Steelers Now
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Hall of Famer Steve Young is not fond of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ signing of Aaron Rodgers. He questions the fit on multiple levels.
“It’s not a perfect match… for who he wants to be and what the Steelers are doing, even philosophically,” Young said on the Rich Eisen Show. “So they’re going to have to figure out how to fit together. And you saw what happened with the Jets — didn’t fit very well. And I’m worried that they might not fit perfectly with Pittsburgh. If your processing power is better than average, you want the ball out. So you need. So you need people that can get into space… go get people who are talented, who can get in there, find the space in the defense, and get the ball out.”
Young is not the only one skeptical of Rodgers’ fit in Pittsburgh. Former Green Bay linebacker Brady Poppinga thinks Rodgers is in for a rude awakening this season with the Steelers. Poppinga, who was teammates with Rodgers in Green Bay, thinks Father Time will get to the four-time league MVP.
“I went to the Jets-Patriots game last year, and the thing that was sticking out about Aaron that was different was simply, it’s almost this unwillingness — I wouldn’t say unwillingness, because he’s tough — it’s almost like the body is tired and doesn’t want to take the hit,” Poppinga said during a recent interview on Infinity Sports Network’s “Reiter Than You” with Bill Reiter. “There’s a lot of flinching, there’s a lot of, I would say his vision is going from reading the field to the rush, which isn’t usually normal for high-level quarterbacks. High-level quarterbacks are kind of able to feel the rush and then they’re able to then keep their eyes downfield.”
At age 41, Poppinga thinks Rodgers’ ability to deal with pressure will be the biggest obstacle in 2025.
“As soon as you take your eye sight from the field — which is where your receivers are and how they’re spread out and configured in space versus the defenders — a receiver literally could come open and all of a sudden could become covered in a tenth of a second,” Poppinga said. “By the time you’re looking down at the rush and then back up to where you don’t see them even come open or even have a chance to come in open space. And that’s where I see him and that comes with age. It just a reality. It’s just human nature. Your body gets tired of getting hit, once it does, you begin to what I call flinch.”
Rodgers showed he can still play good football last year with the New York Jets, throwing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was at his best late in the year, too, which is an encouraging sign for the Steelers. Of Rodgers’ 30 fastest top-speed plays last season, 17 came in Week 13 or later, [per...
