As the Green Bay Packers have catapulted themselves to the top of the NFL, the time has come for the predictable foolishness that is bound to creep up with a month to go before the playoffs. Clearly, half the teams in the NFL are just trying to either play for respect or for moving up in the draft, so there has to be something to talk about. With your Packers at 9-3 and a cake schedule ahead of them, why not? Right?

Most of the silliness revolves around our favorite player, of course. Aaron Rodgers is the flashpoint of this extremely hot team, and well deserved. While he was the winner of the Super Bowl MVP back in 2010, he was really just one of many standout players on that team. In fact, you could make the case that he was still quite inconsistent, all the way through the playoffs and during the Super Bowl itself.

Since then, he has garnered his own NFL MVP award, has raised the passing efficiency rating expectations to three digits, and there is no doubt that this is Rodgers' team. He is the one we turn to when the going gets tough, and ever since he told us to "relax," he's delivered.

Which brings up the goofiness of the past week:

Is Aaron Rodgers a greater quarterback than Terry Bradshaw?

Would you trade Aaron Rodgers for Brett Favre in his prime right now?

Is Aaron Rodgers the best NFL quarterback of all time?

No, really. People are asking these questions. And they're serious about them. Rodgers, as of December 2014, is the greatest quarterback of all time. Pay no mind that the season isn't done, and that the Packers haven't won anything so far besides nine games (Breaking News: so have the Lions and the Cardinals). He has had a great season so far, but the platitutdes that come with winning approach ridiculous levels.

The best quarterback of all time? The kid just turned 31 years old, and is only in his seventh season as a full-time starter. Terrell Davis played seven seasons and can't sniff a jacket at Canton. Heck, Sterling Sharpe played seven seasons and probably won't be honored there, either.

Rodgers isn't a finished product yet, gang. He's got a lot of miles to go and more to prove if we really want to take him seriously in these kinds of conversations. Note I say "we" and not "he," as I don't really think Rodgers spends a lot of time worrying about his legacy compared to Bradshaw or Favre or Montana. You only have to watch his ever-present smirk (particularly in the newest Hans and Franz commercial) to realize he doesn't take himself or his own hype as seriously as we do.

Point is, there's a lot that can happen to a quarterback's career after age 31. Let's be honest: Rodgers might be the best he's ever been right now, but also the best he may ever be. There's a little thing called aging that is going to catch up with him sooner or later, and it will affect his game.

And then, it will affect us. Don't believe me? It was almost ten years ago that Brett Favre threw four interceptions in a playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He was 35 years old at the time, and almost immediately the calls for a younger quarterback started, with doubts in that old arm that we once promised we'd never lose faith in. We all know what happened after that, including the drafting of a young man from Chico, California only three months following.

Coincidentally, Aaron Rodgers' present contract, a $110M deal with a $33M signing bonus and $55M guaranteed, expires at the end of the 2018 season ... when Rodgers will be 35 years old.

So, while talk like this is fun and passes the time until the playoffs start, I am going to give you five letters, for all you Packer fans out there.

R-E-L-A-X. Relax.

There's the slight possibility that Rodgers career will end like that of John Elway, winning two Super Bowls in his waning years and retiring on top of the world, forever worshipped and glorified by the team that claimed him for his entire career.

There's also the slight possibility that it could end completely the opposite way, just as it did for Favre, imploding in arrogance and ego in a explosive exodus from the team that leaves fans jaded (at best) or forever contemptuous (at worst).

But the reality will likely fall somewhere in the middle of those two possibilities, and as Rodgers' career starts to wind down, it will be time to talk about what his legacy actually will be, and how it compares to those legendary quarterbacks of lore.  There will be talk of physical conditioning (remember Favre's "core fitness" kick in the early 2000s?) and the need for teammates to "help out" and "win Aaron one more ring." While many of us will be dreading the day Rodgers loses his arm strength, we'll notice more as his hips, knees, and ankles decline, forcing him to change his throwing motion or lose the accuracy that has defined him in his prime.

And the rumblings from the fans and the media will start: "Can Aaron still lead us to a Super Bowl?" Heck, Peyton Manning was traded away from the team he had led to one Super Bowl. So were Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas. Most great quarterbacks don't finish in a blaze of glory, but in a barely-glowing cinder in forgotten seasons that historians will gladly gloss over when evaluating a player's legacy.

But hey, let's be honest: Those years of watching a greying, aging Rodgers are a long time away (at least in football years). Now is not the time to worry about when those day will arrive.

And the same can be said for trying to figure out what Rodgers' legacy or place among the legendary quarterback would or should be.

Do I care whether or not Rodgers ends up being "better" than Terry Bradshaw? Of course not. It's a different game today, and dynasties no longer exist.

Do I care whether or not Rodgers or Favre were better in their prime? Of course not. Favre is retired and gone, and Rodgers is who we have right now.

Do I care whether someone thinks that Rodgers is or is not the "greatest quarterback in NFL history?"

No.

What I care about is that Aaron Rodgers is one man out of 45 players that are going to take on the Atlanta Falcons tonight, an important game for maintaining the half-game lead the Packers presently hold in the NFC North over the Detroit Lions. What I care about is making sure we win enough games in December to get this team into the playoffs. What I care about is seeing this team carry itself with the same swagger it showed in a Sunday Night game last week against the Patriots—except doing in when it counts in January and February.

And I will relish watching Rodgers in his prime right now, cheering every crazy and impossible throw. It's a special time for Packer fans, an amazing roller coaster ride that we get to share in, week in and week out for sixteen games ... and hopefully, three or four more after that.

So, I have a new message out there, for all of you in Packerland. To all of you who are passionately discussing whether Rodgers is just great or the greatest, better than or the best, apples to apples or apples to oranges.

I have five letters for you.

E-N-J-O-Y. Enjoy. Sit back and relish every moment.

We have the rest of our lives to worry about legacies.

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C.D. Angeli is a long time Packer fan and feature writer at CheeseheadTV. He can be heard weekly as a co-host on Cheesehead Radio and is the good cop over at Packers Talk. Follow him on Twitter at @TundraVision.