Which Packers quarterback should be the bigger legend – Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers? A statistical analysis of both players helps resolve the debate.
Four years ago, we would’ve never thought that debates about Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers would be plausible. We also wouldn’t have foreseen Favre playing for the Jets – and especially not the Vikings – but it happened. In that same time frame, Aaron Rogers took over the seemingly impossible job of replacing the legendary #4. Many people forecasted the Rogers era to be a time of rebuilding for the Packers. Few expected #12 to lead Green Bay to a Super Bowl in his third year as a starter.
The big question that comes to mind is, when it’s all said and done, who will be the bigger legend – Brett Favre or Aaron Rogers? Diehard Cheesehead fans will say Brett Favre, and bitter fans angry with the way Favre left are prone to say Rogers. To get an idea for who is the better quarterback, I ran a statistical analysis of both players in their first three seasons as starters in the NFL. There are factors in the development of players that we didn’t calculate, such as years before starting, NFL mentors, offensive schemes, and level of competition, because it’s very difficult to make a fair calculation in those regards. With that being said, just keep in mind that Favre started in his second season in the NFL and Rogers started in his fourth. Also, Rogers had the luxury of playing behind and learning from #4, while Favre stepped into a trial by error situation in Green Bay.
In college, Rogers ran a West Coast offense where he passed a great deal at UCal, and Favre was a certified option quarterback and relied on his feet a lot at Southern Miss. Both quarterbacks are tied in Super Bowls with one apiece. Obviously Rogers has a chance at surpassing that mark with the type of team he has. In his first three seasons, starting with the Packers, Favre averaged 3,866 passing yards per season while Rogers averaged 4,131 yards per season. #12 averaged 334 completions per season and #4 averaged 327. Favre led Rogers in attempts; while Rogers had 517 per season, Favre had 535. Yet with 263 passing yards per game, the mentee once again outperformed his mentor who had 221 per game. We all know that Brett Favre had more interceptions because he is the all time leader in interceptions. In #4’s first three seasons starting with the Pack, he averaged 17 interceptions to Roger’s 10.3.
In short, Rogers is a better quarterback at this point than Favre was, but we must always consider that the NFL was different in the early 1990s than it is now. Some will argue that the old NFL was more difficult because of the physicality of the game. Others will argue that the current NFL is stronger because of the evolution of the game in regards to speed and defensive strategy. The only concrete fact is that Aaron Rogers was statistically a better quarterback. Are stats everything? No; but do they give us the chance to make solid observations? Indeed.
Photos of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers from Wikimedia Commons
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