The Quarterback Nobody Wanted

Posted by Mike Wendt on July 22, 2010   Jump To Comments

Three years ago, if you asked Packers’ fans (myself included) who they wanted under center, most fans would have said Brett Favre, since he’d been the Packers’ quarterback for sixteen memorable seasons. Sure, we took Aaron Rodgers with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft, but it was still Brett’s team. It was Brett who took us within one mistake of a Super Bowl. (Sound familiar?) Aaron Rodgers just needed to wait until the geezer hung up his cleats for good, if Brett wanted to toy with our emotions, let him, he’s earned it.

Then Packers’ management made one of the biggest offseason moves in recent history, and likely the best move they’ve made this decade, shipping the old man out to New York and handing the keys to the Corvette to the golden boy from California. Rodgers took a large amount of undeserved criticism almost immediately, as Packers’ fans who longed for the glory days of old showed up at training camp wearing Favre jerseys and chanting “We want Brett”. Ted Thompson and the Packers’ front office were under scrutiny from fans, but the Packers stuck by their decision, confident Rodgers would return the Packers to the promised land. In his rookie campaign, Rodgers struggled to win in close games, but he showed the grittiness and passion for the game that every fan loves to see in the players on their team. Although the Packers went 6-10 in Rodgers’ first season, fans gave A-Rod a standing ovation in the season finale at Lambeau. It had taken 16 games, but the fans finally embraced Rodgers, and I believe that’s one of the reasons Rodgers was so successful in 2009, when the Packers went 11-5 and made the playoffs.

Packers Fans longing for Favre at Training Camp

But Packers’ fans weren’t the only ones who doubted Rodgers’ abilities. The Pro Bowl quarterback was hardly recruited out of high school. Quick trivia time. Where did Rodgers play football in college? If you answered University of California, you’re only half right. As a high school senior, Rodgers received only one offer from a Division 1 program, a walk-on offer from the University of Illinois. But Rodgers had some very lucrative offers from other top tier programs, believe you me. If you can believe it, he actually turned down offers from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, (yes, that is a real school, here’s there website if you don’t believe me) and Occidental. On signing day, he donned the Roadrunner hat of Butte Community College. Then, the kid who couldn’t catch a break finally found one. As reported in ESPN the Magazine’s cover story on Rodgers, Cal coach Jeff Tedford made a recruiting trip to see a tight end, and Rodgers caught his eye. Rodgers transferred to Cal the following season, and after two successful seasons with the Golden Bears, some scouts had him as the #1 QB in the 2005 draft, and the #1 overall pick wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

But when draft day came, Rodgers’ name wasn’t called first, or second, or even in the top ten. Everyone remembers feeling for A-Rod, as the ESPN cameras showed the disappointed QB after every pick that wasn’t him. Finally, the Green and Gold decided that getting a #1 quarterback talent late in the first round was something they couldn’t pass up, as they figured Favre didn’t have much left in the tank (little did we all know). Alex Smith went #1 overall and signed a six-year $50 million dollar contract that likely didn’t push him to work as hard as he could have. Rodgers on the other hand, went #24 overall and signed a five-year $7.4 million dollar contract, worth up to $25 million if incentives were met. He had faced adversity all his life, getting passed on was nothing new for Rodgers. When his big day came and Favre was shipped out of town, he had three years of intense training under his belt. He was ready to prove the doubters wrong, whether it be the college coaches who passed on him, the NFL analysts who thought he was a bust, or his hometown fans who wanted an aging hero.

And now were on the dawn of a fresh season, where the expectations are higher than they have ever been for Rodgers. Teammate Nick Barnett has already declared Super Bowl or bust. But Packers’ fans come into 2010 feeling confident and ready for the battle ahead, just like there quarterback, who has proven that the only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work. Love the article? Hate it? Drop me a line at wendt@brentfavre.com