Aaron Rodgers was almost certain he was going to be drafted by the Bucs according to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg-Times. Then coach Jon Gruden worked Rodgers out in California, having him throw to Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice. Gruden even called in New York, on Thursday, April 21 (two days before the draft), and sounded like at the time they were going to take me with the fifth pick,'' Rodgers said Wednesday. New York, on Thursday, April 21 (two days before the draft), and sounded like at the time they were going to take me with the fifth pick,'' Rodgers said Wednesday. "I don't fault them for taking Cadillac," Rodgers said. "He had an incredible college career and a great rookie season. He was slowed down by some injuries. "But I don't blame them at all or don't hold any animosity toward Jon and Bruce or the organization. Everything kind of happens for a reason. Looking back on when they came out and visited me in Berkeley, that was one of my top moments in my sports career, being able to throw to Jerry Rice.'' Source: The Redzone
Hingsight is 20/20. There was no way to know Cadilac would be hecked by injuries or that Rodgers would become what he is today.
I take away something different from this story. Gruden's ability an lack of giving a crap to lie to people's faces is unreal. No wonder it seems none of the guys who played for him liked or even respected him.
. obviously we're all geniuses in retrospect. and it wasn't just the bucs that whiffed, there were MANY teams that passed on rodgers. remember, he slipped all the way into the 20's of the first round and there were MANY teams who needed a qb that passed on him.
Plus you guys drafted Simms the year before in the third, so seemingly (again the whole hindsight thing) didnt need Aaron Rodgers
honestly if it were alex smith who fell into the 20s and the packers took him it could be smith killin it in GB and rodgers constantly on the roster bubble in SF. throw a rookie rodgers in there and the results wouldnt have been too different imo
Right, but why would Gruden put Rogers through all that BS just to pass him over is the question though JJ.
smokescreens We've done that alot too. Kevin Williams, Shawn Merriman, Stephan Jackson all went into the draft believing we were going to pick them. Show interest in the player, let it get leaked, and other GM's wont be quite as dismissive of your persieved "interest" And sometimes its a matter of wanting a player more. Parcells had to get talked out of taking Merriman over Ware
But to arrange a "catch" with Jerry Rice just to throw the "others" off? They had the 5th pick not the 10th or 15th.
well, that's the thing. leading up to that draft, there were times when rodgers was being discussed as a top 5 pick. In fact, at one time, there was a debate about whether smith or rodgers would go #1. that's why it was so shocking when rodgers just kept slipping. i remember watching the draft and the rodgers slide was one of the main storylines.
I disagree, Aaron Rodgers was in a pro-style offense and Alex Smith was in a spread offense, IMO that alone made Smith a disadvantaged QB and his throwing mechanics suck to high heaven. But I also think with the coaches we've had if Rodgers was a 49er and made to start right away like Smith did he still would have been better sooner. I don't think Smith will ever be as skilled as Rodgers no matter how long he plays or what team he's with...
Rodgers was a Tedford QB. Tedford at the time had a horrible rap for putting QB's in the NFL Rodgers was the 6th QB to play under Tedford. The first 5, Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, David Carr, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller
Carr was ruined by the Texans, I think he would have been a good QB but the 70 something sacks his rookie season made him very gun shy...
He may have been, but history wasnt on his side. He came from a system that was known not to prepare QB's for the NFL.
so what was the justification of taking smith then? he wasnt a bad prospect and spread doesnt equate to fail, he could be a pro style QB it all depends on where he went....trust me im not a fan of urban meyer gimmick QBs but alex smith was probably the best pro prospect out of them. rodgers was TERRIBLE when he was sitting behind farve btw, its not like the packers knew they had a world beater sitting on their bench for 4 years
