conference
unfortunate coaching family death on playoff eve
Bad DC in GB
unfortunate last play losses in playoffs with D on field
a couple untimely injuries robbing seasons
As Paul Harvey used to say...
Now you know the REST of the story...
Since'61
July 17, 2018 at 09:09 am
The Rodgers/Brady debate just proves that winning a championship is a team accomplishment. Brady has played with a better defense and better supporting offensive personnel. I have often posted that BB is a better GM than TT was. Many people wonder what Rodgers would have done with BB as his HC but I wonder what MM could have accomplished with BBs players, regardless of whether Rodgers or Brady was his QB?
Rodgers has proven he can play with anybody and that he would succeed in any era of the NFL. IMO, Rodgers ability to throw with great accuracy on the run makes him the better player and adds a level of ability that I have not seen from any other QB.
Rodgers would be a HOF QB whether he played for MM, Holmgren, BB, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll or Vince Lombardi. So would Brady, or Marino, or Unitas, or Montana, or Elway or Starr or many other HOFers. They were that good. Super Bowls are about the team, MVPs are about the player. Brady has 3 MVPs in 18 seasons and Rodgers has 2 in 10 seasons. Let's see where Rodgers is at with MVPs and SBs after he has 18 seasons. Thanks, Since '61
Thegreatreynoldo
July 17, 2018 at 12:19 am
Interesting. I suspect that having a great HC with good coordinators and position coaches makes a GM look smarter than he is. Just looking at drafting, TT might be a tad better than BB, but not in the other areas, particularly cap management. I've also heard that the lines of communication between GM and HC are always open and are nearly instantaneous in NE.
Samson
July 16, 2018 at 07:45 pm
Must be a slow off season for blogs.
I doubt very many fans care about AR versus TB.
Maybe we need to have the two run a 50 yard dash against each other to determine the best. ---- The winner will be HOF material.
Actually, both are already HOF material.