ducks
04-23-2005, 11:09 PM
Rodgers goes from possible No. 1 to 24th overall
By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP Sports Writer
April 23, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- Aaron Rodgers entered the NFL to a standing ovation, with hundreds of fans chanting his name.
Sure he had to wait a lot longer than he would have liked to be drafted, but what a reception the California quarterback received when the Green Bay Packers took him with the 24th pick Saturday.
``That meant a lot to me,'' Rodgers said of the exuberant cheers poured on him by the crowd at the Jacob Javits Center after he patiently waited to be picked, long after the rest of the prospects who attended the draft had gone.
ADVERTISEMENT
``It wasn't the easiest thing to go through what I went through.''
Instead of being the first pick overall to the San Francisco 49ers, where many, including Rodgers, thought not long ago that he might be headed, the 21-year-old is now the heir apparent to 35-year-old Brett Favre, who has been talking retirement for the last two years.
``I'm excited to go up to Green Bay and learn from the greatest quarterback in the league right now and probably a first-ballot Hall of Famer, by far,'' Rodgers said.
Rodgers and Alex Smith were widely considered the top two quarterbacks in the draft, and the 49ers said recently they had narrowed their choice to either of those two passers, or Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards.
By the time draft day came, even Rodgers figured he wouldn't go No. 1.
``Two weeks ago I thought it was me,'' Rodgers said. ``You know, a week ago it seemed like it was even, and then word started saying, oh (49ers coach) Mike (Nolan) liked Alex.
``This morning I think me and my agent, we both realized it was going to be Alex or they were going to trade it.''
Rodgers said he talked in the weeks leading up to the draft with Miami, Tampa Bay, Washington and Arizona -- all had top 10 picks. But he knew if he slipped past that group it might take a trade to keep him from sliding to the end of the round.
``You know, not a lot of teams I think needed quarterbacks,'' he said.
After Antrel Rolle was picked by Arizona with the eighth selection, Rodgers was the only player at the draft who had not been taken.
``When we were joking around yesterday about putting some money in a pool or something, to see who the last guy would be in the green room, but it's not so funny when you're the last guy in the green room,'' Rodgers said.
It was a costly wait for Rodgers.
Last year, Eli Manning went No. 1 and signed a six-year, $54 million contract with about $20 million guaranteed. Philip Rivers was fourth overall and signed a six-year, $40 million deal with a $14.25 million signing bonus.
J.P. Losman was taken 22nd by the Bills and signed a five-year deal worth $7.7 million with about $5.5 million guaranteed. Rodgers' contract will be a lot closer to Losman's than those of Manning or Rivers.
``If I know Aaron, he'll take this as a motivation,'' Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.
Where Rodgers makes out over Smith is in situation.
Smith will be expected to play soon, maybe even immediately, for what was the worst team in the league last year.
Rodgers gets to be eased in slowly on a team that made the playoffs last season.
``There's not a lot of pressure on me coming in,'' Rodgers said.'' At the same time, I'm going to be surrounded by probably a better supporting cast than some of the guys at the top.''
The Packers liked Rodgers but never thought they would have a shot at him.
``It just didn't make sense that a player like this would drop like this,'' said new Packers general manager Ted Thompson. ``As our pick got closer, we started to get serious about taking him.
``We felt that by the time we picked Aaron Rodgers, he was the best player on the board, but we didn't go into the day looking to take a quarterback.''
Of course, Rodgers won't get a free pass for long. He could take over for Favre as soon as 2006.
``Pressure, following Brett Favre?,'' he said with a grin
By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP Sports Writer
April 23, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- Aaron Rodgers entered the NFL to a standing ovation, with hundreds of fans chanting his name.
Sure he had to wait a lot longer than he would have liked to be drafted, but what a reception the California quarterback received when the Green Bay Packers took him with the 24th pick Saturday.
``That meant a lot to me,'' Rodgers said of the exuberant cheers poured on him by the crowd at the Jacob Javits Center after he patiently waited to be picked, long after the rest of the prospects who attended the draft had gone.
ADVERTISEMENT
``It wasn't the easiest thing to go through what I went through.''
Instead of being the first pick overall to the San Francisco 49ers, where many, including Rodgers, thought not long ago that he might be headed, the 21-year-old is now the heir apparent to 35-year-old Brett Favre, who has been talking retirement for the last two years.
``I'm excited to go up to Green Bay and learn from the greatest quarterback in the league right now and probably a first-ballot Hall of Famer, by far,'' Rodgers said.
Rodgers and Alex Smith were widely considered the top two quarterbacks in the draft, and the 49ers said recently they had narrowed their choice to either of those two passers, or Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards.
By the time draft day came, even Rodgers figured he wouldn't go No. 1.
``Two weeks ago I thought it was me,'' Rodgers said. ``You know, a week ago it seemed like it was even, and then word started saying, oh (49ers coach) Mike (Nolan) liked Alex.
``This morning I think me and my agent, we both realized it was going to be Alex or they were going to trade it.''
Rodgers said he talked in the weeks leading up to the draft with Miami, Tampa Bay, Washington and Arizona -- all had top 10 picks. But he knew if he slipped past that group it might take a trade to keep him from sliding to the end of the round.
``You know, not a lot of teams I think needed quarterbacks,'' he said.
After Antrel Rolle was picked by Arizona with the eighth selection, Rodgers was the only player at the draft who had not been taken.
``When we were joking around yesterday about putting some money in a pool or something, to see who the last guy would be in the green room, but it's not so funny when you're the last guy in the green room,'' Rodgers said.
It was a costly wait for Rodgers.
Last year, Eli Manning went No. 1 and signed a six-year, $54 million contract with about $20 million guaranteed. Philip Rivers was fourth overall and signed a six-year, $40 million deal with a $14.25 million signing bonus.
J.P. Losman was taken 22nd by the Bills and signed a five-year deal worth $7.7 million with about $5.5 million guaranteed. Rodgers' contract will be a lot closer to Losman's than those of Manning or Rivers.
``If I know Aaron, he'll take this as a motivation,'' Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.
Where Rodgers makes out over Smith is in situation.
Smith will be expected to play soon, maybe even immediately, for what was the worst team in the league last year.
Rodgers gets to be eased in slowly on a team that made the playoffs last season.
``There's not a lot of pressure on me coming in,'' Rodgers said.'' At the same time, I'm going to be surrounded by probably a better supporting cast than some of the guys at the top.''
The Packers liked Rodgers but never thought they would have a shot at him.
``It just didn't make sense that a player like this would drop like this,'' said new Packers general manager Ted Thompson. ``As our pick got closer, we started to get serious about taking him.
``We felt that by the time we picked Aaron Rodgers, he was the best player on the board, but we didn't go into the day looking to take a quarterback.''
Of course, Rodgers won't get a free pass for long. He could take over for Favre as soon as 2006.
``Pressure, following Brett Favre?,'' he said with a grin