The Green Bay Packers have faltered the past month, going 1-3 to fall a game behind in the NFC North race.
Despite the team's struggles, Washington Redskins corner Josh Norman doesn't see the powers of Aaron Rodgers diminishing.
"That is pretty much Gandalf the White over there. That's a wizard. That's who he is to me," Norman told reporters ahead of the Sunday night matchup, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
For those of you who had better things to do during high school, here is a quick primer on Gandalf: Gandalf The Grey, a.k.a. Mithrandir (a.k.a. several other names), was a main protagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the first Lord of the Rings book, "The Fellowship of the Ring," Gandalf the Grey plunged into the depths of the Mines of Moria while battling an evil foe. After a 10-day battle, a victorious Gandalf "strayed out of thought and time" until he was revived with even greater powers. Thus he returned as Gandalf the White, a more potent wizard.
(Tolkienites, please forgive the holes in the brief synopsis. Don't @ me.)
Norman comparing Rodgers to Gandalf isn't crazy. Even as the Packers struggled the past four games, the quarterback has awoken from a year-long slump. In the last four contests, Green Bay is averaging 27.3 points per contest, 386.0 yards per game, with Rodgers completing 66 percent of his passes for 310.0 yards per game and 12 touchdowns to three interceptions.
There are problems with Mike McCarthy's offense, and Rodgers might not be performing at the peak of his MVP powers, but the quarterback is not the main reason for the recent skid either. Check out the defensive problems.
Norman expects the Packers to come out strong on the road after getting embarrassed in Tennessee last week.
"I'm sure they're going to come in hungry. They took a pretty bad beating last week. They really did," he said.
