There was a time when the No. 4 jersey of Brett Favre blanketed the entire NFL. The lives of the people in Green Bay would be dictated by whether or not No. 4 would agree to grace the lowly Packers with his presence one more year. But Favre, finally calling it quits after his debacle of a finish in Minnesota last season, has to be sitting back in Mississippi, wondering if his legacy is diminishing every day Aaron Rodgers steps on the field and plays the position at a level that Favre never did.
It is supposed to be difficult to follow a legend. But what happens when the successor starts to dwarf the legend?
Rodgers’ performances are the stuff of greatness — 28 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He leads the NFL in touchdown passes, completion percentage and quarterback rating at a record-setting 130.7, nearly 30 points ahead of Tom Brady in second place.
Coming off a Super Bowl victory last year — the same amount of Super Bowl wins Favre had in 16 years in Green Bay — Rodgers could be leading his team to an undefeated season. And he is doing this without the diva drama that Favre put Packers fans through, the dramas that left such bitter feelings behind — his retirement games, his manufactured exit to the Jets and then finishing with the division rival Vikings.
Rodgers is also a sympathetic figure for the way Favre treated him when Rodgers was the backup behind Favre for three years. There is a certain justice taking place in the rise of Rodgers and the fading of Favre, who has been reduced to a joke fans make for a team’s quarterback option when their passer fails.
The jokes have overshadowed Favre’s place in NFL history. He owns the record book. He holds the career records for touchdowns, with 508, and passing yards, 71,838. He had a record 297 straight starts at quarterback, and 119 of them came at Lambeau Field. He is a three-time MVP who helped take the Packers from a losing franchise to eight division titles, five NFC title games, two Super Bowl appearances and one championship.
Rodgers will not likely match those career numbers. But there is a sense we are watching someone now who is playing the quarterback position at this time better than anyone we have ever seen.
There is a sense that Rodgers is a better quarterback than Favre was.
Donald Driver, who played with Favre for nine years in Green Bay and now catches passes from Rodgers, has that sense.
“I’ve played with two quarterbacks,” Driver told reporters last week. “One just went out there and did what he did, and he wasn’t patient at all. But Aaron takes what the defense gives him, and that’s the type of guy you want.”
Brett who?
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
