With Aaron Rodgers about to play inside the NFC Championship, probably the most significant game of his life so far, 1 cannot aid but wonder what could have been had the San Francisco 49ers selected homegrown Rodgers and never Alex Smith in the 2005 NFL draft. It pains the Bay Area to watch a local boy lead the "wrong team" into the playoffs and on to the cusp of the Super Bowl. Just why did Scot McCloughan do this to us? Why did he have to select the incorrect guy?
It's very straightforward to appear at items now practically six years later and make this determination. The Packers got themselves a franchise quarterback, and also the team that passed on him is headed into 2011 without any real quarterback selection. But what has been the distinction in between Rodgers and Smith? Was there a way 49ers management could have avoided all this? Start by looking at their college careers. Smith's college career really is easy to analyze. He was 24-1 as a starter at Utah. Bottom line, he was a winner. Smith's stats will also be extremely impressive. He threw 47 touchdowns and only eight interceptions in his career at Utah, including the 2004 season where he threw 32 touchdowns to only four interceptions.
When analyzing a college quarterback, accuracy is a huge element, and Smith were built with a 66.three % career completion percentage at Utah. Yes, it was below Urban Meyer's spread offense, but numbers do not lie. Rodgers, who hails from nearby Chico, Calif., was without a doubt the 49ers fan preferred before the 2005 draft, but let's take a glance at some of the factors that created him drop all the way towards the 24th spot. There was a cause Rodgers and Smith had been neck-and-neck within the battle of the 2005 general pick and their numbers reflect that. Rodgers had 42 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions while playing for that Golden Bears. His completion percentage seemed to be really impressive at 63.8 %, now what exactly produced the distinction?
They both had excellent mobility during college, and each had strong arms. Even ESPN think it is crazy Rodgers was still waiting to be chosen when the 24th choose arrived. Draft day was not the most beneficial day for him, but he sure is sticking it to every person now. The 49ers chose to start off Smith as a rookie, where he threw one touchdown to 11 interceptions, which the reality is, is horrible. The Packers, however, allowed Rodgers to learn from future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre for 3 years before declaring him their starter. The 49ers have hired six different offensive coordinators for Smith, whilst Rodgers continues to be playing for Mike McCarthy given that his starting days in 2008 and has had McCarthy there because 2006.
On a side note, McCarthy was also the offensive coordinator for that 49ers in 2005, the year Smith was chosen over Rodgers. Who do the 49ers need to blame? Could it be Smith, who simply does not have the talent level to really make it as an NFL quarterback? Or is Rodgers just that superior to him in talent level? If the 49ers had selected Rodgers, would the 49ers maintain the playoffs correct now? Perhaps the 49ers organization is simply toxic and incapable of appropriately grooming a quarterback. Just how much blame can we really place on McCloughan? I imply, we saw the same stats he was looking at when producing the decision. Obviously, both quarterbacks looked excellent on tape, and that i am positive that each of them passed the scout's eye test as well.
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