Has Anyone Noticed How Tough Rodgers Is?
It's time fans and the media paid attention to how tough Aaron Rodgers is.
By PackerAaron
While rewatching the 2009 season again, I found myself muttering more than once "That kid is one tough son of a gun" when watching Aaron Rodgers peel himself off the turf again and again.
The guy took untold amounts of punishment. He continually waved off the training staff, got up, and got back into the huddle and took the next snap. He took some unbelievably viscous shots to the head. And yet never missed a play due to injury. He played with the pain. He hasn't missed a start in two years. Yes, he's got a long way to go to catch his predecessor in that department, but in the modern NFL starting 32 straight regular season games at quarterback is becoming an incredible achievement.
I just hope all the idiots who were calling him 'fragile' and 'injury prone' and whatever else when he suffered a couple freak injuries while he was the backup have taken note.
Comments (47)
JohnRehor
June 03, 2010 at 10:55 am
If nothing else, he learned one thing from Favre-fight through the injuries, play through the pain, and lead your team. True leaders find ways to win, and setting the example is a good way to start.
June 03, 2010 at 11:02 am
Didn't he play a game with a broken ankle when Favre was still here? I think it was against the Patriots?
PackerAaron
June 03, 2010 at 11:08 am
Broken foot. Yep - against the Pats.
June 03, 2010 at 11:58 am
Yeah, I had noticed it in 08 actually. The guy played with a dislocated shoulder, for crying out loud!
And it's a great trait to have, but he cannot do like his predecessor and play like shit when he's injuried.
If he's gonna hurt the team more than help it, I expect him to accept the benching...
But all in all, like John Rehor said, it shows leadership and accountability. I don't think there's a single doubter in the locker room, that this is Rodgers' team.
June 04, 2010 at 05:31 am
I would rather see him power through for the motivation it would give the team than see what Matt Flynn can do in a real game. That guy is a decent backup but I would really like to see us get a guy more like Billy Volek or Seneca Wallace. A solid career backup type guy.
June 03, 2010 at 12:23 pm
yeah we are spoiled as Packer fans to have a QB like Rodgers fall into place after Favre. Before last season I told people that I would rather have Rodgers over Favre, and they thought i was crazy. Favre had a great season last year, but Rodgers is the real deal. Thompson made the right decision
June 19, 2010 at 05:27 pm
COULDNT AGREE MORE
June 03, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Word.
June 03, 2010 at 01:43 pm
Thanks Aaron. The game against Patriots really impressed me, even though his stats weren't all that great. Had to admire the kid for playing with that injury. Rodgers game against the Cowboys made me realize his potential, not that I saw the last two years coming. Favre had a tendency to push it when things didnt start well (playoff game St. Louis, 1st Holmgren game Seahawks), the Cowboy game could have gotten really ugly had Favre stayed in the game. The Cardinal game last year could have been one of those Favre games had Favre been here. I'm glad Rodgers can play hurt but I'm even more glad he doesn't panic and try to do more with the ball like our ex-qb.
June 03, 2010 at 04:15 pm
I said it every time he got sacked last year - and got back up (there were so many of them)! He's amazing.
June 03, 2010 at 04:16 pm
Great timing Aaron.
I just watched the Week 1 game against the bares last night. Do you remember that shot Earlicker put on him in the 1st half JUST after he got rid of the ball? He got absolutely LIT UP. Scraped himself up (looking for a flag), hopefully he starts getting some of the roughing calls the Brady's and Manning's get, there were some terrible no-calls.
He is one tough SOB, and that's a fact.
GBP 4 LIFE
PackerAaron
June 03, 2010 at 09:58 pm
That Urlacher shot is one of the greatest plays of the year. Good, clean football hit. And Rodgers just gets right back up. Love that play.
June 04, 2010 at 11:24 am
I'm sorry if I didn't get the sarcasm, but if it wasn't, you're onto something very strong...
Good, clean, football hit... If it's on Brady or Manning, Earlicker is ejected from the match.
PackerAaron
June 04, 2010 at 11:27 am
No sarcasm whatsoever.
June 04, 2010 at 06:27 pm
Blalant late hit... The ball was out of Rodgers' hands for quite a while.
June 04, 2010 at 04:01 pm
Gotta agree RS, Peyton or Tom takes that shot, it's 15 yards and a 1st... MINIMUM. No doubt in my mind.
PackerAaron
June 04, 2010 at 05:40 pm
You guys are crazy.
June 04, 2010 at 07:11 pm
Alright.
Just went back and watched it in slo-mo half a dozen times.
#12 is on the 37 yd line when the ball 'leaves' his hand.
Earlicker is on the 40 yd line when the ball is out. Running full steam ahead at #12.
By NFL rules, that constitutes a late hit. He traveled NINE FEET after the ball was released to lay a hit. If you can pause it just as the ball leaves #12's hand and still see something different, well, we will agree to disagree. First time for everything huh, Aaron! 8-)
GBP 4 LIFE
PackerAaron
June 05, 2010 at 12:33 am
And if refs were allowed to go back and rewind each play on DVR, you'd have a case. In real time, there's no way you call a late hit. It's a great hit by Urlacher. Period.
June 05, 2010 at 03:38 am
See Nagler, that's where you lose me... consistently. Just because YOU say period, doesn't mean anything changes. And it certainly does nothing to bolster your stance. But this is your place after all, if it makes you feel better... period away!
I've seen roughing calls called for MUCH less in "real time". 60,000+ @ Mecca thought it was late (Listen), #12 was blatantly looking for the laundry as well. Peyton or Tom get that call 10 out of 10 times. PERIOD (wow, slightly invigorating, you may be on to something). LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_bdwfD8HMk
You're telling me ^^^ THAT ^^^ never gets called in "real time"? Sure looks like he INTENTIONALLY lowered his shoulder after the ball was out. Like I said, Tom/Peyton 10 out of 10.
GBP 4 LIFE
June 05, 2010 at 03:41 am
OH, peep the comments on that link!
June 05, 2010 at 09:38 am
"at yet rodgers is? still playin and urlacher is on ir, whos the pussy now."
Winner.
PackerAaron
June 05, 2010 at 10:07 am
"The ball was out of Rodgers’ hands for quite a while." - go watch that clip again. Care to amend your earlier statement? ;)
June 05, 2010 at 10:43 am
No, not really. Still think it was a late hit, and that if it's Tom Brady, it's a flag. BTW, is it just me, or this site is really weird? The replies are being posted as if they were new posts...
June 05, 2010 at 11:48 am
Packers RS:
IN response to ""Is this site really weird", Yes, it seems to be posting everything as new posts, and out of order, too.. I posted an hour or two ago, and the post was inserted half-way up the page, inbetween all the other posts.
Strange. Of course, now that I've written this, I'm sure this reply will work perfectly ;)
PackerAaron
June 05, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Yeah - no idea what is going on with the Reply posts. Typically, Corey is away all week...
June 05, 2010 at 02:37 pm
"Care to amend your earlier statement?"
No.
If you watch the actual game video (not that replay), it gives you a MUCH clearer view from the side. I paused it just as the ball left his hand, he was on the 37, Earlicker was on the 40, clear as day.
Now he did close super quick, you wouldn't think that was 3 yards from the youtube clip, it was.
I'm over it, the people know the truth. Good day sir. 8-)
June 09, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I agree with Fitz and PackerRS...I was looking for the laundry on that play too, when I saw it live and in real time. Watching the replays haven't changed my mind. Not only did Urlacher not try to pull up he also lowered his shoulder and extended his hands to push/throw Rodgers to the turf harder. How many times have you seen Kampman in the same (OR LESS) space and time pull off to avoid a penalty.
10 times out of 10 Brady and Manning (and in the not to distant past Farve) get that call.
Now I don't ness. think that SHOULD be a penalty but that doesn't change the fact that frequently it IS called. If your going to call it for some then call it.
I would also however agree that this was far from the worst blown roughing call that Rodgers should have gotten last season.
June 09, 2010 at 12:49 pm
"Now I don’t ness. think that SHOULD be a penalty but that doesn’t change the fact that frequently it IS called. If your going to call it for some then call it."
agree 100%.
June 13, 2010 at 06:06 am
Amen. Top to bottom!
PackerAaron
June 05, 2010 at 10:03 am
If anything, that clip proves my point. UNless, of course, you expect Urlacher to completely stop his momentum in mid air. That is a great hit by Urlacher. Period. ;)
June 19, 2010 at 05:55 pm
The same thing happened in the Az game. Helmet to helmet contact on the play b4 the fumble,clear call...and the refs swallow their whistles. Not to mention the non-calling of the face mask on the fumble play. Im getting upset just talkin bout this
June 03, 2010 at 05:42 pm
Yea. The Zebras better throw in a few extra roughing the passer calls next year to make up for the blatant no-calls for hits to the helmet, late hits, etc to Rodgers last year. What a joke.
June 03, 2010 at 08:29 pm
The Kid is totally tough. I just wish he didn't have to be tough quite so often. Maybe Bulaga is the fix the O-Line needs.
I just can't wait till fall.
June 04, 2010 at 01:53 am
A
M
E
N
BROTHER
June 04, 2010 at 11:20 am
Agree, it would be nice if he didn't have to be tough, oh, let's say 25 or 30 times less than last year.
June 03, 2010 at 10:17 pm
I wouldn't count on Bulaga initially helping the OL. If you saw Bedard's video on the OL a couple of days ago, in the drills Clifton showed why he is a pro and Bulaga showed why he's a rookie. Not a disaster, but certainly not as good as Clifton. (Not that I would expect him to be at this point in time). Clifton was an excellent pickup in Round 2.
June 04, 2010 at 01:57 am
Clifton's technique was flawless in that video. I really hope BB watches Chad and soaks up as much as he can from him. Chad said he was all for helping to groom him, that's just a class act move.
GBP 4 LIFE
June 03, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I am glad you got props from 'the man' himself on Twitter. Great article! The 08 hit from Peppers comes to mind as well. Fans do have to realize that 'gasp' he might have to miss a game or two. Can we really be that spoiled by two tough QBs?
June 03, 2010 at 10:34 pm
You mean someone has NOT noticed?
June 03, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Al the ones that havent noticed are the Brett lovers that refuse to give Rodgers any credit
June 04, 2010 at 02:35 pm
The blindside hit from Rey Maualuga in the Bengals game had me cringing.
Knock on wood Rodgers keeps the toughness up.
June 05, 2010 at 10:36 am
IMO, Urlacher DOES actually ease up on that hit. If Urlacher DOESN'T see the ball coming out, I guarantee he leaves his feet and torpedos Rodgers with all he's got.
It's also my opinion that Urlacher turns a shoulder to Rodgers to make sure he doesn't cause a horrible helmet-to-helmet collision that results in a nasty penalty/fine and possible career-ending injury to one or both of them.
I was the loner on this assessment on opening day, and watching the clips doesn't change my outlook a bit. I have to agree with Aaron on this one- There's nothing wrong with that play.
Just for fun, Looking at it from a personal/character angle as opposed to a technical/penalty angle, here's a break down:
The distance traveled by Urlacher AFTER the ball comes out: about 9 feet
Urlacher ran a 4.54 40yd dash at the combine- that's 120 feet, or roughly 26.4 feet/second.
9/26.4 = .341 (ish). So, Brian Urlacher, moving at maximum velocity, has about 1/3 of a second to do SOMETHING to minimize his impact on Rodgers, whom his has been trying to destroy since the play started. I don't think there's much more he could have done. I know I wouldn't have been able to avert a disastrous collision in .341 seconds.
June 05, 2010 at 02:47 pm
Sorry Oppy, he absolutely lowered his shoulder... didn't have to. How many times have you seen a player put both hands in the air on a play just like that to show "hey, I'm not trying to hit the guy", many. Earlicker lowered his shoulder. PERIOD 8-)
The good news is, you're not the loner on that assesment any more, you now have Nagler.
GBP 4 LIFE
June 05, 2010 at 01:32 pm
About the Urlacher hit, he's the one who was out the whole season. I'd rather let him get injured and miss the whole season instead of penalized while getting another shot at Rodgers in the second Bears game. I know his injury is not related to that late hit but fate conspired against him. Karma's a bitch Urlacher!
June 05, 2010 at 02:40 pm
C'mon Nagler. You can't give a little props for my quote over there on Youtube? That's good stuff man!
GBP 4 LIFE
June 22, 2010 at 09:58 pm
Rodgers toughness is one more reason Darth Vader keeps coming back for one more season. He wants to extend that streak as long as he can.