Everyone has been drinking the Aaron Rodgers Kool-Aid this week.
Some people are saying he’s now in the MVP race. Others are saying he’s playing as well as he did in 2011, when he won the MVP.
So you get the picture.
Is Rodgers really in the MVP race? Debatable.
He’s in it as far as the media needs more than one or two guys to talk about so they can write “interesting think pieces.” In all honesty, I don’t see how he’d win it over DeMarco Murray, Peyton Manning or even J.J. Watt at this point.
That would be my top three, in order. I might even throw Jordy Nelson in there for shits and giggles.
What isn’t debatable is whether Rodgers is playing like he was in 2011. We’ve got stats to pour over, so we can give you a definitive answer on that.
And it is: not quite.
Through seven games in 2011, Rodgers had thrown for 2,372 yards, 20 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, completing 71.5 percent of his passes.
Through the first seven games of this season, Rodgers has thrown for 1,674 yards, 18 touchdowns and one interception, completing 66.8 percent of his passes.
The only area where Rodgers has improved is he’s thrown fewer interceptions.
Some people have argued that Rodgers has become more efficient since 2011, but that isn’t really the case. He’s completing a significantly lower percentage of his passes, at least through seven games.
That 2011 completion percentage would dip to 68.3 for the entire 2011 season.
That isn’t to say Rodgers isn’t having a nice season this year. He is.
We’re not quite sure it’s an MVP season though and he’ll have to have a blistering second half if he’s going to come close to those 2011 numbers.