McCarthy didn’t like Rodgers in San Fran?

We here at Zoneblitz are huge fans of Pro Football Weekly. It’s 30 issues annually are among our favorite NFL fodder and it’s because the Arkushes and the rest of its writers get people to tell them things that other reporters either don’t get or won’t write.

In the August issue’s Audibles section PFW quotes an anonymous NFL figure saying that when he was in San Francisco, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was the leading proponent for drafting Alex Smith ahead of Aaron Rodgers because he didn’t think his current quarterback was a leader.

McCarthy thought Rodgers “was too ‘into himself,” according to the source, who speculated that was why old-timer Brett Favre never warmed up to him.

People change and three years of maturity gained while sitting on the bench has likely left Rodgers  in a better spot than Smith. He’s probably more ready to play than Smith was when forced to take the helm almost immediately – in fact he could very well become the poster child for why a rookie quarterback should sit for a year or three before being thrust into the starting job.

But Rodgers’ statements to Sports Illustrated about how Packers fans should “Get on board or shut the hell up” show he’s still got a ways to go in the maturity department. That’s not to say he’s going to be  a bad quarterback or a good one. But those words coupled with the thoughts of the PFW source definitely lend an eye into why Rodgers dropped on draft day.