Aaron Rodgers' 122.5 passer rating broke Peyton Manning’s NFL record of 121.1. Credit: Tom Lynn

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Editor's note: 'Seasons of Greatness' is a series ranking the best of the best in Wisconsin sports history, the top 10 yearlong performances of individual athletes since World War II. Read more about this series and chat with Gary D'Amato at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Aaron Rodgers, 28 years old and a starter for just four seasons, probably will continue to improve at all the little nuances of playing quarterback in the National Football League.

No matter how much film he studies and how much better he gets at baiting and reading defenses, however, he will be hard-pressed to top the video-game numbers he put up in 2011.

Despite sitting out the final regular-season game, he threw 45 touchdown passes, a Green Bay Packers record, and just six interceptions. He averaged 9.25 yards per attempt, fourth-best since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. He set team marks for passing yards (4,653) and completion percentage (68.3).

And, of course, his 122.5 passer rating broke Peyton Manning's NFL record of 121.1.

Earlier this month, in what came as a surprise to no one, Rodgers was announced as a landslide winner of the league's most valuable player award. He became the fifth Packer so honored, joining Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Bart Starr and three-time winner Brett Favre.

Rodgers' 2011 season was voted the fifth-greatest single season by an athlete in Wisconsin history (post-World War II) by a panel of eight sports experts commissioned by the Journal Sentinel.

He also received votes for 2010, when he led the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV. No other athlete got votes for two different seasons.

There's no telling where his 2011 season would have finished in the voting had the Packers not been upset by the New York Giants at Lambeau Field in the divisional round of the playoffs after going 15-1 in the regular season.

A 19-1 record and back-to-back Super Bowl titles might have been enough to push Rodgers all the way up to No. 1.

Still, his remarkable consistency and efficiency week after week - the way he broke down defenses, made plays and avoided mistakes - made for arguably the finest performance by a quarterback during the regular season in NFL history.

It's subjective, of course, but Rodgers' season certainly ranks with those of Tom Brady in 2007 (50 touchdowns, 8 interceptions), Manning in 2004 (49 touchdowns) and Dan Marino in 1984 (5,084 yards, 48 touchdowns).

It almost didn't matter that the Packers struggled to run the ball, or that their defense gave up the most passing yards in NFL history. With Rodgers at the helm, Green Bay simply outscored teams.

The Packers led the league in scoring for the first time since 1996 with 560 points, the second-highest total in league history behind only the 589 scored by the 2007 New England Patriots.

Rodgers also rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns in 60 carries (4.3 average) and it is that dimension - his ability to get outside the pocket and extend plays with his legs - that sets him apart. Brady and Drew Brees throw it like Rodgers, but they don't run like him. Cam Newton and Michael Vick run like Rodgers, but they don't throw it like him.

Rodgers knows he has set the bar almost impossibly high, at least statistically. He might play just as good in coming years and not put up the kind of numbers he did in 2011.

"It might not be 45 and 6 every year," he said. "I'm blessed with the way it worked out and hopefully we can win a couple more championships. That's what's important."

Lynn Dickey, who held the previous team record of 4,458 passing yards, which had stood since 1983, made a Joe Namath-like guarantee that Rodgers would keep the Packers in the playoff hunt as long as he was healthy.

"Every year he's playing - I'll guarantee it - the Packers will be knocking on the door," Dickey told the Journal Sentinel earlier this month.

Aaron Rodgers, 2011

Rodgers set an NFL record for passer rating during the 2011 season:

G Cmp. Att. Pct. Yards TD Int. Rating Regular season 15 343 502 68.3 4,643 45 6 122.5 Playoffs 1 26 46 56.5 264 2 1 78.5