ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)—Aaron Rodgers(notes) grew up in Northern California watching Joe Montana and Steve Young have their best games on the biggest stage.
Welcome to the club, kid.
Rodgers carried a patchwork lineup into the Super Bowl, then kept things calm when Green Bay’s depth was tested further. His most accomplished receiver and the heart-and-soul of his defense were knocked out by halftime, yet Rodgers still guided the Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.
So now the Vince Lombardi Trophy is headed back to Titletown for the first time in 14 years, and Rodgers can lead the championship parade with the shiny hardware riding shotgun in the red convertible he received as Super Bowl MVP.
“It’s the top of the mountain in my sport, my profession,” Rodgers said. “It’s what you dream about as a kid and think about in high school, junior college, D-I—getting this opportunity and what would you do?”
Here’s what Rodgers did: He put his team ahead on their second drive and made sure they never trailed. He went back to receivers even after they dropped passes, sometimes on the very next snap. He threw three touchdowns and had no turnovers.
He also proved Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson was right to draft him and to trade Brett Favre(notes) so he could become the starter. Favre led the Packers to their last championship, but was never the Super Bowl MVP.
“I told Ted back in 2005 he wouldn’t be sorry with this pick,” Rodgers said. “I told him in ’08 that I was going to repay their trust and get us this opportunity.”
Thompson was right about a lot of guys.
No matter how many players the Packers lost this season—and they put 16 on injured reserve, including a half-dozen starters—someone else was always ready to step in. Holes were still being plugged in this game.
Consider these contributions by guys who weren’t being counted on when the season began.
Read the full story at http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20110206009
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