Being widely recognized as one of the top passers in the league is not enough for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to rest on his laurels. As he told Sports Illustrated, he has received advice from other elite passers on the need to keep improving every offseason.
"Tom Brady told me after the '07 season -- we got to play a little golf, and I picked his brain -- that you should work on at least one or two things every off-season," Rodgers said.
This offseason, Rodgers put in extra work on his downfield throws, adding strength and improving his accuracy down the sidelines. Throwing deep has long been a big part of the team's offense, but one that he struggled with last season.
"This season we went through the cutups in the spring, and one thing that stood out was deep balls," he said. "We weren't as efficient as we had been in the past this year on deep balls, so I really focused on my deep throws -- especially to the left. I was missing some out of bounds. I also lifted heavier and harder than I have in probably six years."
Rodgers passed for 4,000-plus yards for the fourth time in five seasons in 2012, however his yards per attempt fell to 7.8, his lowest total since 2008.