Just How Good Was It?

[Theo Mays]

This could turn into a thread series possibly, depending on how much discussion it generates. And if this does turn into a successful thread I'll take PMs or anything with suggestions on possible ones in the future. So with that said, let's get it started shall we?

With the Super Bowl hours behind us and the Packers fans celebrating after an up and down season I look to start this thread with their biggest offensive star, Quarterback Aaron Rodgers. At the end of the day Aaron Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP and he had the stats to back them up. Rodgers finished the game 24/39 with 304 yards, 3 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Pretty good stat line right?

But lets look more in depth shall we? Of the 15 incomplete passes Rodgers threw, six of them were dropped by Green Bay Packer players. Of the six passes I can recall two bigs ones dropped by Jordy Nelson that could have resulted in huge yards. There was the cutback across the middle that Nelson bobbled and then there was the deep pass that I can't fault Nelson too much for not bringing in, as he had to lay out for it. But take those passes (and the other drops) into consideration, Rodgers could have easily finished the game with close to 400 yards passing. That's incredible! So with the other nine passes that were just incompletions, I can't recall any of which being a bad pass. Rodgers was spot on against a great Steelers defense. He was just the 4th QB to throw for 300 yards and zero interceptions in Super Bowl history. He joins Super Bowl winners (and Hall of Famers) Steve Young and Joe Montana. The other was Jake Delhomme in a losing effort for the Panthers.

So what I'm asking you is, just how good was it? How good was Aaron Rodgers performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV? Was it the best performance by a quarterback in Super Bowl history or does it not rank with the Montana and Young? That's for you to decide.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Easily the best performance by a Super Bowl Quarterback of the century so far, but I wouldn't quite put it over Montana or Young's games. It kind of sucks for him that Jordy Nelson dropped all of those passes because that ultimately reflects on Rodgers in the numbers. Shit, Nelson had the opportunity to have one of the most memorable Wide Receiver performances of all time if he would have just hung on to the ball when it was put right on him.

Rodgers played flawlessly. Even the throws that he missed on were never in any danger of being picked off. He put the ball where only his guy could get it. This kid has faced an enormous amount of pressure since taking over after Favre, but this victory kind of makes it all worth it.

Overall, I'd probably rank him as the 5th best Super Bowl Quarterback, but he's likely got a few more in him.

 

[Dave]

You must excuse me, Theo. I am not the most well-versed American Football fan but hopefully I wont lose everyone's interest as I try and babble through my thoughts on Aaron Rodgers' game last night. I rarely watch American Football because of the time it is broadcast over here but I always make an effort to watch the Super Bowl. I don't think there is a better advert for the sport than this massive game... It is basically like WrestleMania for football fans and that is how I shall be looking at it.

Aaron Rodgers though, had a great game. When you put him up against Big Ben, then you can see that he definitely had a competitive game. Personally, I was backing the Steelers but Aaron Rodgers was the difference maker between the two teams. He kept his cool throughout everything that was tossed at him and lead the line very well in the first half. By the time the half-time show rolled around, I was pretty sure that the Packers were going to have it wrapped up by the end of the 3rd quarter and that would have seemed to be very boring, in my mind anyway. To be honest, for the purposes of the game, it was good that Aaron Rodgers had a bad 3rd quarter or the game would have been dead and buried before the Steelers even got their first touchdown on the board.

That being said, he has to take some credit for how he played in the 4th. With the pressure on his shoulders to get the Packers up the field with only a few minutes to go, he did tremendously well to be a paradigm of what a cool and calm quaterback should be. I think he played tremendously well and I doubt the Packers would have won the match if it was not for his contribution and that is the most telling indication of all.

So, I would say it was a very good performance. He had his moments during the 3rd quarter and a few dotted around during the rest of the match but the way he carried himself and his team was phenomenal.

 

[Big Sexy]

It was a tremendous performance by Rodgers. He overthrew some receivers early but once he got into rhythm almost all of his incompletions were from drops. I'd say his performance was right on par with Joe Montana's but not quite as good as Steve Young's.

Young if you remember threw 6 touchdown passes in the Niners Super Bowl victory over the Chargers and he also ran for about 50 yards. It was still a great performance from Rodgers and if it weren't for the drops who knows what it could have been.

 

[Chardee Macdennis]

Rodgers had an absolutely stellar performance last night. If not for those drops, the Pack my have completely blown out my beloved STEELERS. He not only had a great game stat-line wise as you pointed out, he also showed signs of becoming a great vocal leader. He was putting people, especially his wide recievers, into the right postions. It may not translate to the casual fan, because it could have been recieved as him yelling at his players, but in situations like those, on the biggest stage, you HAVE to have a ring leader calling the shots. He did a GREAT job being a field general. He got players into position and did so to win the game. With all of the STEELERS two minute drives to win games in the last four or five years, you'd have thought last night was the first time we've ever even tried a last minute drive. I'm not sure what was going on, but we looked like shit. It was a great effort by Rodgers and should rank up there at least in the top five or six SB performances out of a QB. Simply amazing. GB has a great team and I hope and pray the NFL gets a deal done and we don't miss any football next year. I'd love a chance at redemption against the Pack, but we couldn't have lost to a better team. That being said, it has still been a tough pill to swallow!!!!