I've always been a big fan of the "If you could start an NFL franchise with one player, who would that player be?" argument, mostly because the answer is unknowable and you can spend hours quarreling over it, even getting into physical altercations as a result. It's a boatload of fun, especially if you're full of Natty Ice when you're in the middle of disputing it.
Anyway, with Aaron Rodgers currently setting the world on fire, I thought it would be a fun time to answer that annoying hypothetical, forcing you to choose between Rodegrs and Tom Brady (I know Drew Brees feels left out of this argument, but Drew Brees doesn't mind such things. Drew Brees knows you're just having a good time), except with one twist. I don't want the age difference between Rodgers and Brady (Brady is six years older) to color this argument.
So what I'd like to know is: If you had two identical teams playing THIS SEASON, and you were forced to choose between Rodgers and Brady, who would you choose? Who's the better QB right now, this very instant? QUIEN ES MAS MACHO?!!!!
We go to the matchups:
Accuracy: Rodgers is completing over 70% of his passes, which is completely insane. It feels like he throws an incompletion once every eight games. Even his incompletions are impressive. They usually occur when no one is open and he smartly throws the ball away before the rush gets to him. Announcers LOVE incompletions like that. Troy Aikman gets more excited for incompletions like that than he does actual touchdown passes. Meanwhile, Brady is completing a mere 68% of his passes. Mortal. ADVANTAGE: RODGERS
Turnovers: Again, Rodgers wins. He has just three picks compared to Brady's eight (half of which came against Buffalo), and more touchdown passes. ADVANTAGE: RODGERS
Throwing on the run: No one does it better than Rodgers, who can run a bootleg and throw the ball with the exact right amount of heat depending upon where the receiver is. Brady, on the hand, is much more comfortable staying in the pocket and stepping up into the rush if need be. What a loser. Try exploring the world back there for once, kid. ADVANTAGE: RODGERS
Taking sacks: Brady has the better line in front of him, hence not as many sacks this year. But it's difficult to know if he'd take as many hits behind the Packers line. Rodgers one flaw a couple years ago was his penchant for hanging onto the ball too long. He took 50 sacks two seasons ago, which would kill an average QB. But he's corrected that problem since then. ADVANTAGE: INCONCLUSIVE
Advertisements: Think Rodgers can pull off staring earnestly into the camera while holding a goat? Hell no. ADVANTAGE: BRADY
Distractions: Brady has two kids, a baby momma, and a Brazilian supermodel wife to deal with. Rodgers, meanwhile, has been linked to the likes of Mila Kunis and Erin Andrews, but has no wife or love child to concern himself with at this point. He does the "being a single superstar NFL QB who dates really hot chicks" way better than Tony Romo ever did. ADVANTAGE: RODGERS
Experience: Brady has won three Super Bowl and gone through even more controversial hairstyles. ADVANTAGE: BRADY
Chokiness: This is where I point out that Brady hasn't won a playoff game since 2007, which totally makes him a chokity choke choker, even though advanced stats prove that such ideas are complete bunk. Whatever, nerdy computer nerds. BRADY HAS BEEN ROMO-FIED. ADVANTAGE: RODGERS
Overall: I think we know where this is going. Rodgers is currently playing football better than anyone else in the world right now. Time to give him his due as the best QB in all of football. RODGERS ES MAS MACHO.
