Who is Better in Their First Two Years: Favre or Rodgers?

Posted by Jerry Bader on

Let's start with passing stats:

Favre

1992 (13 games as starter)

Att                 Comp.     %             Yards        TD     INT           Passer Rating

471                 302        64             3,227        18      13                   85.3

1993

522                 318         60.9          3,303         19      24                  72.2

 

Rodgers

2008

546                341         63.6            4,038        28      13                    93.8

2009(thru 15 games)

515                329         63.9            4,119         29      7                    102.4

 

It took Favre until 2009 to get a season passer rating over 100. Rodgers becomes the first NFL QB to throw for 4,000 plus yards in each of his first two season as a starter. Clearly, statistically, Rodgers is a much better quarterback than Favre in his first two seasons as starter. Ah, but I hear the Favre first fans now: it's all about the wins Jerry! Well, let's examine their records through their first 31 games as starters:

Favre 18-13

Rodgers 16-15

Hum, this is the HUGE difference between the two that I'm supposed to understand????? Really?????

Favre turned 40 in October, Rodgers turned 25 this year. Favre is now trying to run the Vikings organization the way he was running the Packers organization late in his career here. Rodgers is far ahead in development of where Brett Favre was at this point in his career and Favre will be going into the NFL Hall of Fame his first year of eligibility. There is no doubt in my mind the organization made the right decision in moving along without Brett Favre.

Will Rodgers be as durable as Favre? Not likely, but that's what makes Favre's consecutive start record so amazing; nobody else has done it( Peyton Manning is nearly in Favre's class in that category and bests Favre in most others)

None of this is to minimize what Brett Favre did for the Green Bay Packers, or how great a QB he is. If Aaron Rodgers remains relatively healthy, I believe he can complete the rare feat of following a Hall of Famer with a Hall of Fame career of his own. This is far from given, of course. It was far from given in 1993 as well. And as stated above, Rodgers is a more developed QB now than Farve was then. I want to be clear here: my point is NOT to diminish the career of Brett Favre. I'm speaking to those Packer fans who refuse to accept that Aaron Rodgers is already an upper echelon QB, even more than Favre was at this point in his career, and they can't accept this simply because he's not Brett Favre. Let the disagreeing begin with the comments tool below!

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