Tom Brady Explains The Transition Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Has Made

It takes one to know one. Few human beings can relate to a 42-year-old still playing quality football in the NFL like Pittsburgh Steelers star Aaron Rodgers. One of the people who can, though, is Tom Brady. Rodgers and the Steelers are coming off a 27-6 win at home over the Cleveland Browns in Week 8, marking their fourth consecutive win in a streak that began following an Oct. 1 loss on the road in Cleveland. Pittsburgh stands atop the AFC North at 6-2. Brady detailed to Colin Cowherd the change he’s seeing from the four-time NFL MVP this season on Tuesday’s edition of “The Herd.” “Aaron’s always been a very aggressive passer. If something was open down the field, he’d cut it loose. I’ve been really impressed with Aaron this year because he was a very mobile quarterback for a long time. He could move in the pocket and buy a bunch of time. He doesn’t quite have that same elusiveness, and he’s really transitioned to becoming more of a pocket passer,” Brady said of Rodgers. “He’s always been an incredible passer of the football, but now that he’s playing from the pocket, he’s totally in control. I think he’s got six interceptions this year, and five of them have been off the hands of his receivers or a Hail Mary. “He’s making incredible decisions. He has always made great decisions, and that’s why that team’s first place in the AFC North, and I don’t see anyone stopping them in that division, either.” Through eight games, Rodgers has totaled 1,871 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and an 86.2 passer rating, while completing 60.8% of his passes. Granted, Rodgers’ passer rating and completion percentage are each career lows. In all, Pittsburgh’s offense is 14th in the NFL in rushing yards (117.9 per game), 18th in points (22.5 per game), 19th in total yards (328.4 per game) and 20th in passing yards (210.5 per game). How can Rodgers keep producing for Pittsburgh? “To me, it’s about decision-making. I think the big challenge a lot of times as a veteran player is kind of shedding a lot of the PTSD from bad plays over the many, many years of playing that you don’t predetermine what you want to do all the time,” Brady said. “You still have to read plays in a way that is fresh in your mind, rather than always make assumptions about a certain play or a certain route or a certain receiver that keeps you from playing very freely. “For example, you call a certain play, I remember right away, ‘I threw an interception going here and throwing here, and I threw an interception here.’ I don’t want to throw another interception on that play, so I’m going to be a little more cautious with the football, and when you start being a little more cautious, you lose some of your aggressiveness.” Brady and Rodgers each rank in the top five in NFL history in regular-season passing yards and passing touchdowns; the former is first with both 89,214 passing yards and 649 passing touchdowns, while the latter is third with 540 passing touchdowns and fifth with 68,145 passing yards. The Steelers have a Week 9 bye, then face an AFC North road tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 15, whom they beat at home on Sept. 27.