Mr. Hail Mary

            In my first blog I talked about the new Face of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes. I said this man is going to take the NFL by storm for the next decade, fresh off his Superbowl win. This is due to his amazing skills at quarterback, and his ability to turn a negative play to a positive play almost every time with his throwing and running. Patrick Mahomes is not a system quarterback like Tom Brady, Mahomes and the Chiefs rely on his pure talent to carry them even further beyond. However, before Mahomes showed up, for the last twenty years there has been a man doing what Mahomes does for the Green Bay Packers. However, this man has been doing this with less a less talented team than Mahomes has had, and he has pulled off some of the most impossible plays throughout his career, including the Hail Mary. The man I am speaking about is Aron Rodgers. Now, the Hail Mary is a play where the receivers just run straight down the field all the way towards the endzone, and the quarterback has to stay in the pocket, throw the ball 50 to 70 yards down the field and pray one of his receivers catches it in the endzone. The likelihood of this happening is very little, but it does depend on how ell the defense can cover it. Either way, Aron Rodgers has pulled this play off several times in his career, including in the playoffs.

            Aron Rodgers was drafted by the Green Bay, being picked 24^th overall in the 1^st round of the 2005 NFL draft. His situation was an interesting one, because at the time the Packers had Brett Favre who was already deemed one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks at the time, and he had already won a Superbowl and had loss one. So, he was under the wing of one the best and unconventional quarterbacks for the three whole seasons, till Rodgers finally took over for him. Once Rodgers took over, he would go on too pass for 46946 yards, have 384 passing touchdowns, have a winning career record of 113 wins to 60 losses, and 3122 rush yards. Rodgers would be special because he could extend plays with his legs, and throw far and accurate on the run. A lot like How I described Patrick Mahomes, but Aron Rodgers was the original one to do it in my football viewing experience. Of course, this talent of his would lead him to a Superbowl Victory over the Steelers, where Rodgers and the Packers were underdogs throughout that playoff run due to them starting from the wildcard position. Rodgers and the Packers over came the longer and harder road to the Superbowl, by Rodgers pulling off some insane plays, and the Packers having a solid defense. Rodgers would also be named season MVP twice and reach the pro bowl 8 times throughout his career.

            Rodgers is fresh off a season where he led the Packers to a 13-3 season, where they reached the NFC Championship (Game before the Superbowl), but lost to the 49ers. Rodgers future is somewhat in question. He is showing regression these last two seasons, but he is still one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. I believe Rodgers has a few good years left in him with the team, but due to the Packers drafting a Quarterback in the first round named Jordan Love in this year’s NFL Draft this could change. I believe that move by the Packers is a sign for Rodgers and the Packer fans, that just like how Rodgers replaced Favre, Love will replace Rodgers in a couple of years. However, this will only happen if Love develops well enough. Either way, Rodgers years with the Packers could be limited, this will be Rodgers 16^th season playing in the NFL, but for at least for the next year the Packers will rely on him to train Love and bail them out with his amazing talent like he has for his entire career.