By Brendan O’Connell

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has it all.  He is as physically gifted as any player I have seen at the position. He can scramble out of the pocket to throw 40 yards down field across his body and he can sit back in the pocket and make “Hail Mary” pass conversions look routine.

Rodgers has a star-studded offensive line that can protect him for upwards of eight seconds – an eternity in the National Football League. He often makes something out of nothing, turning average receivers into effective players. He is a nightmare to defend when he is on a hot streak.

Despite not much of a running attack and a banged-up, mediocre defense, he managed to lead his team to an NFC North division title and defeat two elite squads in the postseason: the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.

However, can we please take it easy with the unabashed praise of Green Bay’s Number 12?

Since Rodgers stated that he thought his team could “run the table” after starting the season 4-6, he became the media’s darling. During the team’s ensuing eight-game winning streak, every commentator and analyst fell over themselves to hyperbolize his play and deem him worthy of any and all accolades.

Last week, all I heard from anyone talking about the NFL playoffs was that Aaron Rodgers could not be stopped. People said Green Bay would go on and win it all. People proclaimed Aaron Rodgers as the greatest quarterback of all-time. While Rodgers had a tremendous eight-game stretch, including two big playoff victories, everyone seemingly forgot he could be stopped.

In the final game at the Georgia Dome, the Falcons demolished A-Rod and the Pack 44-21 to reach Super Bowl LI. Rodgers went 27 of 45 for 287 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and two sacks, but he did not live up to the hype by any means.

Rodgers had a lot of trouble in the first half of the NFC Championship game against a weak Falcons defense, managing only 119 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 65.5 while throwing one pick and scoring zero points. The score was 24-0 at the half and the game was all but over.

Let’s not forget that the Packers were a 4-seed, barely squeaking into the playoffs, largely due to a poor 4-6 start with many pundits questioning if Aaron Rodgers was beginning to decline. He bounced back admirably and proved he is still a top-notch QB in the NFL, but Rodgers was average at best during the first 10 games of the season.

While Rodgers possesses the ability to dissect the defense and drive down the field with surgical precision, his desire to make the flashy play caused him to be impatient, and the resulting broken-play style of offense that results simply is not sustainable.

While the Packers go back to the drawing board, let us take heed of another one of Rodgers’ famous post-game remarks and R-E-L-A-X.