A couple issues ago there was an article that compared the physical youth of Aaron Rodgers against the seasoned veteran of Brett Favre. Well after twelve games for both quarterbacks, it is time to revisit the debate and see which one is winning out.

Green Bay Packer’s Head Coach Mike McCarthy has been under intense scrutiny this whole season. He has been mocked by NFL fans at sports bars and ESPN Pundits alike. No, it is not because of a losing record or awful play calling. In fact many people forget that the Packers were 7-4 going into Monday night’s game against the Ravens and in the thick of the wildcard race. No, Mike McCarthy has been blasted this season because of Brett Favre’s performance with the Vikings. Football fans across the country this season have wondered how the Packers let this quarterback get away from them after being deemed as “too old to play”.
Well in reality, Coach McCarthy never said that about Brett Favre and really never made the decision to not have Favre on his team. Brett made that decision when he retired…the first time. With Brett Favre’s performance in Minnesota, NFL fans have almost forgotten that Green Bay already has a younger Pro Bowl bound quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy may not have expected Brett Favre to have an incredible and drama-filled career after his departure from Green Bay, but its time people get off of his case because he made the right decision.

Okay. Right now everyone has to be wondering how I can say the Packers would not be playing better without Brett Favre on their team. In all honesty, if you look at the stats, it might look like the old gunslinger might have thrived in Mike McCarthy’s offense. Through week 13, he has thrown for 3149 yards with 26 touchdowns, only five interceptions and a passer rating of 108.5.

One stat that people forget to look at though is the number of times he has been taken to the ground by opposing defenders. Over the past 13 weeks, Favre has only been hit 57 times, while Aaron Rodgers has been hit 72 times through 11 games. Even though Rodgers has played behind a far inferior offensive line in comparison to Minnesota’s line lead by All Pro Steve Hutchinson, he still is on pace to out pass Favre’s 2007 stats. That is the same year they went to the NFC Championship Game.

More importantly, you cannot believe that a 40 year old man coming off of arthroscopic surgery to complete a tear in his throwing arm would survive an entire season with the Packer’s line. Favre would reinjure himself one way and the Packers would be in the same situation they are in today except Aaron Rodgers would have a lot less experience and confidence.

Speaking of injuries, it was exactly two years ago this week that Brett Favre hobbled off of the field in Dallas after two first half interceptions with shoulder and elbow injuries. Aaron Rodgers stepped in and threw for over 200 yards and a touchdown with 69% completion rate. It’s easy to see McCarthy’s logic when Brett Favre unretired himself. One choice is the legendary quarterback who has played well, but is very injury prone and has a tendency to throw interceptions in critical games and the other is a first-round draft choice with only upsides who has had his team build around him for two years now. McCarthy chose Rodgers and as they say, the rest is history.

So here we are today. Both quarterbacks are playing well, but if you watched this past Sunday night game, you may have noticed a change in Favre. In the Vikings loss to Arizonia, Favre threw two picks even though he had only thrown three in all of his previous games. Both interceptions were not overthrown passes or ones caused by a deflection from a defensive player. Both were thrown while Favre was under pressure and he forced a pass to one receiver who was well covered by multiple defenders. Classic Brett Favre picks. No doubt the ones Packers fans would see plenty of if Favre was under the pressure Rodgers has been under this season, and who has only thrown five interceptions himself.

You can pass it off as just an off game for an otherwise great player. Even Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have bad days, but then you remember this time last year. The Jets looked like great super bowl contenders with an 8-3 record going into a final five game stretch. In those final five games, Brett Favre blew the team’s playoff hopes with an abominable 1-4 record, throwing for only two touchdowns versus nine interceptions with a dismal passer rating of 55.4.

Could this be history repeating itself for Brett Favre? Only time will tell, but if you were a playoff contending team fighting for a wildcard spot like the Packers, would you really want this 40 year old gunslinger leading your team? Fortunately for Mike McCarthy, that is one decision he will not have to make.

by Bradley Wilson
bradley.wilson@mu.edu

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After convincing victories over two division rivals, the Green Bay Packers had reason to be flying high. But on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys pulled the Packers back to reality, putting together a bruising ground game and upending Green Bay 27-16.

Dallas running back, Marion “the Barbarian” Barber overpowered the Packers, using brute force to run for 142 yards and a touchdown, carrying the Cowboys to victory in front of a national audience.

Barber’s career performance overshadowed the homecoming of teammate Tony Romo, who was making his first start at Lambeau Field. Romo was raised in Burlington, WI and gradated from Burlington High School in 1998.

Romo and the Cowboys’ passing game was almost non-existent in the first half, but the Packers’ lack of offense, big plays and run defense throughout the game proved to be more costly in the end.

The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, who had played almost flawlessly in the first two games of the season, had a mistake-filled evening in front of a record crowd at Lambeau Field.
Despite his 290 yards passing, Rodgers overthrew receivers, was sacked five times, and failed to put together any consistent drives. While he had a couple of noteworthy plays, including a 50 yard bomb to Donald Driver, Rodgers spent most of the evening trying to elude pressure. He was consistently forced out of the pocket and threw prematurely on many occasions.
The Packers set the tone for the evening early in the first-quarter when running back Ryan Grant fumbled the ball deep in Packers’ territory on the second play from scrimmage. The Cowboys recovered and were held to only a field goal, but errant and lackluster plays were to characterize the Packers offense throughout the game.

Dallas rookie running back Felix Jones gave the Cowboys their first touchdown in the second-quarter when he took a handoff up the left side of the field, dodging a Charles Woodson tackle, to go 60 yards for pay dirt.

Barber then gave the Cowboys their second touchdown of the night and a 20-9 lead in the third quarter, plowing over a weary Packer defensive line for a 2 yard score.
Tony Romo blew open the game in the fourth quarter when, on third and 20, he tossed a 52 yard touchdown pass to receiver Miles Austin to put the Cowboys up 27-9.
Rodgers eventually put together a touchdown drive when he dove 2 yards over the goal line in the fourth to bring the Packers within 11, but by then it was too little too late.
The Packers defense was able to shut down all-pro receiver Terrell Owens, who was limited to only two catches for 17 yards. But big plays from other Cowboys plagued the Packers. Especially plays from Cowboy running backs and backup receivers.

When all was said and done, the Cowboys had rushed for 217 yards and an overbearing 453 total yards.

It was the Dallas Cowboys’ (3-0) first win at Lambeau Field in franchise history, previously going 0-5. With their victory over the Pack (2-1) on Sunday, the Cowboys joined the New York Giants as the only two undefeated teams in the NFC.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy gauged the importance of the game and gave credence to an impressive Dallas team.
“It was a big game, it was a great measuring stick for our football team,” McCarthy said. “And I’ll tell you exactly what I told them, the Dallas Cowboys are farther ahead than we are right now, and that’s the facts, and it’s Week 3. How much farther ahead, we’ll answer that question. We have worked to do.”

If the Packers can correct mistakes and shore up holes in their defense, they could very well be facing the Cowboys again come January.

What’s Next…?

Next week the Packers travel to Tampa Bay to take on a pass-oriented Buccaneers team. Tampa Bay came away victorious Sunday in Chicago, defeating the Bears 27-24 in overtime.
In that game, Bucs’ quarterback Brian Griese threw 67 pass attempts, the fifth most in NFL history. Griese was able to throw for over 400 yards, but also threw 3 costly interceptions.
Tampa Bay, coached by the ever-frightening Jon Gruden, has had a peculiar quarterback controversy brewing the past several weeks.

Going into the season, quarterback Jeff Garcia, the clear-cut starter, was benched after the season opener. As of Sunday, Garcia had been dropped to third-string on the depth-chart and Griese became the de facto starter.

Regardless of the quarterback situation, Tampa Bay has decided to be a pass-heavy team. Running back Warrick Dunn was limited to just 31 rushing yards Sunday and is beginning to show signs of aging, so the Bucs’ (2-1) are looking to the air to produce some offense.

On Sunday, the Packers had both starting safety Nick Collins and starting cornerback Al Harris leave the game due to injury. Monday afternoon, Harris’ agent reported that the cornerback might have suffered a ruptured spleen, which would sideline him for the remainder of the season. Harris is seeking a second opinion, but it is likely that he is lost for the year, a devastating blow to the Packer’s defense.

The Packers other starting safety, Atari Bigby, was injured in Week 2 and did not even suit up against the Cowboys. If the Packers cannot get any players back, they will be scrambling to fill the void left by their defensive backs.

With Harris out, inexperienced back-up Tramon Williams will be the likely candidate to replace him. As for the starting safety positions, Aaron Rouse and Charlie Peprah would be summoned to step in and start if the injuries are of a high level of severity.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Packers should be able to bounce back from their poor performance against Dallas. Tampa Bay surrendered over 400 total yards to a Bears team many would not call “offensively gifted.”

If it turns into any sort of offensive shoot-out, look for Aaron Rodgers to show much more poise than last week and for the Packers talented receivers to step up. But the recent diagnosis of the Packers’ Pro-Bowl cornerback (Harris) may make the game closer than it should be.

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What was supposed to be a nostalgic night spent reminiscing about the past and paying deference to one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all time, instead became a night spent looking towards the future and more importantly, the present. The Green Bay Packers kicked off its 90th season in franchise history (its 88th in the NFL) by defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 24-19.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had an impressive showing in his first NFL start. Rodgers went 18 for 22, throwing for 178 yards with one passing touchdown to go along with his first NFL rushing touchdown.

Originally, the Monday Night Football opener was slated to be a night in which former Packer quarterback Brett Favre was to be honored and have his jersey and number retired. But a tumultuous summer ensued, one in which Favre came out of retirement after feeling the “itch” to play and the next thing Packer fans knew, Favre had been traded to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick.

So when Aaron Rodgers took the opening snap Monday night, it marked the first time since Sept. 20, 1992 that a Green Bay quarterback not named Brett Favre started a game.
Quick Favre Update (As if we haven’t heard enough): Sunday in Miami, the exiled Brett Favre extended his win total to 161 games by leading the New York Jets (1-0) over the Miami Dolphins (0-1), 20-14. Favre went 15-for-22 and threw for 194 yards.

In his highly anticipated first drive, Rodgers and the Packers came out a little stagnant. A 3-yard dump off to tight end Donald Lee and an illegal formation penalty, which forced the Packers to punt, were the highlights of the season’s opening drive.

But in the second quarter Rodgers came alive launching a 56-yard bomb down the middle of the field to wide receiver Greg Jennings, who wrestled the ball away from a Vikings defender.
Several plays and penalties later, Rodgers threw for his first passing touchdown of the year. In similar fashion to that of his predecessor, Rodgers rolled left and threw a laser into the hands of blanketed Korey Hall who held on for the score.

The 24-year old Rodgers would have added a 68-yard touchdown to his stat line but it was stand-in guard Tony Moll whose illegal man downfield penalty nullified a laudable throw to receiver Donald Driver.

The Packers did eventually catch a break from the Packers special teams late in the third quarter when cornerback Will Blackmon returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. Blackman tiptoed up the sidelines then abruptly cut back across the field and into the end zone to bring the score to 17-6 in favor of the Packers.
The Vikings would answer with a 23-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 17-12 midway through the fourth quarter. Quarterback Tavaris Jackson was able to find a wide-open Sidney Rice on 4th and 1.

With eight minutes remaining and the Packers in need of a sustainable drive, running back Ryan Grant took some pressure off Rodgers by taking the ball 57 yards to the Vikings 3-yard line. That set up an Aaron Rodgers quarterback sneak as he plunged over the goal line to put the Packers up 24-12. A beaming Rodgers spiked the ball with vigor and ran to take his first career Lambeau leap.

An Adrian Peterson run brought the Vikings within five points, who were able to take advantage of a Packer penalty and get the ball back with 1:51 remaining.
The Packers were able to seal the game when safety Atari Bigby intercepted the ball near midfield with about a minute left and the Vikings threatening.
All in all it was a very impressive showing for Aaron Rodgers, a former first round pick. It was his first regular season action since he replaced Brett Favre midway through the team’s game against the Dallas Cowboys last season.

It was that game in which Rogers showed much poise and convinced Packers General Manager Ted Thompson and Head Coach Mike McCarthy that he was ready to step out of Brett Favre’s shadow and into a starting role.

Rodgers also found his way into the NFL record books on Monday night by completing 81.3 percent of his passes, the second highest in NFL history for a quarterback making his first start.

On his very first Lambeau leap, Rodgers called it something he has been “dreaming about for four years.” With performances like the one he put forth on Monday night, he won’t have to wait four years for another opportunity.

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