Could you imagine if Tom Brady and the New England Patriots entered Week 14 with a 4-7-1 record and were coming off a loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium?
First and foremost, that would never happen. But let’s just play the game of hypotheticals here.
Think about what the national media would be saying about Brady. Would they put the heat on Bill Belichick too? Of course they would. But Brady would get it worse than anyone in the organization, because he’s the quarterback, and he’s one of the greatest of all time. Brady’s dominance is no hypothetical. It’s as real as real can be.
What’s also real is that the Green Bay Packers actually do enter Week 14 with a 4-7-1 record after losing to the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. In the wake of that loss, the Packers have fired head coach Mike McCarthy.
Coaches in every sport take too much of the blame. That doesn’t necessarily mean firing McCarthy was a bad decision. But he shouldn’t be the only one taking heat for the way the Packers’ season has gone down the drain.
Aaron Rodgers should be on the receiving end of some heavy criticism right now. For whatever reason though, he’s not. At least, I haven’t heard or seen it.
Rodgers has seemingly become the “Golden Boy” of the NFL. He can do no wrong in the eyes of the national experts and analysts. He’s always compared to the greats, whether he wins or he loses.
It’s almost the complete opposite reaction that Brady gets. And if anyone should be in the “greatest of all time” discussion, it’s the guy who’s been to eight Super Bowls and has won five of them, not the guy who’s only won one Super Bowl, the only Super Bowl that he’s ever been in.
Brady and Rodgers have really had two completely different careers, yet, you would think that their NFL resumes are identical if you listen to the football pundits. It’s funny, because, while they want to treat the two quarterbacks the same, they also want to treat them differently.
The crickets you hear around Rodgers’ name during this depressing period in the legendary Packers organization represents the latest example of that.
Brady is currently 9-3, and a win in Miami away from his 10th consecutive division title, as he attempts to advance to his eighth straight conference championship game. That hasn’t stopped the “experts” from using phrases like “washed up” or “falling off a cliff” or “Father Time is undefeated” when describing his play. All Brady has done to respond to these idiots — yes, I just called them idiots — is continue to lead his team to AFC Championships and Super Bowls. Heck, he’s even the reigning NFL MVP at 41 years of age.
But God forbid Brady throws a couple off-target passes under pressure in a regular-season game in November. Oh boy, that’s it. He’s as good as done.
(Rolls eyes).
Meanwhile, Rodgers and the Packers are about to miss out on the playoffs for the second straight year. And Rodgers deserves plenty of the blame. But I just don’t see him getting it.
They’ll defend him by saying he’s only thrown one interception in 12 games this season, compared to Brady’s eight interceptions. But Rodgers has also been sacked 35 times this year, compared to Brady being sacked 16 times.
I could really go on and on, explaining to you why Rodgers is not one of the greatest of all time. He’s been a great NFL quarterback throughout his entire career, sure. But those two things are not equal.
Brady is, in fact, one of the all-time greats. But still, could you imagine the reaction if he put up only 17 points at home in a loss to the Cardinals?
I guess we’ll never know. Because that would simply never happen.
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