The NFL announced their All-Decade team for the 2010s and many people are put out that Aaron Rodgers was named at quarterback over Drew Brees.
The team only allowed for two quarterback spots and former New England Patriot Tom Brady was obviously voted to the other spot unanimously.
But the announcement of Rodgers over Brees proved to be controversial among NFL pundits and fans alike with Skip Bayless leading the outrage.
On Tuesday morning’s Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, Bayless said: “This decade has belonged to Tom Brady, No 1, and Drew Brees, No 2, because if you look at this decade…Drew Brees leads the decade in completions and yards and completion percentage and touchdown passes and just about any stat you want to throw out there.”
But Skip and anyone else who thinks Rodgers doesn’t deserve his spot on the All-Decade team ahead of Brees is forgetting one thing.
This game isn’t about stats from one single player – it’s a team game and as a quarterback of that team, your job is to lead them to championships, to help nurture success.
You only have to look at Tom Brady to understand that. Brady was voted to the All-Decade team unanimously but has the lowest individual stats of any of these quarterbacks.
Why was he voted to the team then? Because he led his team to five Super Bowl appearances and won three of them.
READ MORE: NFL announces 2010s All-Decade team
Brady didn’t miss the playoffs once this decade and he showed greatness where it mattered most – not on the stat sheet but in team success. And Rodgers came in second.
Sure, Brees has incredible stats for the decade and is undoubtedly an elite playmaker – he connected on 4,170 passes for 46,770 yards and 345 touchdowns.
He had a completion percentage of 69.5 and led the league in each of those categories.
This decade also saw Brees become the NFL’s all-time passing yards leader in 2018, breaking Peyton Manning’s record.
These stats eclipse Rodgers in every category and by some distance. During this decade Aaron Rodgers completed 3,187 passes for 38,145 yards and 305 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 64.7.
But that is where Drew Brees’ superiority ends and that is why Aaron Rodgers deserves his All-Decade team spot over the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback.
Rodgers started the decade by leading the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl victory and he did it in emphatic fashion.
He completed 24 of 39 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, earning himself a Super Bowl MVP honor to go with his ring.
But that wasn’t the only MVP honour he won this decade – in 2011 and 2014 he was named league MVP and has twice been named first-team all-pro in the same years.
Drew Brees won zero honours this decade – no Super Bowls, no MVPs and he hasn’t been a First-Team All-Pro selection since 2006.
Aaron Rodgers outshines Brees in the Playoffs
If you want to look at individual stats, then look where it matters most – the playoffs.
Drew Brees post-season record stands at 4-6 while Aaron Rodgers has a record of 10-7 and in those 17 games Rodgers passed for 4,604 yards and 36 touchdowns.
The Saints missed the playoffs four times this decade including three consecutive years in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Aaron Rodgers has a playoff QBR of 98.5 – that’s higher than Brees’ rating of 97.4 and both overshadow Brady’s 92.6.
At the end of the day, you want your team to make the playoffs, you want your team to win Super Bowls and all the NFL records in the world aren’t going to make January any easier if your team isn’t there.
What do you think? Should the All-Decade team recognise individual talent or sporting success?
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