Nelson, Randall Cobb and Donald Driver to name a few). But what makes his numbers even more impressive is the fact that though Rodgers has some great receivers to throw too, he lacks a big and powerful tight end to target in the red zone. Jermichael Finley has been unable to continue his career after sustaining a horrific neck injury and Andrew Quarless has been less than impressive. The lack of a consistent running game has been a problem for Rodgers to deal with but the emergence of Eddie Lacy sees the Packers have threats both on the ground and in the air.
Now all these things tell us is that Aaron Rodgers is one heck of a quarterback. But what makes him the best quarterback in the game right now. We have covered the constant pressure he is put under by an average offensive line, a below average tight end and a lack of a running game as things that have held Rodgers back. But what about the things that make him great.
The two stats that I want to point out that I will use to make my argument are passing accuracy and passer rating. Through his 7 year career as a starter, Rodgers has an accuracy percentage of 66.1. Again, some credit needs to go to the wide receivers for being able to get open to make catches but for a quarterback that has been sacked 244 times as a starter, that accuracy rating is incredible. The rating shows just how good Rodgers is when moving around the pocket and how he is able to hit open receivers when he is under pressure. His accuracy rating ranks 6th among starting quarterbacks and by putting the ball in good areas for his receivers to catch, Rodgers average yardage per completion has jumped to 8.8 yards, which ranks 1st among starting quarterbacks. Need more evidence? Rodgers also has the ability to throw the ball deep. In 2014 he ranks 5th among starting quarterbacks for catches made for 20+ yards with 37 and 1st in the league for catches made for 40+ yards with 12. Yes the receivers play a big part in those stats but more often than not, we see rookie and veteran quarterbacks miss wide open receivers when throwing deep.
But the stat that I believe shows why Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL is his passer rating. Passer rating is a hard stat to judge but it is one that is being used by more and more NFL experts to make arguments about
Aaron Rodgers: Best QB in FOOTBALL?
Jason Barbin