The Lass Word: Enjoying Aaron Rodgers from a Distance

I have to admit I cracked a big smile when I read Aaron Rodgers’ recent comments about the New York Jets 2024 schedule.  The NFL is putting the Jets on prime time TV six times in the first twelve weeks.  Rodgers is convinced it’s because of him, and of course, he’s right. 

“We are must-watch TV and that’s pretty obvious. Everyone knows that,” Rodgers said during a radio interview, via Pro Football Focus   “Whether you love or hate me, people want to see me play.  They enjoy watching me play, and we are a team to watch this year. Not surprising. Six prime time games in the first 11 or 12 weeks. I love it.” 

Packer fans have a range of opinions about Rodgers.  Some hate him, some love him, and some are like me.  I am grateful for his eighteen years as a Green Bay Packer and acknowledge him as one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game, probably the most talented QB ever to wear the green and gold.  (I said most talented, not most successful.  I see you, Bart Starr fans)  But having said that, I am also very thankful he is somewhere else now, making headlines and creating drama for another team.   

Now I can read remarks such as these and just enjoy the attitude, without worrying if it is going to cause some sort of problem in the Green Bay locker room.  I daresay Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur are feeling the same way. 

What makes the current situation especially enjoyable is that, considering the 2023 season, the Packers were able to move on from the future Hall of Fame signal caller without sacrificing its standard and level of success.  In fact, the team actually improved its record from Rodgers’ last season at the helm. 

By now you have certainly seen the numbers comparing Jordan Love’s first year as a starter to Rodgers’ first year.  You are no doubt aware that Love is ahead of his predecessor in most all categories.  But I wanted to go a bit further than that.  I wanted to compare Love’s season to, not just Rodgers’ first as a starter, but to his career averages.  What I found is that Love’s 2023 performance is very nearly equal to what was a typical Rodgers season.   

These are regular season numbers, and I threw out Rodgers’ stats from the 2013 and 2017 seasons because he played in only nine and seven games respectively in those years.  I wanted this to be as close to “apples to apples” as possible, so I only included years when Rodgers played a full or nearly full schedule.  In terms of total passing yards, Rodgers averaged 4,193 yards per season.  Last fall, Love threw for 4,159.  A nominal difference of just 34 yards. 

Rodgers averaged 33.9 touchdown passes per season.  Love threw 32.  Rodgers averaged just seven interceptions per season, but I believe that stat requires an asterisk.  That figure is so low largely because Rodgers so often held the ball, refusing to throw it away, and taking sacks instead.  How many drives died because of his unwillingness to get rid of the pigskin?  Love threw eleven picks, but almost none in the second half of the season.  Rodgers averaged a completion percentage of 65.3 over his career.  Love, again after a horrendous start, finished at 64.2.    

As you can see, Jordan Love not only exceeded Rodgers’ first year starter numbers, but very nearly matched those of Rodgers’ entire, distinguished career (minus the ‘13 and ‘17 seasons).  Love did this with the youngest team in the NFL, and without his top running back for five games.   

So this is why I’m having so much fun continuing to follow the rants and musings of Aaron Rodgers.  He is, without question, the most quotable player in league history.  His name will soon be on the wall at Lambeau Field.  He gave us a long history of unforgettable memories.  He also brought us more unwanted drama than any Packer I can recall in my more than sixty years of fandom.  I am delightfully entertained to watch that drama unfold somewhere else, while Jordan Love begins to build his own legacy in Titletown.