Aaron Rodgers: A chip on his shoulder?

NFL football has truly become a year-round sport. By the time the season opener rolls around we as fans have grown tired of Mock Drafts, player rankings and every what-if-scenario that could possibly be imagined.

In today’s social media-driven world players are exposed to everyone’s opinion about them. A lot of fans took to Twitter and Facebook to express their feelings when the NFL Top 100 players of 2014 listed Aaron Rodgers at #11.

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This put Rodgers behind quarterbacks Drew Brees, Tom Brady and the number one player on the list, Peyton Manning.

Will this put an even bigger chip on the shoulder of Aaron Rodgers?

We can only hope so.

Rodger’s first earned the chip on his shoulder when Division 1 NCAA football teams did not come knocking on his door. He ultimately went on to transfer from Butte Community College to the University of Cal and showed he was one of the elite quarterbacks in all of the nation.

The chip grew as Rodgers was passed on by his childhood team, when the team from the bay went on to take Alex Smith. This spiraled into the famous green room stand that saw Rodgers tumble down the draft board. Fans have to keep-in-mind these where the times that very few players received invitations to the green room, not 30-plus players like today’s draft.

Finally Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers selected Rodgers with the 24^th overall pick in the first round. Now comes the part of the story that the chip grew like planting magic bean-stalk seeds leading us to the “Giant” of a quarterback we see today.

Brett Favre was ultimately coming to the tail end of his career and retirement was creeping into the picture. At the end of Rodger’s second season serving as Favre’s backup it looked as though he was about to become the starter. Favre’s teary postgame interview after a season ending victory over the Bears had many fans thinking we had saw the end of Favre’s career.

This was not the case as Favre elected to come back as the quarterback of the Pack. Rumors even swirled that Rodgers could potentially be traded to the Oakland Raiders in an attempt to bring Randy Moss to Packers News. Moss was eventually dealt to the New England Patriots and Aaron Rodgers remained Favre’s backup for a third season.

Everybody knows how the story went from this point. Favre eventually “retired” and Rodgers was handed the reins to the team.

We will never see this again, but we thought it would be a good way to help us pass the time of spring and summer waiting for the start to the Packers Training Camp.

Raymond T. Rivard photograph

In only his third year as a starter Aaron Rodgers brought the Lombardi back home. His past history of being everyone’s second-pick was used as coal to the engine of the 2011 NFL MVP and AP Athlete of the Year.

A new chip has formed on the shoulders of #12. The foundation of the new chip has got to be the team from the west. Not only has the same team spoiled the Packers’ last two season openers, but they have also been the team to bounce the Pack out of the playoffs those two seasons as well (if you are a regular to my articles you will know I refuse to print the name of this team).

The 2013 season was a tough one for Aaron Rodgers. A season in which a collarbone injury put the quarterback and leader of the Pack on the sideline for the majority of the way. Rodgers came back with a heroic touchdown throw on a 4^th and 8 to Randall Cobb that sealed the Packers third straight NFC North crown.

You can also throw in the aspect of winning multiple Super Bowls for the Green Bay Packers. Can you imagine how Favre would be looked at had he won multiple Super Bowls while with the Packers? Aaron Rodgers knows if he is able to bring another Lombardi Trophy back home he will be cemented in the history of the Packers.

The current NFL record holder for passer rating at 104.9, which is also the only career rating above 100 accompanied with the record for touchdown-to-interception ratio at 3.62, could very well go on to be known as the greatest quarterback of all-time when the story ends.

Remember when?

I’d say those are some good credentials to build a chip on the shoulder of the 11^th best player in the league and the 4^th best quarterback (as voted on by the players, not my opinion).

History is not the favorite subject of many but if we look at the history of Aaron Rodgers, the rest of the NFL should be concerned, very concerned.

2014 could be a special year for Rodgers and the rest of the Green Bay Packers. We are less than a week from the start of Training Camp and the “official” start of Green Bay Packers football.