Is Aaron Rodgers struggling because he can’t overinflate his footballs? One fan thinks so.
It started innocuously enough, with NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo tweeting a chart from the NFL’s game notes comparing the Green Bay quarterback to Brian Hoyer ahead of this week’s “Thursday Night Football” matchup between the Packers and the Chicago Bears.
But the tweet was enough for one guy to step in with this steaming hot take.
One of the many stories that came out of Deflategate was Rodgers telling CBS broadcaster Phil Simms that he likes his footballs over the NFL’s PSI limit. For The Win crunched the numbers and found that from 2005 to 2014, Rodgers had a 65.8 completion percentage, 8.2 yards per attempt and a 106.0 passer rating. Since Deflategate, from 2015 to this season, the 32-year-old has a 60.6 completion percentage, 6.6 yards per attempt and a 91.7 passer rating.
You can take those statistics as is, but there are plenty of other factors to consider. For example, during Rodgers’ first MVP season in 2011, when he threw for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns, he had wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings and tight end Jermichael Finley all in their prime. In contrast, Nelson, Rodgers’ No. 1 receiver, was out for the entirety of 2015, and the Packers’ offense overall hasn’t been too exciting this season.
So, are footballs to blame for Rodgers’ latest lackluster campaign? Probably not, but that won’t stop the hot takes from coming in.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports Images
