10 years ago on this day...

This is a day I try to forget, thanks for reminding me of taking Alex instead of Aaron

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:

Originally posted by Quest4six:
I doubt Rogers is the Rogers we know him to be today if we drafted him.

Completely agree.

Completely disagree.

Just because Alex failed doesn't mean Rodgers would have, too. They are two different guys and anyone who actually believes Alex has the same level of talent as Rodgers is fooling themselves.

I firmly believe if the situations were reversed, Alex Smith would not have anywhere near the success Rodgers has had if he were in Green Bay. Rodgers, while he may have started off rougher, would likely become elite regardless.

I still remember my roommate at the time spoiling the draft pick for me before I could find out dude the winners took at Alex Smith and I was like seriously what the f**k aight f**king Broncos fan

I was pretty pissed. Nothing against Alex. But I was solidly in the Aaron Rodgers camp. I had a Madden team with a created player "Aaron Rodgers" that I had brought along from a rookie to greatness as the off season progressed because I was confident we were taking Rodgers.

At the time I was almost more pissed about having to start all over with that than not getting the QB I wanted. Even though I really wanted Rogers, I didn't think it was that much of a drop off. I was still optimistic Alex could be good. But man was I disappointed. I was so SURE we were taking Rogers.

Originally posted by natrone06:
Of course he would be. It would have taken him a different route and his timeline may be different but his talent is undeniable. Eventually in the nfl the cream always rises to the top no matter the system/situation.

On another note Mariota reminds me a little of Alex Smith and Rodgers. It will be interesting to see which way his career goes.

This is what I was going to post in reponse,
Good post Travisty

Originally posted by Travisty13:
Exactly. It took 3 years of Rodgers sitting behind Favre and completely changing his throwing motion for him to be successful. If we had him, doubt we fix his throwing motion since he would have been thrown into the fire to soon. Which would have made him resort back to his natural improper throwing motion.

http://m.jsonline.com/sports/packers/rodgers-made-a-career-audible-with-packers-4p3loj7-136856133.html

Originally posted by Empire49:
Completely disagree.

Just because Alex failed doesn't mean Rodgers would have, too. They are two different guys and anyone who actually believes Alex has the same level of talent as Rodgers is fooling themselves.

I firmly believe if the situations were reversed, Alex Smith would not have anywhere near the success Rodgers has had if he were in Green Bay. Rodgers, while he may have started off rougher, would likely become elite regardless.

Out of college Smith was a more polished QB (and had better mechanics)
Rogers got to sit 3-4 years behind a HOF QB (Favre) and learn the offense.

Alex Smith on the other hand, was drafted to be a starter and started week 5 in Mike Nolans offense, playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL
(sacked 6 times in his first game)

Offensive coordinator-
2005= Mike McCarthy
2006= Norv Turner
2007= Jim Holster
2008= Mike Martz
2009-10= Jimmy Raye
2011= Greg Roman

That's 6 different offensive coordinators in 7 years. I don't care what kind of QB you are, you aren't going to play to your full potential without some form of stability. The fact Smith didn't get labeled a bust (some would probably say so) continues to amaze me. Any QB going through that would struggle, Rogers included.

Now Rogers on the other hand,

McCarthy's quarterback school paid off in a big way for signal caller Aaron Rodgers, who came into the league with quirky mechanics taught by the University of California's infamous (in NFL circles) head coach Jeff Tedford and has since become arguably the league's best quarterback...


Rodgers held the ball next to his ear when he was in a pre-pass triangle set at California. The mechanics appeared efficient at the time because he was able to get the ball out quickly in the Golden Bears short passing game, but he struggled throwing deep.


His throwing motion led to him throwing outside of his frame, which is not ideal and "stresses the shoulder" as quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. says, and his footwork also suffered as he was not able to get proper timing nor transfer weight with any consistency. Rodgers explained this in an interview with ESPN last year:

"When I first got into the league, I held the ball really high. That was the standard in college, and it messed up my timing a bit -- the draw, bringing it back, then the release... You're taught to get back as deep as you can, but you can never throw the ball out on time when you do that."

http://thesidelineview.com/columns/nfl/can-quarterbacks-mechanics-be-altered


So for the TLDR version,
Smith spent most of his off seasons learning new playbooks and coaching schemes. Aaron Rogers spent his changing his throwing mechanics, and getting comfortable in a very QB friendly offense.

Originally posted by Quest4six:

Originally posted by Empire49:

Completely disagree.

Just because Alex failed doesn't mean Rodgers would have, too. They are two different guys and anyone who actually believes Alex has the same level of talent as Rodgers is fooling themselves.

I firmly believe if the situations were reversed, Alex Smith would not have anywhere near the success Rodgers has had if he were in Green Bay. Rodgers, while he may have started off rougher, would likely become elite regardless.

Out of college Smith was a more polished QB (and had better mechanics)
Rogers got to sit 3-4 years behind a HOF QB (Favre) and learn the offense.

Alex Smith on the other hand, was drafted to be a starter and started week 5 in Mike Nolans offense, playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL
(sacked 6 times in his first game)

Offensive coordinator-
2005= Mike McCarthy
2006= Norv Turner
2007= Jim Holster
2008= Mike Martz
2009-10= Jimmy Raye
2011= Greg Roman

That's 6 different offensive coordinators in 7 years. I don't care what kind of QB you are, you aren't going to play to your full potential without some form of stability. The fact Smith didn't get labeled a bust (some would probably say so) continues to amaze me. Any QB going through that would struggle, Rogers included.

Now Rogers on the other hand,

McCarthy's quarterback school paid off in a big way for signal caller Aaron Rodgers, who came into the league with quirky mechanics taught by the University of California's infamous (in NFL circles) head coach Jeff Tedford and has since become arguably the league's best quarterback...


Rodgers held the ball next to his ear when he was in a pre-pass triangle set at California. The mechanics appeared efficient at the time because he was able to get the ball out quickly in the Golden Bears short passing game, but he struggled throwing deep.


His throwing motion led to him throwing outside of his frame, which is not ideal and "stresses the shoulder" as quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. says, and his footwork also suffered as he was not able to get proper timing nor transfer weight with any consistency. Rodgers explained this in an interview with ESPN last year:

"When I first got into the league, I held the ball really high. That was the standard in college, and it messed up my timing a bit -- the draw, bringing it back, then the release... You're taught to get back as deep as you can, but you can never throw the ball out on time when you do that."

http://thesidelineview.com/columns/nfl/can-quarterbacks-mechanics-be-altered


So for the TLDR version,
Smith spent most of his off seasons learning new playbooks and coaching schemes. Aaron Rogers spent his changing his throwing mechanics, and getting comfortable in a very QB friendly offense.

One is a HOFer. One is not.

No excuses in the world is going to change that.

Originally posted by Empire49:

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:

Originally posted by Quest4six:
I doubt Rogers is the Rogers we know him to be today if we drafted him.

Completely agree.

Completely disagree.

Just because Alex failed doesn't mean Rodgers would have, too. They are two different guys and anyone who actually believes Alex has the same level of talent as Rodgers is fooling themselves.

I firmly believe if the situations were reversed, Alex Smith would not have anywhere near the success Rodgers has had if he were in Green Bay. Rodgers, while he may have started off rougher, would likely become elite regardless.

I don't understand why people underestimate how badly a young qbs career can be derailed by all the turnover that Alex inherited. Alex may never have achieved the level of play that Rodgers has now. That much I agree with. But had Rodgers been drafted here, I don't think he would have become what he is now either.

For the first 6 years of alex's career he had to learn a new offense every off season. Ideally by year two or three at most you want a young qb working on their fundamentals/ cohesion with their receivers and that's it, not memorizing a new playbook for the third time. People have developed weird jargon like alexcuses for that but it is simple reality. That's like somebody changing your job every 6 months then asking why three years in you haven't worked your way into a promotion yet.

Rodgers got to play behind a hall of fame qb for 3 years and has basically been in the same offense his entire career. He has also played for an offensive minded head coach his whole career. I believe that he has had better weapons around him for the majority of his career as well.

Like I said I agree that rodgers probably had a higher ceiling from the get go but anybody that thinks he would have become what he is now after inheriting the headache that alex did during the begining of his career is just kidding themselves. I challenge anybody to find somebody that played in a similar situation as Alex their first 5 or 6 years and went on to become a future Hall of famer.

Got 2 2nd rounders for Alex, had Braylon Edwards, didn't do crap, Carlos Rodgers, major factor in the 11-13 run. Frank freaking Gore!!!! Pretty good draft for us

Alex wasn't a bust, that 2011 year made it all worth it. That was an awesome year. Then, in 2012...I mean...he took us half way...