Mike McCarthy: Aaron Rodgers having ‘his best spring’
Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in the prime of his career, and his numbers seem to get even more ridiculous with each passing season. Last year, Rodgers averaged a whopping 8.7 yards per attempt, and this was despite losing Randall Cobb and James Jones (the former injury being the biggest) at points during the season. Jones is gone, but Cobb is healthy, and, more importantly, Rodgers has three new faces from the draft to throw it to. Tight end Richard Rodgers has reportedly been a revelation in offseason workouts, Wisconsin product Jared Abbrederis is a favorite of mine, and Davante Adams is a talented player who dominates on jump balls and back-shoulder situations.
There’s no question that Rodgers can put up the same kind of video game-like numbers he put up in 2011, and his blend of physical and mental tools makes him the game’s most dangerous quarterback. He took up yoga and dropped 11 pounds this offseason, so that’s yet another thing to keep in mind as we head into the 2014 season.
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy stated that Rodgers is having his best spring as a pro this year, though he did admit that it’s easy to keep saying that every year. McCarthy said, via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “I think Aaron’s had probably his best spring, if I’m going to sit back and try to rank them. I’ll probably say the same thing next year, but I think he’s in great shape. I think Aaron’s in a great place and had a very exceptional spring.”
After scraping by and into the playoffs last season, the Packers are looking to go deeper and ride the arm of the best quarterback in the league. Rodgers has even more explosive weapons than he did last year, and they are even younger than last year’s crop. With Jarrett Boykin only getting more experience as well and Jordy Nelson starring as the feature wideout in the offense, the Packers offense is more than capable of carrying a defense that will also be better next year with Clay Matthews healthy and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Julius Peppers in the fold.