We all have our ways of celebrating.
Personally, I’m not a drinker, and so that separates me from a great many of my fellow Wisconsin sports fans when it comes to having a good time -- before, during, or after the game.
For me, geeky as it may sound, one of the most satisfying ways to celebrate a victory in sports is to read the coverage of it. And, my, is the coverage of Saturday night’s win in Atlanta satisfying to read!
I direct your attention, for example, to Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated, who has written a really marvelous piece about Aaron Rodgers -- both his virtuoso performance against the Falcons and, more generally, the top-tier quarterback he has become.
Even the AP’s simple recap of the game sings Rodgers’ praises:
He completed 31 of 36 passes and put up more yards than Brett Favre - the guy he replaced in Green Bay - ever threw for in a playoff game. After knocking off Michael Vick and the Eagles in Philadelphia, then dominating Matt Ryan and the Falcons in Atlanta, Rodgers is creating his own legacy in Titletown USA.
Brett who?
Peter King also joins the chorus:
What makes Green Bay's performance in Atlanta more impressive is that the Falcons were rested, coming off a bye, enjoying the fruits of being the top seed in the NFC. Green Bay played the late game in Philly last Sunday, traveled home, then had a short week to prepare for a Saturday game against a fast team with a secondary growing in star power and confidence.
So what does Aaron Rodgers do? Completes 86 percent of his throws for 366 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw from the pocket, threw on the run, threw across his body, threw under duress (but not much), threw deep and threw short. Five incompletions. 48 points. No Green Bay quarterback has had a better playoff game. The franchise is 90 years old and -- this just in -- it's had some decent quarterbacks.
I find this amazing: Rodgers threw 28 passes Saturday to his top four wideouts on the team -- Greg Jennings, Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones. He completed 26, for 331 yards. Each of the four produced at least 75 receiving yards. That is incredible balance.
Later in his MMQB column, King also waxes on about Rodgers’ place in Packer lore:
Bart Starr and Brett Favre have played for the Packers, in case you missed it. And on Saturday, Rodgers had a better postseason game than either of them ever had: 31 of 36 (.861), 366 yards, three touchdowns, no picks, 136.8 rating. It's amazing that a sixth seed can embarrass a first seed, but that's what the Packers did to Atlanta ... and they did it because Rodgers might well have been as dominant as any quarterback has ever been in a playoff game. The Packers' two highest-scoring offensive games in history have been 45 points (last year against Arizona) and 48 (Saturday night). Rodgers quarterbacked both of them. He's pretty good.
It's obviously premature to make any long-term judgments about how great a career Aaron Rodgers will have. But maybe one way to look at how well he hit the ground running in his first three seasons as a starter is how those three stack up against the three best seasons in succession by the two greatest quarterbacks in club history, Bart Starr and Brett Favre. Not the first years for either of the Packers greats; the best three years in a row.
Quarterback Rodgers Starr Favre Years 2008-2010 1964-1966 1995-1997 W-L-T 27-20 29-10-2 37-11 Playoffs 2 2 3 Pct. .644 .593 .608 Yards 12,723 6,456 12,179 TDs 86 45 112 INTs 31 16 42 Yds/Att 7.9 8.4 7.5 Rating 99.4 97.0 96.1
Interesting to note that Rodgers, in his first three years, threw for more yards than Favre did in the run he had of three straight MVP seasons, 1995-97.
King also lists the Packers atop his "Fine Fifteen" for the week, ahead of each of the other remaining three teams. (The Bears, ironically, are ranked fifth, even though there are just four teams left in the playoffs. King still ranks the defeated Patriots ahead of Chicago.)
In a video interview, Don Banks also ranks the Packers as the best team of the NFL’s ‘Final Four.’
The Packers own website, of course, naturally offers a glowing account of the game in Atlanta. The Chippewa Herald also has a great write-up.
Finally, the tremendous performance on Saturday has naturally given rise to many bold predictions about where the Packers go from here. Jeffri Chadiha of ESPN.com says that we can’t be stopped. And get a load of the nation’s impression of how good the Packers are! Except for a few obviously parochial states, the majority opinion is that Green Bay will win the Super Bowl.
That’s all good reading and watching -- and it’s just a sliver of what’s out there! Of course, the celebrating only lasts about a day for the team. But you and I might as well keep enjoying the ticker tape parade of Packer praise for the whole week until Sunday in Chicago.
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