Aaron Rodgers is not You Know Who. Expecting him to be that guy would be insane and nearsighted. His jersey number isn’t going to magically morph into the number four, and I can’t imagine that people are going to refer to an optimistic young quarterback from California as a “gunslinger.” Because Rodgers is not the man he is replacing, it’s accepted far and wide across NFL experts and amateur “expert-in-training” types that Rodgers is a sub-par choice for the Green Bay Packers.

I am not one of those. Not even close. See, I believe that Aaron Rodgers will be an adequate NFL quarterback. Beyond that, I believe that he’s the right choice for the Packers this year, regardless of what other options they may have had. Yes, including You Know Who.

How an NFL player adapts to his off-field surroundings can be the difference in their careers. Quarterbacks have to have poise in the pocket, while scrambling and also while answering questions in front of microphones. If a young quarterback feels they’re getting a raw deal and says so in front of the media, it might come across the wrong way to the coach or to the team at large. These problems usually perpetuate themselves to the point that the player leaves town. So far, Rodgers hasn’t had much on-field experience when it comes to keeping his composure in the NFL since he was backup to a legend to this point in his career, but he’s certainly shown All Pro poise in the wake of recent events in Green Bay.

Less than a week ago there was a chance that Rodgers would have to compete with the Gunslinger for the starting job . The speculation of experts and fans was nearly universal: in that situation there was only one outcome, and it wouldn’t be good for Rodgers. How could a quarterback drafted four years ago to become the future leader of the franchise actually expect to BE that future leader? This is the present, this is not the future!

Now, Rodgers isn’t new to the Packers. He’s been around Green Bay for a few years as a certain future Hall of Famer’s backup. Rodgers knows full well what that person meant to the franchise, and he knew in March that he was stepping into a giant pair of shoes. It was in the wake of that retirement, and that un-retirement, that Rodgers showed NFL-quality poise that some current starters in the league would give millions of dollars to have. Not once did Aaron Rodgers answer a question about his job security with any bitterness, nervousness or self-doubt. He never said “I’m not giving this job up for anything.”

Did Rodgers seem upset that fans of his franchise turned out in support of the other guy? Not one bit. He wasn’t even angry that this man who was once his mentor was, intentionally or not, creating a quarterback controversy that overshadowed anything Rodgers could pull off in a practice session. The immense pressure that one would imagine in this situation didn’t seem to affect Rodgers at all.

That’s not as important as accuracy, field vision, mechanics or a quick release. There are many, many tools that are required to being a successful quarterback in the NFL. Still, this isn’t a story of someone just getting a starting job. Pressure is certainly part of the NFL package, and this season is going to be packed with second-guessing and fan doubt in Green Bay. No matter what happens, Packer fans and reporters covering Green Bay will be forced to compare Rodgers to his predecessor. The man who came before Rodgers as the Packers’ quarterback holds the NFL record for touchdown passes, and more importantly to fans he won a Super Bowl.

On the field, there’s something Aaron Rodgers brings to the table that could be perceived as unique for the Green Bay franchise. See, at California, Rodgers wasn’t very interception-prone. He won’t be a gunslinger, but he could very well be an efficient manager of a West Coast offense. Keep in mind that the man who played quarterback in Green Bay before Rodgers is the NFL record holder in interceptions thrown. There was always a small downside to having a gunslinger quarterback, and that downside would be evident when the opposing team ended up with the ball. The man the Packers traded to the Jets has thrown more interceptions than anyone before him in NFL history. Of course that worked out well for Green Bay. With high risk comes high reward, and that was what their old quarterback brought with him every game. High risks, and often some fantastic rewards.

The Green Bay Packers like to run a west coast offense, which traditionally is at its best when the quarterback is low-risk and efficient. Rodgers will allow the Pack to return to a more traditional take on this offense. He may not have the arm and eyes of the legend he’s replacing, but Rodgers has spent years inside the Green Bay offensive system and his talent set fits in well with their scheme.

Perhaps in his first year as a starter, the Packers’ new quarterback won’t remind anybody of their old one. Still, there’s one person around the Green Bay organization who has been pretty steadfast in his support of Aaron Rodgers, and it’s the one person whose opinion actually matters: head coach Mike McCarthy. From the beginning through the end of this controversy, McCarthy has been adamant about the point, repeating over and over again that Rodgers was the starting quarterback. The coach is the person who ultimately calls the shots with an NFL franchise, and McCarthy came fresh off of a late January run. He knows something about winning football games, and in his professional opinion as a coach he decided his Packers could win quite a few of them with this new quarterback.

Another point worth mentioning: that un-retired quarterback that nearly competed for the job in Green Bay never once said he deserved the starting job without a competition. He also never once said that his old team would be better off if they were to take him back. Rodgers, after all, was his understudy. Perhaps watching and working with the all-time leader in touchdown passes rubbed off on a guy already talented enough to be picked in the first round of the NFL draft by a team that had no immediate need at quarterback. Perhaps the newest New York Jet is confident that his Green Bay replacement will be up to the task.

In 2005, Packer officials looked around the league and the college ranks for their legendary yet aging quarterback’s eventual replacement. At the time the team was fresh off a division title and thinking about the road to the Super Bowl, but rather than filling an immediate need they saw Aaron Rodgers. Somebody must have seen something in the California quarterback, because they spent a first round pick on him. After being drafted out of Berkeley, Rodgers got an NFL education from a person considered by some to be the greatest quarterback the league had ever seen.

So maybe, just maybe, the Green Bay Packers will continue to thrive despite a change in quarterback. Seems like a risk coach McCarthy is willing to take, even if it makes the 100,000+ owners of the Packers a little nervous. It’s a big risk to take, but he must see some big rewards in it.

Perhaps the Packers still have a gunslinger at the helm.