How much of an influence was Brett Favre on the development of Aaron Rodgers as a quarterback?

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How much of an influence was Brett Favre on the development of Aaron Rodgers as a quarterback? image

How much of an influence was Brett Favre on the development of Aaron Rodgers as a quarterback?  originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and get insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on  Twitter Facebook , and  Google+ .

Answer by John DeMarchi

Not to be a buzzkill on the Favre love here, but it's sort of important to look at what Favre did during those seasons when he "mentored" Rodgers.

Favre is a legend, but he sure didn't play like a legend in Rodgers' first two seasons.

Rodgers' rookie year was 2005. The Packers went 4-12. Brett Favre led the league with 29 INTs against 20 TDs. This was the worst season of Favre's career until his final season. Favre posted a QBR of 70.9 and many people said he was done.

The Packers stuck with him in 2006 and improved to 8-8. Favre threw 18 TDs against 18 INTs and completed 56 percent of his throws for a QBR of 73.

Of 18 advanced passing stats for these two seasons, Favre was below league average in 16 of them.

So I'm not sure what Rodgers could have picked up from Favre's on-field play during his first two seasons in the league, frankly. Favre wasn't a very good quarterback during these two seasons.  

Sure, he may have picked up "intangibles" from Favre (leadership, toughness, two-minute drill skill, clock management, ways to look off safeties, etc.), but on tangibles, there's not a heck of a lot in Favre's 2005 and 2006 play that Rodgers would have wanted to rub off on him.

In 2007, that's a very different story. Favre led the Packers to a 13-3 record and the NFC Championship Game where they lost at home in OT to the eventual Super Bowl Champ Giants. This was a renaissance year for Favre. A 28-15 TD-INT ratio, which wassignificantly better than league average in all major QB statistical measurements and advanced passing stats. But he still threw a killer INT in the NFC title game against the Giants in overtime.

I'm not trying to bash Favre; he's one of the greatest ever to play the position.  

What I'm suggesting is that during the three years in which he "mentored" Rodgers, Favre's record as a starting QB was 25-23 (26-24 including playoffs), with a TDP-INT of only 66-62. Such numbers are well short of the standards Favre set earlier in his career.

In other words, this wasn't MVP Brett Favre tutoring Rodgers. With 2007 as an exception, Rodgers really never saw Favre near the apex of his earlier-career brilliance.

I'll even go further. Favre may have hurt Rodgers more than he helped him.

Favre's departure from Green Bay was very contentious. Rodgers had to replace a legend, who had taken his last team to the threshold of the Super Bowl, and from all media reports, Favre wasn't exactly a generous mentor in Green Bay to Rodgers during their time together.

Rodgers overcame all of this and is already playing at a superstar level.

Right now, he'd rank behind Favre and Bart Starr (5 NFL titles, two Super Bowls) among great Packers quarterbacks, but if he keeps playing like he has been, he'll be the best they ever had before he's done.

And he's currently playing better than any Packers QB has ever played, including Favre during his three MVP campaigns.

Rodgers has been incredibly classy towards Favre. Less so, Favre toward Rodgers.

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