The newest quarterback in the AFC North, Aaron Rodgers, who signed on with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, has sharks circling in the division waters waiting to get their first crack at him.
Baltimore Ravens edge rusher Kyle Van Noy has totaled 55 sacks over the course of his career, which has spanned five different teams, but has yet to take down Rodgers in the backfield.
Per Pro Football Talk, knowing that he has yet to get his hands on Rodgers is giving him extra motivation for when the Ravens and Steelers face off this season. Van Noy recently recalled facing off against Rogers earlier in his career when he was with the Lions.
“For whatever reason, the D-coordinator, who’s actually the D-coordinator of the Steelers, wanted to go Cover-0 all game against Aaron Rodgers,” Van Noy said.
“He caught us. We’re like, ‘Oh, we gotta run it.’ Ended up scoring a touchdown to Jordy Nelson. He ended up walking by and kind of tapped me on my butt, like, ‘Nice try.’ So I gotta get him back for that. That’s been there for 10 years.”
Rodgers was sacked 40 times last season, but Van Noy isn’t expecting the veteran to be an easy target this year.
“I still feel like he’s slinging the ball around,” Van Noy said. “He has the confidence of anybody, and especially being a four-time MVP of the league. He’s coming into the Steelers, who are ready and primed to have a guy at the helm, at the quarterback position, to take them to where they want to go.
“I feel like they have a good offensive coordinator with Arthur Smith, who’s gonna get back to that ground and pound. I’m excited to see Aaron Rodgers under center to see if he likes it or not.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.