Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been crowned king of the world far too prematurely.
 
Maybe it’s the pro-Drew Brees as best quarterback in the NFC in me, or maybe I’m still upset about the New Orleans Saints’ absence from the Super Bowl.
 
Either way, I don’t believe Rodgers fits the God-like picture the media is painting. In fact, I wouldn’t even put him in the top three in the league. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Brees would hold those three spots (though maybe not in that order).
 
Don’t get me wrong: Rodgers is an amazing quarterback, and in this “age of the quarterback,” there’s no doubt he is among the elite and is well on his way to possibly being one of the best quarterbacks during this era.
Key word: possibly.
 
The guy had a good game and a great postseason. But he isn’t the best quarterback in the league, as some talking heads were crowning him yesterday.
 
He has a long way to go before he can reach top-two or three status.
One day he will get there. I’m sure he will. But he still has more to prove.
Just look at his stats from the regular season. Sure, he ranked third in passer rating behind only Brady and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Not bad.
 
However, Rodgers ranked seventh in the league in yards per game (261.5), a stat takes into account his time away because of a concussion. He was sixth in touchdown passes (28) and 14th in fewest interceptions thrown (11). All of these categories shape the best quarterbacks, and he’s outside the top five in all three.
 
Let’s face it. Had Ben Roethlisberger played a little better in the first half, the conversation about Rodgers would be substantially different.
But that didn’t happen. Roethlisberger was terrible (and so were the Black Eyed Peas).
 
Remember this: It took Rodgers six years in the league to win his first Super Bowl title. He probably has at least 10 more years in the league, so it seems like he should win another one by the time his career ends.
 
Don’t take that bet too quickly. It took Brett Favre six years to win his first and only Super Bowl title.
 
If you had asked me in 1997 to bet $100 on Favre winning another title before he retires, I would have taken that bet in a heartbeat.
 
I would have also lost a nice bit of change.
 
So before we go crowing Rodgers the king of anything, I would like him to prove a little bit more. Another ring or an MVP or two would do the trick for me.
 
Even if you don’t want to judge his career by the number of rings on his fingers (as will likely be the case with Manning), Rodgers still has a long way to go before he performs as well as Brees, Manning or Brady.
 
Nevertheless, as Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings so eloquently said after the victory, “It’s a great day to be great.”
 
Rodgers was exactly that Sunday night.
 
Rodgers’ 24-of-39, 304-yard and three-touchdown performance is solid, especially considering his useless receivers and Donald Driver’s early injury.
Rodgers successfully secured the win for his team.
 
Congratulations, Rodgers and Green Bay. You outplayed Pittsburgh from start to finish, and you deserved to win that game.
 
But I’ll need to see a little more before Rodgers deserves more credit.
  Read – Cool Hand Luke: Title Belts for Titletown
 
Andy Schwehm is a 21-year-old English and psychology senior from New Orleans. You can follow him on Twitter @TDR_ASchwehm.
 
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