Now that Aaron Rodgers is going to the New Jets. We reflect on Aaron Rodgers’ time with the Green Bay Packers. A time that spans from 2005 to 2022 (with the organization for 18 years, starting for 15 years).
Our Twisted hero’s journey is broken down into four parts. Part One The Prologue of our Twisted Hero. Part Two: The Hero has Great Success. Part Three: The Hero Falls in the Eyes of Many. Part Four: The Hero Follows in the Footsteps of the ones before him.
The Beginning: The 2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft
During the 2005 NFL Draft, there were two names that people debated. Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith. The San Francisco had the first overall. The Narrative for Aaron as he gets to play with his childhood team. However, the 49ers had other plans drafting Utah quarterback Alex Smith. This was shocking to many people in the NFL that felt Rodgers was the better quarterback.
In the first round of the 2005 draft, a quarterback would not be selected again until the 24th overall pick. When the Green Bay Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers out of California. What a relief for Aaron since 21 teams passed on the California kid.
The 2008 NFL Season: The First Season of AR12
Rodgers sat for his first few seasons (2005-2007) in the NFL behind Brett “Reverse Robinhood of Mississippi Allegedly” Favre. Rodgers only threw for 111 yards in his first two years in the NFL.
In 2008, Aaron Rodgers took the reigns of the Green Bay Packers. He threw for 4,038 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. His first NFL touchdown was versus the Dallas Cowboys on September 21, 2008, during Week 3. During the 2008 season, the Green Bay Packer went 6-10.
2009 Season: The First Signs of the King of the Cheeseheads
Aaron Rodgers’ first season with the Packers was rough. However, 2009 was different for Rodgers. The first game of the 2009 season was against the Chicago Bears on September 13th (Week 1) on Sunday Night Football.
Rodgers threw for 17-of-28 for 184. Aaron threw one touchdown in this game. Nonetheless, that was a game-winning touchdown drive to the Madden meme wide receiver, Greg Jennings. This game is Aaron Rodgers' first career win as the starter for the Green Bay Packers.
The first loss of the 2009 season came the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals (Packers lost 24-31). In this game, Rodgers threw for 21-of-39 for 261 yards and a touchdown.
Donald Driver was the leading receiver in that game with, six receptions for 99 yards and one touchdown. The team’s leading rusher was Ran Grant with, 14 rushes for 46 yards and one touchdown.
The biggest of the regular season for Green Bay was during Week 4. The Packers took on the Brett Favre-led (Purple Incarnations of Satan) Minnesota Vikings on October 5th, 2009. Unfortunately, Green Bay lost 23-30. During that game, Rodgers threw 26-of-37 for 384 yards for two touchdowns and one interception (Aaron also ran 28 times for 316 yards).
This game was huge for a multitude of reasons. First, Minnesota is an NFC North division rival. The second reason, the Packers were taking on their former quarterback Brett Farve. Third, this was Farve’s first game against his former team.
The Packers ended the 2009-2010 season 11-5 and made the Playoffs. Although during the playoff Green Bay was knocked out in the wild-card round by the Arizona Cardinals, losing 11-6 (On January 10th, 2010).
The Twisted Hero’s Journey is just Beginning
All good stories about heroes have a prologue. This is the prologue of one Aaron Rodgers. Who went from falling for arguably pick number one to pick number 24. That fire he had from the 2005 Draft stayed with him.
So when he had his moment, he made the most of it in 2008 and 2009. The 2010s would be a glorious time for not only our twisted hero, Aaron Rodgers but for the Green Bay Packers.