commentary...

let me tell you a story:as a first year starting quarterback(2008),Aaron Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards,and the Packers were 6-10,and were 1-7,or 1-8,in losing a game,in which the Packers had a lead in last four minutes,and then lost game... as that season progressed,and i listened to every game on XM,i started to get upset with the overall play of the Packers,but after about four miserable,and heartbreaking losses,i came to realize,as losses mounted,that Rodgers was getting better with every single game,and that he just needed some maturing into that position,and that he would be much better in the coming seasons... the next season,the Packers lost in the playoffs,51-45,to the Arizona Cardinals,in a game that ended with an uncalled facemask penalty/fumble returned for the winning touchdown in overtime,but let me remind you that a Packers' receiver dropped a sure touchdown pass on a bomb from Rodgers on the play before the game ending play... heartbreak,but learning!!!!! in 2010,on a day that will be remembered by me forever,the New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on a play that can be only called "crazy":a game ending punt return touchdown,and 38-31 loss for the Giants,and then an improbable road win by the Detroit Lions who had lost,i believe,a NFL record,26 straight games,over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,in overtime... that night,the Packers lost to New England,31-27,on a,i believe,an over 70 yard punt return,by a guard,that set up the winning touchdown for the Patriots... note:a little known fact:if the Packers had beaten the Patriots,that night,they would have lost the strength tiebreaker advantage that they had over the Giants,and Buccaneers,no matter what they did the rest of the season... they were 8-6 after that night,looking like they were dead to the pundits... in fact,after that game,the pundits were saying that Giants,or Buccaneers had the lock on the sixth playoff seed... what nobody realized at that time was that the Packers only had to win out for the sixth playoff seed that season,because if it went down to the strength of schedule tiebreaker,the Packers had that tiebreaker,but again,nobody realized that... they won the last two games in basic stompings,beating the Giants so bad that the pundits finally realized that the Packers were for real,and then the Packers crushed everybody in the playoffs,and returned an interception for a touchdown in every game,including against the Pittsburgh Steelers,31-25,in Super Bowl XLV... special mention:returning four interceptions for touchdowns,during the NFL playoffs,is a record... the next season,they won 15 games,and were 15-0 in games that they led going into the fourth quarter... a maturation of a starting quarterback...