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The NFL regular season is nearly halfway over, and three legendary quarterbacks have still not found answers for their struggles on the field this year. The lackluster performance of quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson have nearly stifled the offensive production of their respective teams as they have failed to demonstrate the offensive firepower they were expected to show at the start of the season.
But why are these excellent quarterbacks struggling so much? Their offenses have looked anemic, and it traces back to poor quarterback play. The answers to these struggles may have been hiding in plain sight.
Tom Brady – Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Tom Brady decided to return for his 23rd season after initially retiring a month prior. Brady is the oldest active player in the NFL at the unprecedented age of 45. Due to his age, he is particularly adverse to taking big hits and isn’t mobile (not that he ever was). These flaws in Brady’s game have been unmasked by the fact that the Buccaneers offensive line is among the worst in the NFL, missing several key pieces, like Shaq Mason and Tristan Wirfs, due to injury.
Brady’s return also created tension between him and his wife, Gisele Bündchen Allegedly, Bündchen was upset because she wanted Brady to be more present in the life of their three kids. It became all the more clear when the seven-time Super Bowl champion took 11 days off from preseason camp away from the Buccaneers for “personal” reasons. After months of anticipation, the couple finally announced that they would be getting a divorce.
Aside from his marital issues, he is 45 years old, and father time might have finally caught up to the future Hall of Famer. His performance in this stage of his career has limited the Bucs’ offense.
It’s not entirely on Brady that the Bucs aren’t achieving at the level they had hoped. Much of the roster is on the back half of 30, the offensive line has been greatly affected with the departures of Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet, as well as injuries. The promotion of Todd Bowles from Defensive Coordinator to Head Coach, after the retirement of Bruce Arians, hasn’t been as what they had hoped either.
Luckily, they play in a rather weak division where none of the four teams have a winning record, so there is time to figure things out. But right now, as former Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said, “this offense is broken.”
Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers:
The Packers are another team that have been unable to find any stability. After barely beating the New England Patriots with a third-string quarterback, they lost to three very beatable teams: New York Giants, New York Jets, and Washington Commanders.
The Packers’ poor performance all boils down to one aspect of their play — their offense. Aaron Rodgers has been upset with the Packers organization for a few years now as they had never drafted a wide receiver to support him throughout his entire tenure with the team. They even drafted another quarterback, Jordan Love, in the first round in 2020, which sparked him to request a trade from the organization.
To make matters worse in Titletown, the Packers were forced to trade away All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. Neither the Packers nor Rodgers knew that this would have had to happen, and it has once again caused resentment between the two parties. It is safe to say that Rodgers is sorely missing the presence of Adams as he has been unable to get anything going with any of his other receivers, including rookies Christian Watson or Romeo Doubs.
Rodgers seems to heavily prefer the targets of Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb (who is now on injured reserve). He also is not handing the ball off to his running as much as he should. Furthermore, Rodgers should be utilizing the play of two top-tier running backs: Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.
The Packers are currently trailing the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings, who just traded for star tight end T.J. Hockenson. In order to remain relevant in the playoff race, Rodgers needs to build chemistry with the receivers he currently has to work with.
Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos
“Broncos country…let’s ride”? This is a ride Broncos fans want to get off of.
In the offseason, the Broncos, looking for an upgrade at quarterback over the Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgewater duo, traded for the longtime Seattle Seahawks signal caller. The Broncos gave up a king’s ransom in exchange for his services. Denver also handed Wilson a five-year contract extension worth $245 million ($165 million guaranteed), keeping him in Denver until he’s 40.
Trading for the four-time all-pro seemed like a very good move for Denver because they needed a quarterback upgrade. However, it hasn’t gone the way anyone had expected.
Maybe there was a reason why Seahawks coach Pete Carroll did not “let Russ cook.” Wilson’s decision-making has cost the Broncos several games.
One example of Wilson’s poor game management was during the Broncos’ Thursday night game against the Indianapolis Colts. During the final play of the game, Wilson took the snap from the shotgun at the 4-yard line, instead of handing the ball off to his running back Melvin Gordon. The pass was broken up by all-pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore to end the game. The Broncos lost by a demoralizing 12-9 score.
While Wilson’s Broncos have been severely struggling, Pete Carroll’s Seahawks have been exceeding expectations this year. This leads one to believe that perhaps it was Carroll who was behind the Seahawks’ success for the last decade. With the poor play calling and time management from Denver’s new coach, Nathaniel Hackett, taking a toll on the Broncos’ offense, there is more than enough evidence to suggest that maybe Russell Wilson was just a system quarterback of the Seahawks.
Apparently, Wilson is not as popular among his former teammates in Seattle either. Both former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and running back Marshawn Lynch have blasted Wilson. They both expressed frustration with having to speak to his agent in order to reach Wilson himself. They also cited significant clashes between him and the rest of the team, especially with the defense.
The Broncos pretty much mortgaged their future to get Wilson, and so far, it has not worked out in the slightest. Because of this, the Wilson era in Denver might end in complete failure, and the Broncos will enter dire straits much sooner than they had anticipated. Russell Wilson and coach Nathaniel Hackett need to figure things out fast before the Broncos enter a bottomless freefall.
So what do we as fans take away from this? All three of these quarterbacks with past successes have regressed significantly this season. Each one is dealing with their own unique set of problems. There are multiple steps that each organization can take to support their franchise guys, but it is ultimately on the players themselves to step it up playing the most important position in football. Only time will tell if their efforts will be enough to right the ship.
