Pro Bowl Debate: Matt Ryan vs. Aaron Rodgers

Whenever rosters are announced for any all star type contest for a professional sports league, there is sure to be some debate over players who are omitted. Our first debate this year comes from the NFC Pro Bowl squad, as Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was left off of the roster behind 2 seemingly less deserving quarterbacks. We could make a case that Rodgers was more deserving than Drew Brees, however, in this case we will be looking at the case of Rodgers vs. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. While not surprised by the choice of Ryan, he is not more deserving than Rodgers. Ryan has been a big reason of the success of Atlanta this year, however you can make the argument that Michael Turner is the most important piece of the Atlanta offensive puzzle. The same such argument cannot be made about Rodgers. One could argue that besides Peyton Manning, there is not another player in the NFL that means more to their offense than Rodgers does to the Packers. Rodgers' case may have been hurt by the time he missed because of concussion problems, but even with the time off he still was able to throw for more yards and touchdowns than Ryan, and in the all-important quarterback rating, he is over 12 points higher. Those stats alone do not measure Rodgers' value, as you must also take into account his threat as a runner. When you combine passing and rushing, Rodgers has accounted for over 4,000 yards and 31 touchdowns, while only turning the ball over 11 times. While Ryan deserves accolades for Atlanta's stellar season, they should not come at the expense of a more deserving candidate.