Society has spent ample time arguing Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James, MJ vs. Kobe and every other possible basketball permutation of comparison to His Airness, but what about Aaron Rodgers? Is he really the next Jordan? One teammate sure thinks so.
Aaron Rodgers is the next Michael Jordan, according to Packers teammate
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Backup quarterback Scott Tolzien wasn’t afraid of making the comparison.
“I mean, to me,” Tolzien said, peeking over his shoulder to make sure Rodgers couldn’t hear him, “it’s like watching Jordan in his prime. He’s at the top of his game. He makes it all go.”
It’s tough to argue with Rodgers’ dominance this season. He’s thrown for 771 yards while completing 66 percent of his passes. The Packers’ QB has also thrown 10 touchdowns without a single interception. If this ludicrous pace keeps up, he’ll have over 4,000 yards passing and 53 touchdowns -- though that’s highly unlikely.
For his part, Rodgers said while he appreciates the kind words, he doesn’t think it’s an apt comparison.
“I’m not worthy of that comparison,” Rodgers said via ESPN. “I enjoyed watching Michael. I was a big fan as a kid.”
NFL fans are in awe of what Rodgers is doing, and that’s why Tolzien sounds like a fan when he’s making comparisons to Jordan.
“I think, and I just told him after the game, you can’t take for granted what he does. I think sometimes it’s just assumed that that’s how he’s going to play,” Tolzien said. “But he controls the game. He’s just in the zone. The game just seems really slow to him. The checks he makes, the way he controls the tempo, it’s his game.”
Is Aaron Rodgers the kind of transcendent athlete that deserves comparison to one of the greatest athletes of all time, regardless of sport? That’s a question for time and the future to resolve. For now, Rodgers is simply the best quarterback in the NFL, dominating all those who step to the Packers, and Tolzien is remembering as an 8-year-old what it was like to see Michael Jordan play.
“I think something inside him felt he wanted to put on a show every time he went out, because there was somebody in the stadium that hadn’t seen him play before,” Rodgers recalled after he completed 24 of 35 passes for 333 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 138.5. “The last game that he played in Sacramento, I was in the top row, and it was kind of a late-addition ticket.
“He scored 33 points that night, and I was new to watching him live. I’d loved watching him on TV, but it was fun to watch him live. He always brought his A-game every night.”
People might be angry at the comparison, but they can’t argue the shared dominance.
h/t ESPN Wisconsin
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