QB Aaron Rodgers eyes Playoffs, not Pro Bowl

Dec 31, 2009, by Pete Dougherty, Press-Gazette

~In the next 5½ weeks, a quarterback in the NFC playoffs either will add to his legacy as a premier player in the game, or will start one. Maybe it will be Brett Favre enhancing his first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame career, or Kurt Warner improving his credentials for possible enshrinement with a fourth appearance in the Super Bowl.

Maybe it will be Tony Romo, maligned as overpaid and overrated because he has yet to win a playoff game, let alone play for the NFL title.

Or maybe it will be the youngest quarterback in the NFC playoffs, 26-year-old Aaron Rodgers, landing in the national consciousness by advancing to the Super Bowl in only his second season as a starter. 

“The measuring stick is not the Pro Bowl, it’s the number of championships,”

But have no doubt, the playoffs that begin in 1½ weeks are where quarterbacks truly gain their reputations — for better and worse.

“Where legends are made,” said Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, a candidate for the NFL’s defensive player of the year. “You only have to win one. Win one, they talk about you forever. You don’t — Dan Marino is arguably the best quarterback in NFL history, but there’s always that asterisk he didn’t win a Super Bowl. So you can win a lot of games and throw for a lot of yards, but if you don’t win the big one, even though there shouldn’t be, there’s a little knock on you.”                 Full story here