Pittsburgh Steelers QB Coach Tom Arth has been around some pretty impressive quarterbacks throughout his time in football. As a coach he’s already been around Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson. As a player, he spent his first three seasons in the league around Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts and one year around Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers. He is now reunited with Rodgers in Pittsburgh after almost 20 years.
He has a unique perspective having played alongside both Rodgers and Manning and offered a comparison of the two legends today at Steelers minicamp.
“Peyton and Aaron, you’re talking about two of the greatest to ever do it and nobody can argue that,” Arth said in a clip by TribLive’s Chris Adamski on X. “I think there’s a lot of similarities between them. They’re different players, different athletes, things like that. But in terms of their approach, their preparation, their ability to process information and to play a cerebral game. I think they’re pretty similar in that regard.
“I think [Rodgers is] a great blueprint for anybody looking to play this position.”
Manning’s athleticism was never his strong suit, but it got really bad as he got up there in age with some major neck surgeries along the way. How he was able to extend his career and ultimately win a Super Bowl at 39 years old was due to his elite processing of the game. It wasn’t his greatest statistical season, but he helped get his team in the right positions on offense and he made the right plays in the right moments to help an otherwise talented roster on the Denver Broncos.
Rodgers showed last year that he is a more capable passer than Manning was in his final season. He has more athleticism left in his game. But the most important component of it all is his cerebral approach to the game.
He told the media yesterday that he plans on learning Arthur Smith’s offense and making certain suggestions along the way. But ultimately when two or three plays are called in the huddle, his job is to get them into the right play at the line of scrimmage depending on the defense.
That is where he can really help the Steelers’ offense. Instead of trying to run into an eight-man box, they can check to a passing play. If they substitute in their nickel personnel and don’t have their strong run defenders on the field then he can check to a running play to exploit the mismatch.
While physical skills diminish, the mental part of the game only gets better with age and experience. Much like Manning, Rodgers will need to lean into that as much as possible to be successful in what is likely to be his final NFL season.
