Why Aaron Rodgers Is as Good as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning

"Aaron is probably the best quarterback in the game behind Tom Brady" - Brian Urlacher

It’s hard to compare any other quarterback to the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.  The two have accomplished so much in their respective careers that they are already considered to be among the all time greatest.

But career accomplishments aside, how do they compare among the other top quarterbacks in the league?

Many names are thrown around such as Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Drew Brees. But I believe one player really stands out, and that is none other than quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Much has been said about Rodgers, including things like him being vastly overrated, to being the best quarterback in the game. NFL.com recently released their predictions on the 2011 season, with Rodgers getting a vote from every expert for either MVP or offensive player of the year. The only person who didn't vote for him was Elliot Harrison (no surprise).

But here are the facts. Rodgers replaced a legend in Green Bay, and that rarely if ever happens. Plus he’s won a Super Bowl, and was named the game’s MVP.

But that’s not the half of it.

Rodgers really deserves to be called one of the game’s best simply because he’s played so well in the three years as the starter, and compared to the numbers of other great quarterbacks, he fits right in.

Additionally, he’s accumulated a total of 99 touchdowns since 2008. That is the second most among all players over that span. The only player with more touchdowns is Drew Brees. However Brees has thrown 50 interceptions compared to Rodgers' 31 interceptions in the same span.

Peyton Manning has thrown 33 interceptions in the past two seasons, with an interception passing percentage of 2.5%, compared to Rodgers 1.9%. In fact, Rodgers currently holds the lowest interception passing percentage of all time.

Granted, Manning's team had to deal with a lot of injuries last season, especially in the backfield but so did Rodgers.

Brady has thrown only 17 interceptions in the past two seasons, and only four last year, compared to Rodgers seven in 2009, and 18 in the past two seasons.

However, Rodgers has accumulated a total of 67 touchdowns to Brady’s 66 total number of touchdowns in the same span. Also, Rodgers did that within 1,016 passing attempts, to Brady’s 1,057 passing attempts.

At that pace, Rodgers would have accumulated somewhere above 70 total touchdowns. Those may be close numbers but they count.

Now again, I’m not trying to compare Rodgers' entire career to Brady’s or Manning’s. I would be crazy to do that. For goodness sake, there are six MVP awards between the two of them.

I am merely saying that in recent years, at least according to the numbers, Rodgers is just as good as Brady or Manning. And that’s the best part, because as I mentioned earlier, there’s more to him than just numbers.

Rodgers is a huge playoff winner. Quite honestly, there’s no critic out there than can honestly say that one season's playoff performance is good enough.

Why?

Remember all that talk we were hearing about, how Rodgers was overrated because had not won a playoff game yet? At the time, Rodgers had only been a starter for two years, yet somehow people thought that not winning a playoff game should count against him.

I find that simply amazing, especially with the playoff performance he gave in Arizona. Even with the two turnovers, Rodgers accumulated a total of five touchdowns in that game. Say what you will, but there is absolutely no way Rodgers ought to be blamed for that loss.

It was only his first playoff game, and of all teams, it was against a team that had just made a Super Bowl appearance, that was playing on their home turf.

Now, Rodgers is coming off a remarkable postseason run, and he won the Super Bowl. In fact, he broke an NFL record by passing for 10 touchdowns in just his first three postseason games, and gave a performance to remember in Atlanta.

Yet, we are still hearing about how Rodgers is overrated. That is simply unbelievable.

One main reason for this is because Rodgers has a great group of receivers. This is true, but there is more to this story. 

Rodgers has been sacked 115 times since becoming the starter. Anyone with half a brain knows that it doesn't matter how open your receivers are if you're constantly running for you life. 

Manning and Brady on the other hand, have a combined sacked total of 81 in the past three seasons. Yes, I know Brady missed all of 2008 but that is a low number between the two players. 

There is so much more to a quarterback than just the numbers and Rodgers has proven he can do more than just put up numbers. He's a leader, he wins big games and he proved that even replacing a legend was no task too tall for him.

It’s time to stop all the hoopla and give credit where credit is due. Aaron Rodgers, at the very least, is the third best quarterback in the league.