Aaron Rodgers nowhere near top of list of Packers' problems
December 19
Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei
"North of the border, the most important game remaining on the schedule is the blame game. Plenty of agitated cheeseheads would like to lay it on Aaron Rodgers.
I never advocated the Brett Favre purge, and my admiration for Favre has been well documented, but I can't blame the Packers' steep and somewhat stunning decline on Favre's absence.
The Packers won 13 games a year ago and made it to the doorstep of the Super Bowl before the Giants knocked them off in the NFC Championship game. This season they started out 5-4 and looked absolutely magnificent in a 37-3 victory over the Bears. But they have lost four straight since then heading into Monday night's game against the Bears at Soldier Field.
In seven of the Packers' nine losses, Rodgers has had an opportunity to rally the Packers late in the fourth quarter but has failed to do so.
Would Favre have won some of those seven games with last-minute heroics? It is possible, given his experience and savvy.
But the numbers don't back that theory.
In the fourth quarter of games when the Packers are within seven points of their opponent, Rodgers has completed 46 of 72 passes for 583 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. He has completed 63.9 percent of his passes, averaged 8.10 yards per attempt and had a passer rating of 84.4, according to STATS.
Over the last two years, in the same situations, Favre has completed 75 of 126 passes for 793 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. He completed 59.5 percent of his passes, averaged 6.29 yards per attempt and had a passer rating of 74.6.
At the age of 39, Favre is unlikely to improve at anything except perhaps his approach to the green. The youthful Rodgers, 25, should become better in the clutch as he gains experience.
"You have to grow into that," Packers general manager Ted Thompson said of late-game situations. "Sometimes you can try too hard, if that makes sense."
The truth is the Packers might not have even been as close to their opponents in some of those losses if Favre had been under center.
Rodgers' numbers this season are better than Favre's in almost every significant category. The one noticeable exception is pass completions of 25 yards or more. Favre has 32 to 18 for Rodgers.
Even when comparing Rodgers this season to Favre over the last two seasons, Rodgers' numbers are more impressive.
Average per attempt: Favre is at 7.31, Rodgers 7.45.
Interception percentage: Favre is at 3.2, Rodgers 2.6.
Red zone passer rating: Favre is at 92.7, Rodgers 104.2.
Third-down passer rating: Favre is at 82.2, Rodgers 103.7."
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