Thanks to Drew Brees toying with defenses, old guys haven’t been completely left for dead this NFL season, even as fellow future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers endure questions about falling short of their usual greatness.
But that doesn’t mean the younger generation hasn’t been impressive — even to the old guard.
Rodgers, who at 34 is doing all he can to keep the Green Bay Packers in the NFC playoff picture, paid one such young signal-caller the ultimate compliment this week. Asked about the Kansas City Chiefs’ second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Rodgers said he gets a familiar feeling watching Mahomes play.
“I don’t want to disrespect him with this, but I see a lot of my young self in him,” Rodgers said on Thursday, per Zach Kruse of The Packers Wire. “He rolls around, runs around, makes plays. He has a big arm. He’s talented. Plays with a great swagger. He’s fun to watch.”
Aaron Rodgers on Patrick Mahomes: "I don't want to disrespect him with this, but I see a lot of my young self in him. He rolls around, runs around, makes plays. He has a big arm. He's talented. Plays with a great swagger. He's fun to watch."
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 22, 2018
Owing to how much the game has changed, Mahomes’ stats as a first-year starter shatter those of Rodgers. Mahomes averages 329.8 yards per game; Rodgers averaged 252.4 yards per game in 2008. Mahomes has a passer rating of 117.9; Rodgers’ was 93.8. Mahomes has completed 67.5 percent of his pass attempts and has already thrown for 37 touchdowns; Rodgers completed 63.6 percent of his passes and threw 28 TDs the entire season.
Again, though, keep in mind that NFL football in 2018 is virtually a different sport than it was in 2008. The No. 1 offense this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, averages 458.5 yards per game, with seven teams averaging at least 400 yards per game. In 2008, only the New Orleans Saints — led by a spry 29-year-old Brees — managed 400 yards, at 410.7 per game.
Regardless of the game’s changes, Mahomes appears to be off to a good start — and has an illustrious peer pulling for him.
