Should Aaron Rodgers STILL BE CONSIDERED an elite NFL QB?! 🍿 | First Take

Aaron Rodgers update airing out his feelings when there's a mistake on the practice field head coach Robert Salah brought up Rogers sometimes fiery mentality saying quote the expectation and the standard is high end quote when it comes to Aaron uh last time we saw Rogers for a full season he ranked 26 League Y in total qbr his final pass you might remember that year it was a pick and that was the that home loss to the lions that kept Green Bay out of the playoffs so uh Kevin should we still consider you think uh Aaron Rogers Elite when we talk about quarterback very few rules in life but if you're 40 and coming off in a K's injury you are not Elite you have a lot to prove I'm not bothered by any of these sideline arguments whatever you want to call them I think that he he holds himself to a high standard I also think he uses training camp Rogers to test himself and figure out who we can trust what guys are going to react to What and I'm not bother by any of this stuff having said that not only is he not a leite he doesn't have to be okay he has earned the right to go out here and prove that he can solve the problems of Aaron Rogers the GM Aaron Rogers the OC Aaron Rogers the head coach Aaron Rogers the egyptologist all of the problems that he's created over the past I don't know year or so he gets to go solve them by being a decent quarterback the defense is going to be the reason they make the playoffs the defense is going to be the reason if Rogers is the 13th best quarterback in the NFL that they compete with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC they have a path towards that there's an argument to be made that every level of the Jets defense is the best in the league defensive line linebacker secondary you can make that argument Aaron Rogers does not have to be elite he has to be a better quarterback than what they gave last year which is pretty much the only scenario possible as long as he's healthy and he has to not make mistakes so he's not elite doesn't have to Big okay uh Hawk what are your thoughts do should we still consider Aaron Rogers Elite as a 40-year-old quarterback his health is not Elite it just can't be that's not how nature works I also question his leadership do I think he's an elite leader I would say no for a lot Still elite?! of the reasons that we talked about and the concerns within the Jets organization and previously with the Packers as it pertains to playing the quarterback position I don't think there's a world if his physical abilities are even a sliver of what we've seen over the last we'll call it five years where he's not an elite quarterback because he's made it to that world when you look at a player you got to look over the lifetime and the and the cycle of their career early on the beginning part you're relying solely on physical abilities now towards the middle second contract and Beyond that's where your Prime is because now you have the expertise of experience and your physical ability still intact and then there are the anomalies later on that once everybody else loses their physical abilities and they're only relying on the mental aspect of the game they maintain that Elite status those are the LeBron James's the Tom Brady's because they are so mentally ahead of everybody else in the game it is very easy for them to be successful Aaron Rogers has been in the league for almost 20 years he has been going against these NFL defenses that he sees years year in and year out longer than a lot of the guys he's playing against have even picked up a football so there is no defense that this very fast linebacker or safety or new coordinator are going to throw at him where he doesn't say hey not only do I know what you're doing I know exactly where the hole in this defense is I know how you're teaching your linebacker your defensive end and that's why you see the success of the Tom Brady LeBron James's even at the age they are now because they are so cere and they've seen everything a million times so because of that Aaron Rogers is still by all you know reports that from Camp he's still Aaron Rogers with the football he's still Aaron Rogers with his arm he's still Aaron Rogers there mentally there's no way he can't be El leite would listening to hawk say that it took me back to when you playing with the Jets you had a guy Brett Favre same thing older type quarterback there everybody said he can still throw that thing should we consider Aaron Rogers Elite I think from the neck up he's Elite I think the reason Jets went out there and rebuilt their office line because they knew if we if we want to have any shot we got to protect this guy listen quarterback older quarterbacks don't get healthier they just don't like it that's just the matter that's just the fact of it all but when I look at Aaron Rogers is kind of looking at like John Elway at the end of his career where you don't have to be an MVP you have parts around you that can carry you to carry you over the threshold yep Kevin talked about it Jess Arley could had the best defense in the National Football League this year they have a Garrett Wilson they have a true Bonafide number one about they have Bree Hall who is you know for anyone out there Bree Hall is probably going to light it up this year yeah and so for any physical misgivings that or you know diminishes that he has on from his from the you know from the physical aspect because of the Achilles I think I think he more than makes it up from the from the neck or from the mental aspect and I think from the surrounding cast of characters that the Jets have on this roster you know we we keep talking about what he's got around him it it reminds me from where you are Caleb Williams so does Aaron roders have the best cast of characters around him because we always say that it seems like when we talk about Chicago and Caleb Williams is it Aaron Rogers and the Jets they have upgraded considerably on offense I think Malachi Corley as the addition there this off season two giving him another weapon yeah absolutely like when you take a look at like other Supporting Cast I mean Detroit's in there uh certainly what CJ stad has around him in Houston Aaron Rogers yeah top five Supporting Cast for sure I want to think about the word elite though and I actually did some research on what I said about a month ago when I was asked on this show the elite quarterbacks that we have in the NFL because I'm all about accountability I don't want to be flip fling like giving you like five names one day two names the other day so I said the elite quarterbacks in the NFL Pat R Mahomes Joe burrow Josh Allen Lamar Jackson this was said on July 5th 20 2024 I don't have Aaron Rogers in there and it's kind of what you said about Brett Favre that that made me think about why I don't the quarterback four quarterbacks I have classified as Elite quarterbacks are quarterbacks who can produce in like independently of The Supporting Cast element independently of circumstances often times independently of play calling if you have the if you have to couch is Aaron Rogers can still do XYZ he's still good at this he's still good at that and we're talking about the category of being Elite you don't have to couch somebody being Elite as oh they can still get here because you're you're you're you're saying that there is a reason why they don't just automatically rise to the top of that list so with the way Rogers has you know you he's two seasons now removed from the back toback MVPs if we get that version of him this season which I don't I don't know if it exists I know what Robert solz that it looks like he hasn't Favorites to win NFL MVP? missed any time I don't know how much validity you end up putting into that I love it brother said brother said he's Fearless uh our friends by the way ESPN bet currently have Herz tied with Jordan love for the sixth shortest odds to win the MVP you know Herz was the MVP runner up in 2022 when he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl Kevin give me your thoughts here you think Herz going to be a uh Contender for MVP this season I love his mindset The Fearless mindset there's a lot to be fearful of this year let's start with with Jason Kelce who may have been the best center in football last year leaving he was such a vital part of that tush push the short yardage stuff and then also the protections he's Jason Kelce was a part of every single protection for over a decade in Philadelphia all of a sudden that's more pressure on the interior line in Philadelphia that's more pressure on Jaylen Herz they were in a tail spin last year in Philadelphia they had no answers against the blitz again that that that offense never had a second Pitch I don't think C Sani had any answers there's a reason Philadelphia was flirting with Bill bich that seems very very real um to me Jaylen Herz is not an MVP candidate I think it's a bit of a joke frankly that Jordan love would have the same odds as Jaylen Herz I think Jordan love is ascending and and Jaylen Herz is going to stay the same maybe from last year I just didn't see a lot Jordan love at the beginning of from the beginning of last year until the end grew in front of our eyes and developed into the best deep passer in football by the end of the year what did Jaylen Herz get better at last year I didn't see anything I saw a team with no an offense with no answers and everything that was thrown at them they didn't have anything for and so that to me concerns me a lot I don't think anybody in the NFC East can win the Super Bowl but I I don't like this Eagles team in particular you know you go back to a couple of seasons ago big wood and he had as we talked about an MVP type of season everyone thought was this just a blip or is this a guy who was really ascending and you you remember he had 10 touchdowns and just two picks when he was Blitz That season last year if you look at his numbers five touchdowns and NFL worst eight uh those picks when he was Blitz give me your thoughts he NFL NP candidate this season no Ian for me I have a lot of guys that I would put above Jaylen Hurst right now listen I think for me it's a it's a couple things number one when I look at guys who are MVP candidates I look at continuity continuity between play caller and and quarterback we you know we got you know J Jord love okay Matt laflor one of the best play callers that we we have Bobby SLO and CJ stra like did the Andy Reed Patrick Mahomes like the list goes on and on and on and so that's that's number one for me and then I think number two here's a question I have for Kell Moore I think when when Jaylen Herz is at his best is wining the RPO game when he's running the football tell me when Kell Moore really operated in that realm consistently you know whether it be during his time in Dallas or when he was with the Los Angeles Chargers you know you know out there with Justin Herbert that I I just think that if you're not operating that realm with Jaylen Hurst that run pass option game you're doing him a disservice and so I think that's a big question mark and then obviously you talk about the blitz they didn't have any answers they didn't have any answers last year is Kell Moore gonna be able to provide the answers you know to uh Jaylen HZ in order to you know remedy that because you you best believe people going to could people going to continue to do that until he demonstrates that he's pass that M Jordan love was the best player in football last year against the blitz that's why I'm so surprised they had the same odds and the growth in front of our eyes was astounding I asked Matt lefair a couple months ago I said hey what's the best throw that Jordan love had last year he mentioned the throw to wicks in the playoff game against Dallas it was a cover zero look and he checked into it and he threw that touchdown pass two years ago he started in Kansas City he could not handle the cover zero Blitz and what happened he got better the coach staff understood kind of taught him the protections all that stuff and I just feel like now he can handle anything thrown at him Jaylen Herz is getting worse against the Blitz and that's just two ships passing in the night to make you know it's interesting Courtney hearing him what he just said all you heard from the Eagles was they were saying that they didn't trust what the coordinators were calling last season that was a lot of the Mantra coming out of that Eagles lock how quickly you guys forget I mean this guy was an MVP candidate runner up two years ago 2022 an MVP candidate through the first three quarters of the season last year before that tail spin they're 1 and six he gets injured there is a complete disconnect between play caller and head coach which affects the quarterback new head new new play caller new quarterback's coach and I want to bring this to Dak actually because remember when Dak led the league in interceptions in 2022 what did he do last year turns that part of his game around finishes as the runner up for the MVP Jaylen herdz had 15 interceptions five fumbles lost last year obviously those aren't great numbers he still threw for 23 touchdowns and ran in 15 more if you have numbers like that within this offense even an offense that has saquan Barkley in and I do think he will end up getting have more finished with more rushing touchdowns than his running back considering those goal line situations and yes the RPO game Woody I'm with you on that like I think they have to bring that element back into this offense because without it last year they did not feel like the Philadelphia Eagles that went to the Super Bowl and and went toe-to-toe with the Kansas City Chiefs Jaylen Herz has the weapons around him this is still a good unit up front in the trenches and it's still a good defense all of those things factor into a player's MVP campaign and by the time this is all said and done Jordan love sure will be an MVP candidate but there's not like candidate means more than one it means multiple players who are going to be vying for this award the way that we've seen Jaylen herds do the last two seasons hopefully he's healthy hopefully that's not an issue like he had last season you know it's interesting that she said that you need to get that run pass option back because that's when Jaylen Herz was at his best wasn't that the downfall and the biggest I know as a Cowboy fan they kept saying that about Kell Moore why is he chucking the football all over the field and not run the football that was you know his whole time in Dallas like listen Kell Moore in that in that office in Dallas they were always one one of the top offensers in the league but one of the things that that drove me crazy watching the Cowboys at the same time was they never ran Dak they never ran Dak in the RP game and it's just you know it's just frustrated you like crazy and that's to me the more one of the more interesting points as we you know get the football season started is how much RPO game are they going to run with Kell Moore and Jaylen Herz because again I think that when you run the RPO it kind of sets the table for Jaylen HZ to have the type of success that you want him to have at the quarterback position [Music] he