Amid the debate on who’s the better player between LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan, former NFL linebacker and current Fox Sports NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho weighed in on the question of who’s better than Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Green Bay Packers signal-caller Aaron Rodgers. Acho made his pronouncement on Fox Sports’ “Speak for Yourself” program days ahead of Sunday’s Week 6 clash between the 3-2 Buccaneers and the 4-0 Packers. “Aaron Rodgers is not a better quarterback than Tom Brady,” Acho declared, based on his own NFL quarterback criteria based on abilities.
Acho said the criteria are availability, capability, and winnability. When it comes to availability, Acho said Brady is available for 94 percent of the team’s snaps while Rodgers is just available for 92 percent of the snaps. Acho said when it comes to capability, it depends on the beholder, but the former linebacker said Rodgers has the edge over Brady, based on his experience of going up against the two quarterbacks.
Brady beats Rodgers in terms of wins
In terms of winnability, Acho said Brady wins the category hands-down with nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl wins while Rodgers only has one Lombardi trophy. “In sports, winning means something. Winning actually is the trump card,” said Acho, mentioning the debate on who’s better between Jordan and James.
While LeBron is better physically, Acho said Jordan is considered the greatest player of all time because he has more titles with six, two more than James. The Buccaneers and Packers will clash on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, with Green Bay as a slight two-point favorite over Tampa Bay. Brady and Rodgers have a 1-1 record against each other.
In 2014, Rodgers won their initial tussle, 26-21, before Brady led the New England Patriots to a 31-17 win in 2018. The 43-year-old Brady was outstanding in his last four outings against the Packers as he threw no interception while passing for 946 yards and nine touchdowns against them in 125 attempts. In his career against the Packers, Brady completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,129 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 93.0.
Penalties killing Buccaneers
The Buccaneers committed 11 penalties for a loss of 109 yards in their 20-19 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, costing them a chance to extend their winning streak to four games. Brady earlier spoke about the penalties, saying they derail the team’s chances of keeping the drive alive. Following their clash against the Bears, the Buccaneers had a mini-bye of a few days where they can prepare for the Packers, who lead the NFC North with a 4-0 mark. During the break, Buccaneers' head coach Bruce Arians said the team did a lot of self-scouting to assess their performance after five games. “The biggest negative thing is there are games where we have too many self-inflicted penalties and put ourselves behind the chains,” said Arians, adding that the coaching staff must find ways to correct that. The string of penalties against the Bears had Brady unloading on his teammates in the sidelines out of frustration. When asked about Brady’s berating of his teammates, Arians said he’s fine with it.