The reports of Tom Brady's and Aaron Rodgers' respective demises as all-time great NFL quarterbacks have been greatly exaggerated. After all the praise the GOAT and the MVP have gotten throughout their Hall of Fame careers for playing so well at an advanced age, many have been quick to bury both of them in 2022.
It's a fact that Brady's Buccaneers and Rodgers' Packers are staring down 3-5 after Week 8 of the current NFL season. The Buccaneers lost a third consecutive game Thursday night at home to the Ravens. The Packers are huge underdogs Sunday night on the road vs. the Bills.
Tampa Bay would be at best limping into the NFC playoffs as the fourth-seeded first-place team in the weak South, while Green Bay would be out of the postseason trailing Minnesota by at least 2.5 games in the North.
Brady's chances of getting to a second Super Bowl in three years with the Bucs seem to be fading. It will take perfection the rest of the way for Rodgers and the Packers to match their 13-win total from the previous three seasons.
But the bottom line is, as much the NFL best QBs are the premier individual superstars of the league, football, like it always has been, is the still the ultimate team sport. How much a QB wins is still tied to how good the team is around him, and his stats also are affected by breakdowns in the support system and coaching.
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Brady, 45, and Rodgers, 38, have been known to be "independent" quarterbacks throughout out their careers. That means most of the time, they lift up offenses and teams with fundamental issues, instead of being dragged down by them. But in 2022, there has been a relentless string of QB-unfriendly factors in both Tampa Bay and Green Bay. Brady and Rodgers are facing many similar big obstacles, but their recent histories suggest writing them off and riding them off into retirement (again) is a massive mistake.
Here's debunking the notion that both quarterbacks are suddenly done being: winning elite passers in the NFL by examining the same correctable issues:
Brady and Rodgers don't have the same reliable receiving corps
Let's start with a no-brainer. Brady misses best buddy Rob Gronkowski at tight end and mercurial (former?) acquaintance Antonio Brown at wide receiver. With some injuries affecting the current group of wideouts and tight ends, it's difficult to find those key and third fourth options behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for a pass-happy, downfield-oriented attack.
Russell Gage hasn't been consistent as an outside No. 2 and Julio Jones has been an insignificant late signing. That extra big-play element Brown provided is gone. As for replacing Gronkowski, rookie Cade Otton needs to become a bigger factor with long-time Buccaneer Cameron Brate battling tough injuries. For now, that's led Brady to need a ton of running back Leonard Fournette as an outlet receiver. So when Evans drops a sure long TD pass like he did against the Panthers in Week 7, it hurts more.
Rodgers has it worse. Not having Davante Adams as the elite go-to wideout and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as a deep threat keeps hurting more. Rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs have battled injury and inconsistency, respectively. Injuries also have slowed down the work of best returning receiver Allen Lazard (now hurt again) and tight end Robert Tonyan. Rodgers also lost his throwback lifeline to Randall Cobb.
The low point came against the Commanders' weak pass coverage in Week 7 when Rodgers didn't connect well with his healthy receivers and was down to trusting only Aaron Jones in the passing game.
Contrast all that with the stability and reliability young guns such as Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts have had with their key targets. Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo are among the veterans lifted by strong receiving corps, too.
Brady and Rodgers and fighting through not having things click with their receivers anything close to what they have both enjoyed in the previous two seasons.
Brady and Rodgers don't have the same sturdy offensive lines
For Brady, losing his savvy center Ryan Jensen to a long-term knee injury before the season was a big blow. Then left tackle Donovan Smith had to miss time with an elbow injury. The overall line play has seen a big dropoff with wholesale changes, both in run blocking and critical inside protection for Brady. Jensen's pending return in the next few weeks would be huge. The Bucs also are on the verge of replacing shaky and now injured rookie left guard Luke Goedeke.
The Packers have had their share of forced reshuffling in front of Rodgers. Left tackle David Bakhtiari can't get right and healthy from his knee injury. Elgton Jenkins was battling through his own knee injury early at right tackle.
The continuity also has been thrown off in Green Bay. Center Josh Myers and right guard Jon Runyan have been sound. But he Packers had make a key change to improve the overall blocking against the Commanders. With the surprise of no Bakhtiari, they slid Jenkins back to left guard and started rookie fourth-rounder Zach Tom at left tackle. Tom performed well, giving them hope to shore things up.
Brady and Rodgers are used to having the same stalwarts up front on their current teams. Tampa Bay and Green Bay are working hard to find the right blocking combinations to compensate for various issues.
Brady and Rodgers don't have the needed support from the running games
The Buccaneers, despite lacking the familiar dynamic passing game with Brady. keep on passing. They are throwing 67.4 percent of the time, the highest rate in the league. Brady is comfortable with volume, but the big plays aren't there and yards per attempt are down. The Bucs' haven't had the best blocking and production from the running game, but they don't stick with it enough to wear down teams with Leonard Fournette and rookie Rachaad White.
Tampa Bay were averaging only 3 yards per rushing attempt after Week7 7, worst in the league. The Bucs started on pace for the fewest rushing yards since the NFL merger. Brady and Byron Leftwich tend to abandon the run early when it doesn't work, which is often. Going into Week 8, the Bucs had the sixth-fewest attempts in the league, averaging 21 per game.
They started the season pounding on the Cowboys with 33 attempts for 152 rushing yards, with 21 alone for Fournette, gaining 127. The Bucs must tap into that formula again and take pressure off Brady and in turn, facilitating those big pass plays returning. They need to commit more along with upgrade the blocking.
The Packers are still throwing 61.5 percent of the time, the 12th-highest rate in the NFL. They average 24 rushing attempts per game, 14th fewest in the NFL. But unlike the Buccaneers, they are averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. Jones is averaging 5.5, but has yet to see more than 16 carries in any of their seven games. They insist on having him split key work with A.J. Dillon, who has not been effective when power running this season.
There's all this talk from Rodgers wanting to simplify things and wanting to find his smaller circle of trust. Whether he's running or catching passes, Jones should remain the centerpiece of that after scoring two TDs against the Commanders. It's clear he's their most dangerous overall offensive weapon and Rodgers and Matt LaFleur need to keep feeding him more, which also opens up the passing game.
Brady and Rodgers don't have the same smart coaching to help them out
Leftwich has locked too much into aggressive passing. There's no more offensive oversight from the head coach with Bruce Arians retired. Brady has embraced meshing his playing style with the aggressive passing game, but he needs to work with his coordinator to change up the game plans to not force things that aren't there.
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LaFleur hasn't shied away from leaning a lot on the run, like he did when needed in his RPO offense before with Rodgers in the previous three seasons. They both need to realize, post Adams, they cannot keep putting young and inexperienced players in high-leverage situations.
Brady and Rodgers are demanding in the execution of who's around them. Brady isn't wrong for digging deeper to try to find his guys beyond Evans, Godwin and Fournette. Rodgers isn't wrong for wondering if LaFleur might be trying to use too many guys for the Packers' offense and there should be more volume toward his most experienced support, topped by Jones.
Leftwich and LaFleur had their jobs made easier when the skill personnel was loaded and had the right depth with all the right people in all the right roles. They've been challenged to make some changes, catering more to quarterbacks who need help as their offensive contemporaries. They must do a better job of meeting those challenges.
Brady and Rodgers don't have the same kind of patience
While Brady is flinging down tablets and flipping chairs (allegedly), Rodgers is throwing teammates (under the bus). They are passing perfectionists and their relentless competitive drives and can sometimes be a detriment. They haven't exactly handled the frustrations the best way in public. That has led to the scrutiny, criticism and some devilish delight in seeing them have mini meltdowns over major breakdowns.
But in the end, the Buccaneers and Packers are underachieving and they should give more respect to their fiery leaders who have accomplished everything at the highest level — and who also have little tolerance for incompetence. They both have makeup to transition well from initial anger to encouragement. The reason for more impatience than usual is the fact they are getting older and running out of chances to win Super Bowls. The good news is, a 3-4 record for Brady and Rodgers means there's more than of the half of their games left to get things right with their teams.
Brady and Rodgers have the same paths to redemption
When looking at the Buccaneers and Packers not living up to those Super Bowl-contending aspirations in the NFC (so far), there's some correlation with the causation. There's a chain reaction of disappointment, including not playing the right brand of offense to serve the defenses best in complementary football.
The Buccaneers don't need to worry about punching their ticket to the playoffs. They will win the South, guaranteeing at least the No. 4 seed. They won the Super Bowl as a No. 5 wild card in 2020. This is much like Brady's slow-starting Patriots teams, knowing they would have the division title in the back pocket to buy them time to peak with the best health and execution in January.
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The Packers already have lost to the Vikings (on the road in Week 1). so they are in a virtual three-game hole in the division. If the season ended before Week 8, they would be the No. 9 team in the NFC, two spots out of a wild card. The Rams and 49ers, with their own share of issues, are the 3-4 teams ahead of them. After Green Bay's brutal Week 8 matchup at Buffalo, there are up to seven games it can still win. A 10-7 record should be enough for at least a wild card. The Packers' lone ring with Rodgers came as a No. 6 seed riddled with injuries because he got hot at the right time.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles feel dangerous as a potential top seed, but they're far from a sure thing in the NFC. The Vikings and Seahawks are hard to trust overall. The Giants are inexperienced and the Cowboys tend not to come through in the playoffs.
The NFC is wide open at the top with all those current playoff-positioned surprise teams. In the end, other than Matthew Stafford, Brady and Rodgers would be the only other QBs who have lifted the Lombardi Trophy. The Buccaneers and Packers have a good track record to get better, offensively and defensively.
Brady didn't sound like he was fully committed to making this his last NFL season with his recent comments. Rodgers just got a new richer contract that has him locked into 2026. Both have heard these barrage of hot takes about being done before. It was ridiculous then. It's still pretty silly now.
