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Aaron Rodgers' Critics Won't Let a Little Thing Like Four Touchdowns Stop Them

Published by Bleacher Report on Tue, 27 Sep 2016


Aaron Rodgers did not silence his critics by throwing four touchdowns against the Lions on Sunday.He made them pause a little bit, however, forced some columns to be rescheduled for the next Packers loss, perhaps pushed a "turnaround" narrative into the news cycle for a week. But Rodgers is like a political figure: criticizing him is always fun and profitable. Especially when he is playing "poorly."Rodgers knows this. He called the media out last week. And brother, did we have it coming. "No offense, but you guys are predictable,"he said last Wednesdaywhen the press pool arrived with the storyline of the week--that the loss to the Vikings was caused by a stale, predictable offensive game plan. "I knew what the line of questioning was going to be."Of course he did. Rodgers criticism is its own literary genre. Here are its characteristics:Point out how great Aaron Rodgers was from 2008 until September of last year. It sets the stage and heightens the tension.Produce lots of stats illustrating a year-long slump. These are not hard to find; Rodgers' numbers declined sharply last year. But you have to dig deep to make your contribution to the Rodgers criticism genre stand out. That might meandiscarding touchdown/interception ratioas an indicator of quarterback quality in favor of completion rate, something experienced NFL statisticians never do unless they are making a point about a quarterback with an outstanding touchdown/interception ratio but a low completion rate. It might also mean comparing Rodgers' statistics to those of some mediocre quarterback;Blaine Gabbert is a great choicebecause of his inflated completion rate and yardage totals onmeaningless passes.Downplay the obvious. After hammering on the obvious for several paragraphs, point out that Jordy Nelson was injured last year. Perhaps also mention that Eddie Lacy was overweight. And that the Packers lacked third, fourth or fifth wide receivers and a true receiving threat at tight end. You could even mention that Don Barclay, one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL, started several of Rodgers' worst games last year. Or bring up that shoulder injury that popped up on the November injury reports, or the knee scope he needed soon after the season. Gosh, why-oh-why didn't Rodgers record many 300-yard, four-touchdown seasons last year' 'Tis such a mystery.End with some equivocating "maybe he will turn things around" sentiment. Just in case.Rodgers criticism blossoms every time he "struggles." The word belongs in quotes because poor Rodgers games would look great on the resume of Ryan Fitzpatrick or Kirk Cousins.Rodgers threw for 779 yards, six touchdowns and one interception in a three-game losing streak that featured two losses to eventual Super Bowl teams last year. In that stretch, Rodgers had one terrible game against the Broncos defense, then two pretty good ones. I spent that month fielding What's Wrong With Aaron Rodgers questions on dozens of radio shows. The answer was that he had one decent receiver and a dump truck for a running back and he was facing some of the best opponents in the NFL.The phenomenon has spilled over into this season. Rodgers played well against the Jaguars, throwing for 199 yards and two touchdowns, including a 29-yard strike to Davante Adams with defenders draped all over him and 20 seconds on the clock before halftime that few quarterbacks in NFL history could execute. Yes, his completion percentage was a little low. Yes, it was the Jaguars. But it was only a slump game for those mining to find slump games.Those completion percentages have truly become a hang-up for some people. Rodgers completed only 62.5 percent of his passes for 205 yards in Sunday's supposed "statement" game. The next time the Packers lose, those relatively low rates and totals can easily be lumped back into the "slump" storyline.The new Rodgers metafiction usually carefully tiptoes around the playoffs. In January, Rodgers threw for 210 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 35-18 playoff victory in Washington. His (sigh) completion rate was a lowly 58.3 percent. Does that mean this decisive road playoff win was part of his decline'Rodgers then led a fourth quarter comeback to force overtime against the Cardinals in Arizona in the playoffs, nailing Jeff Janis for 103 yards on two miraculous scramble-and-heave efforts to keep the game alive. If the Packers defense hadn't allowed Larry Fitzgerald to catch two passes for 80 yards and a touchdown in overtime, the "slumping" Rodgers would have reached the NFC Championship game.After a full calendar year of "slumping," Rodgers remains the most efficient quarterback in historywith a 104.0 career passer rating. His 2011 season4,643 yards, 45 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 9.2 yards per attemptmay have been one of the greatest statistical seasons in NFL history. His receiving corps consisted of Greg Jennings, Nelson, Randall Cobb, Donald Driver, a younger James Jones and Jermichael Finley. It's not hard to figure out the correlation. Records are set by great players surrounded by great teammates.Even the critics don't really expect an endless series of seasons like 2011. But they don't really believe that he is Blaine Gabbert, either.Another quarterback might bebattling,surviving, orfinding ways to winunder the same situations in which Rodgers has been officially struggling. Tom Brady went through a streak from the fifth game of the 2013 season through the fourth game of the 2014 season in which he threw 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and completed just 60.1 percent of his passes. Those numbers are comparable to Rodgers' over the past year. The Patriots lost six regular season games in that span. The Packers have lost seven during Rodgers' stretch of poor play.There were a few "bench Brady" rumbles out there during Brady's semi-rough patch. There are also flat earthers. Most of us pointed out, rightly, that Brady was relying on Kembrell Thompkins and Michael Hoomanawanui as primary receivers for much of that span, he faced some very tough defenses, and that even Brady is mortal.Rodgers is held to a higher standard than even Brady. That's because criticizing Brady doesn't sell, not just because it's ridiculous (lots of ridiculous ideas sell) but because we are conditioned to think that the Patriots have all the answers and some extra tricks up their sleeves. Despite a Super Bowl victory, numerous deep playoff runs and a 79-35-1 record since 2009, plus two MVP awards, neither the Packers nor Rodgers inspire the same benefit of the doubt.Not even among Packers fans. Rodgers criticism plays very well in Wisconsin, where fans haven't seen a bad quarterback or endured back-to-back losing seasons since 1991. Packers fans have enjoyed just enough success to be spoiled but not enough to be satisfied. The fan base is also football savvy and meticulous. Fans know that Rodgers threw the game-killing interception against the Vikings after Davante Adams ran the exact same pass route twice in a row. They have seen five years of offensive innovations around the NFL essentially pass the Packers by.So the press pool arrived at Packers headquarters last week wondering if Rodgers was slumping because the offense was too "predictable," just as Rodgers predicted."We've set a standard for so longmyself, our teamof playing at such a high level that when we have a couple of disappointing performances, we know what's coming," he said."Now we would love to get back out there and dominate and have this thing turn around, but we know if we go on a run and we lose a game and play poorly, it's going to be right back in the same position."In other words, the Packers can go on a tear after their bye weeksoft defenses like the Cowboys, Bears, Falcons and Colts loom on the schedulebut it will only delay the critics, not silence them. What's Wrong with Rodgers' can survive a hot streak and be ready to serve again at the first stumble. Only a Super Bowl win can squash it.There is nothing wrong with Aaron Rodgers. Really. Watch the games. Watch the throws he has to make. Look at how reliant the Packers are on Rodgers' downfield accuracy, mobility and decision- making to generate every yard of their offense. If there was something really wrong with Rodgers, the 2015 Packers would have gone 6-10.Rodgers' slump is a matter of unrealistic expectations, misperception, and a sometimes willful misrepresentation of the stats and facts to fit the storyline. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He deserves better than weekly inquisitions every time things go wrong.Of course, I only wrote this after a great game, with the bye week coming. For two weeks, nothing can prove this hypothesis wrong. So I only piled praise on Rodgers when I knew it was absolutely safe.How predictable. Mike Tanier covers theNFLfor Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter@MikeTanier.
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