A lot has happen since the Green Bay Packers moved on from Mike McCarthy two seasons ago. Matt LaFleur came into his first season as head coach and led the Packers to a 13-3 regular season and an appearance to the NFC Championship game. While this past offseason Mike McCarthy was named the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. This offseason also saw the Green Bay Packers select presumptively their next quarterback of the future in Jordan Love in the NFL Draft. A move many took as a sign that the Green Bay Packers will be ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers in the near future.
So the question begs to be answered. Who’s under more pressure to win a Super Bowl this year? Aaron Rodgers or Mike McCarthy? Lets find out!
Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy’s decision to take a year off, and refine his approach to the game of football seems to be working out so far. During that time we witnessed Jason Garret lead the Cowboys to another 8-8 record and missed the playoff thanks to the injury riddled Eagles. Jerry Jones finally had enough and let Jason Garrets contract expire, so the next era in Dallas can start.
The Dallas Cowboys are in win-now mode, and has committed a lot of money to both their offensive and defensive core . McCarthy will be gifted on offense with the new age Cowboys Triplets in Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, and Amari Cooper. Also with a defense that ranks in the top third of the league Jerry Jones won’t accept anything less than a super bowl early in this tenure. Mix that with the media market in Dallas and the pedigree Mike McCarthy comes in with anything less than a NFC championship in his first year as coach could mark the beginning of the end for McCarthy.
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers last season took the Packers to a regular season record of 13-3 and an appearance to the NFL Championship game where they eventually lost to the San Fransisco 49ers. Rodgers had yet another strong season throwing for 4,002 yards, 26 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Also Rodgers had elite level play at the running back position thanks to Aaron Jones, something that Rodgers hasn’t had.
Even with Aaron Jones and Davente Adams the offense at times seem to stall and was lacking a true number 2 option in the passing game behind Davente Adams. In the offseason the Packers picked up Devin Funhcess to help with that. However fans were expecting the Packers to address the receiver position in the draft with such a strong receiving class. Instead the Packers ignored that position and planned for their future a future possibility withough Aaron Rodgers.
The Packers selected QB Jordan Love with their first pick of draft and selected RB A.J. Dillion in the second round. With Aaron Jones impending free agency at the end of this season and the aging Aaron Rodgers these high draft picks signal that the front office is more concerned about the future of the franchise and feels comfortable with what they have currently.
When comparing Aaron Rodgers to the all time greats, his stats more then stack up to the likes of Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning. But the only thing missing for Rodgers is the multiple Super Bowl wins and appearances. At age 36, with Aaron Jones last year on his contract, and the franchise seeming more focused on the future, this season is the best chance Aaron Rodgers has at winning another super bowl and cement his legacy.
The Verdict
Even though Aaron Rodgers is still playing at an elite level it is clear that he needs help in order to win another super bowl. The level of help will potentially drop off once Aaron Jones goes into free agency next year. Also the fact that the Packers have a lot of other pending extensions they need to get done (Kenny Clark). They may not have the cap space to add a high level impact free agent to make a Super Bowl possible. Unfortunately the pressure is more on Aaron Rodgers to get a Super Bowl this season.
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