My Aaron Rodgers Blog

Even though the Green Bay Packers are in third place, they still have a good shot at making the playoffs. Although their best chance would be a wildcard, they have about the same chance winning the division. With the bears and the vikings at 6 and 5 the Packers are only 2 games behind at 5 and 6.

Aaron Rodgers has been the surprise of the year for the Packers. Whether or not you agree with the Brett Favre trade, Rodgers has played exceptionally well. So far this season he has an 88.1 passer rating, 228 completions on 358 attempts which gives him a 63.5 completion percentage. He has thrown for 2,599 yards with 17 touchdowns. I do not think that the Packers record reflects the play of Aaron Rodgers. Sure he has had games that he has struggled in, but overall he has played pretty solid.

Who would have thought that Brett Favre would have played for anyone but the Green Bay Packers. Now the Jets are making some noise in the AFC, and Chad Pennington is helping the Miami Dolphins make a playoff run. Its funny how one move can make change so much. The Packers, if not to make the playoffs this year, have found their quarterback of the future in Aaron Rodgers. This is the kind of guy that can keep this team going for years to come. Not all teams are lucky enough to find a guy that precedes a great quarterback like Favre. The Patriots seem to have done the same thing with Matt Cassel, but look how long it has taken the Miami Dolphins to find a new franchise quarterback. Packer fans should be happy that they have found some stability so early in their rebirth.

Perhaps Aaron Rodgers (filling for traded Brett Favre) and Matt Cassel (filling in for injured Tom Brady) should have an afternoon coffee together and share season war stories on how they carried a load of responsibility on their backs for the 2008-2009 campaign.

Aaron Rodgers complemented a few things Brett Favre (on the odd occasion) did in his final few years in Green Bay on Monday night, rushing for first downs and pushing into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to embrace a 24-19 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Given all the stage show of Favre's stepping down story at the beginning of training camp, Rodgers was ease to get his first regular-season start out of the way. Still, he gives the impression to be living it up as the starter.

For those who witnessed last Monday (8th) night Football and saw Rodgers running out of the tunnel; looking positive, assured and assertive, into the captivating atmosphere, was really something to remember, specially after 4 long years for Aaron. Rodgers hang out most of the past three seasons backing up Favre after the Packers drafted him in the first round in 2005 and passed his first real test Monday, going 18-of-22 for 178 yards with passing and rushing touchdowns.

He was not alone, got help from punt returner Will Blackmon, safety Atari Bigby and running back Ryan Grant to claim the Packers' fifth straight victory in a harsh division rivalry, one that became even more extreme, when the Packers accused the Vikings of messing around with the then retired Favre in the offseason, an allegation that was dismissed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but hardly let of by either side.

It is hard to explain a true Green Bay fan why he or she should trust Rodgers to guide this team thru a good season, especially after so many years in Favre's shadow. Brett has given the Packers fans 16 years of wonderful memories, a Super Bowl championship among them that will live on forever. Brett's many accomplishments on the field are legendary. He leaves the team holding virtually every career passing record, plus his consecutive starts streak, which may never be duplicated. Favre is now playing for the New York Jets and Rodgers seems to have won over the fans, at least for this week. Can we ask for a little understanding and patience from the fans for the moment? Or maybe we as sports fans should ask ourselves... why does it always come to a single man in a group of at least 45?

The truth is that this is not about Brett Favre anymore... we still believe he is and will be one of the greatest QBs in NFL history, but this is a new chapter and it is about Aaron Rodgers now!! We hope Brett Favre has a successful year as a Jet. Having that said, we believe Aaron Rodgers can do what Favre did last year and that he can take this team even further as long as he stays cool under pressure.

 I know that I should be gushing with optimism about a nice win over the Rams, but I am not. As I turn my eyes to the Minnesota game there are numerous things that concern me.  Minnesota is playing very good football and appear to be the best team in the NFC right now.  And the Packers have managed to go 2-1, but there are a lot of weaknesses in their game right now.

I did not initially get caught up in the hype when Favre first went to Minnesota.  I said "Ahh, who cares?  We'll kick his ass."  Of course I said that before I had any clue as to how horrible our tackles were going to be this year.  The bottom line is that they have the best running attack in the league and Favre will keep defenses honest.  They are undefeated and probably are the most complete team in the NFC right now.  At least they appear to be after Favre's dramatic comeback today. What a crock of crap! The Vikings also have the best defensive line in football.  

Hmm, how interesting, the Packers have one of the worst offensive lines in football.  Sounds like a great recipe for a massive headache come next Monday night. I mentioned this already in a previous post, but I am going to go over it again just because it is so critical.  Rodgers really has to be conservative when he plays the Vikes next Monday.  I know this is kind of a weak stance, but his health is bigger than that game.  I do not want him hanging in the pocket only to get smashed by the Williams brothers and Jared Allen.  

They nearly tore his head off last year when we had both Clifton and Tauscher!  It  will probably be really ugly this year. I firmly believe that the only thing that the Packers and Rodgers can do is plan to get that ball out of there quickly.  Boring five yard passes are a good thing.  They keep the ball moving forward and prevent huge hits on our franchise quarterback.  I also think that it might actually be more effective than all this deep dropback hold onto the ball forever type of thing they have going on this season.  I am talking about true west coast offensive strategy here. So, do I think the Packers will ultimately execute such a strategy on Monday?

#23 - Green Bay Packers - Anthony Davis - Rutgers

The Packers did very well without Brett Farve, and Aaron Rodgers is quickly getting out of his shadow. Rodgers won't be able to get to NFL top 5 quarterback status if he gets hit as much as he did last year. He tied for 1st with Ben Roethlisberger in being sacked 50 times. Roethlisberger is known to hold the ball for too long and try to extend the play, Rodgers is not known for that. For stretches last year, the pass protection for Rodgers was horrible. The team needs to pick it up and that starts with drafting a LT. Anthony Davis is considered by some as the best pass-blocker, so there must be a reason he's available this low. Character concerns will determine how far Anthony Davis drops, but the Packers would have to take the risk and hope Davis works hard in Green Bay where there isn't a lot else to do. His character concerns are weight and work ethic because he didn't work out or even get on a scale at the Rutgers pro day.

The Packers defense gave up the least amount of rushing yards last year, 83.3 per game, so it appears Dom Capers switch to the 3-4 worked. The pass defense only gave up 201 yards per game, good for 5th in the NFL. The offense is also explosive, where the only help the team needs is in the rushing attack. A dominant LT would help the run game along with keeping Rodgers upright.

It's not a given that the Vikings will win the NFC North if Farve comes back because the Packers young players continue to get better and surprise the Farve loving media.

You cannot watch football this season without hearing about Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. They have been over analyzed in every way possible. So much attention surrounds the legend and the rising star who replaced him. They have faced each other twice already this season, both with a Favre victory, yet the discussions don't seem to subside for a moment. So, to add on to this intense analysis, let us explore the foot injuries of the two athletes!

Prior to the Viking and Packer game, Favre had his first report on the Viking's injury list with foot pain. Nothing more was said about the issue other than that he had a sore foot. The irony of the situation is that after the game, Rodgers suffered from a foot and a toe sprain. Is this the beginning of the end? Did Favre get the last word through foot injuries?

A sprain describes an injury in which a ligament between two bones is stretched, damaged or torn. A Grade 1 injury is fairly mild with only minor damage to the ligament. A Grade 2 injury is a partially torn ligament and a Grade 3 is a ligament that is completely torn. With a grade 1 injury, the recovery time is short with very few possible complications.

On the other hand, a grade 3 can takes months to heal and is often extremely painful. Foot sprains are rare in the general population, but are common in sports that put the foot in abnormal twisting positions. Such injuries usually result in a grade 1 or grade 2 damage and complete recovery can be seen within the season with much improvement in only weeks.

Treatment consists of rest, icing, strapping, and anti-inflammatory drugs. A sprained big toe is better known as turf toe. This usually results when the big toe is abnormally hyper-extended. This injury can often be more debilitating than a foot sprain because of the important role the big toe plays in pushing off the ground when running. The grading system is the same as a foot sprain with Grade 1 being a minor injury and grade 3 being more severe.

To prevent further damage with the ability to continue activities, taping techniques have been proven quite effective. The severity of the foot injuries of Favre and Rodgers has been downplayed and seeing their continued performance on the field allows us to assume they are minor.

Still, these injuries can be very painful and increases the risk for a more severe injury. To prevent further injuries, both players should be undergoing physical therapy and switch to a more stable shoe gear. The cleats and the flexibility of football shoes increase the chance that the foot will be twisted in a position that could worsen the injury.

Rodgers' first line of treatment should be to have more protection on the field. It is likely that the injury resulted after one of his many sacks this season. Favre, has age working against him. Younger athletes tend to recover better and faster than older athletes, but Favre has proven that age does not define his ability to play football. Only time will tell if these injuries will advance to a more serious problem that will take them off the field.

The likelihood of these injuries progressing is unlikely since they seem to be only presenting with minor symptoms. Thus, the live football drama series of Favre versus Rodgers will continue.

The 2008 pre-season training camp has begun right on time this week in Green Bay, and without legendary quarterback Brett Favre who is still in limbo as to where he will wind up playing football this year after changing his mind about retirement. This has created what is essentially a dark cloud over himself, the Green Bay Packers, and the National Football League in general. This is indeed a rather unfortunate situation after such a stellar partnership between Favre and the Packers.

There have been many discussions and polls and news stories about who is more in the right, Brett  or the Green Bay Packers. Should Favre have stuck to his decision to retire (or at least put more thought into it before announcing the retirement)? The answer is probably a resounding yes. Although he basically caused this mess, should the Green Bay Packers focus on starting an unknown and unproven quarterback to lead the team's offense (while turning an absolute cold shoulder to Brett Favre)? The answer is probably a resounding no.

The team marches on. This along with the fact that Brett Favre did retire could possibly make an interested individual stop and think that if he wants to come back, why not accept the role of second string quarterback to the unproven Aaron Rodgers. If he did this there would be a real likelihood that he would wind up playing more in the games than Rodgers anyway.

Brett Favre is probably not the type of person to let his ego stand in the way of him making a decision on this. This will however unfortunately greatly taint a perfect sixteen year relationship between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.

Maybe the ultimate end to this would be if Brett Favre did accept the second position. He would be back to playing professional football for the only team that he should appropriately be a part of (honor), and he would be helping the Packers by offering them his services as one of the great quarterbacks of all time. Helping the Packers in this fashion would be greatly appreciated by all Green Bay fans. There would be no shame in this because everyone understands retirement.

It is very rare and very special when a relationship develops between one professional sports team and one player which lasts for sixteen years and goes down in history as being so unique. An unfortunate tainted legacy indeed.

Author Troy Sevine is a life long Green Bay Packer fan and a freelance writer who reaches hundreds of readers every day.

The Green Bay Packers took second place in the NFC North division last season with an 11-5 record. That mark was good enough to land one of the NFC Wild Card spots. But the Packers weren't able to do any damage in the playoffs. The defense was completely embarrassed, giving up 51 points to Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals.

While Green Bay's defense was strong statistically, it had no answer for high-powered passing attacks. Warner, Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger all had big games against the Packers.

With Favre likely to return this season, the Packers will have to find a way to solve their pass coverage issues if they are going to best the Minnesota Vikings for an NFC North title.

Offense: Led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have the potential to boast the most explosive offense in the NFL. Even with poor play on the offensive line, Green Bay still ranked No. 3 in the league in scoring offense last season (28.8 points per game). In fact, Rodgers still blasted the opposition for 4,434 passing yards and 30 touchdowns despite running for his life nearly every game. He was sacked a ridiculous 50 times.

The line should be better this season if tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher can stay healthy. The Packers also drafted Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year Bryan Bulaga to give them additional depth. Bulaga could end up being a steal at pick No. 23.

Running back Ryan Grant, who has rushed for more than 1,200 yards each of the last two seasons, will also benefit from a healthier line.

Greg Jennings and Donald Driver form one of the better wide receiver duos in the entire NFL. These two combined for 2,174 yards and 10 scores on 138 grabs last season.

Defense: The first season in Dom Capers' new 3-4 proved to be a success. The Packers finished No. 2 in the NFL in total defense and led the entire league in takeaways. Green Bay was especially strong against the run, boasting the NFL's best run defense.

While the stat sheet says Green Bay finished No. 5 in the league against the pass, the team knows it still has some work to do in that area. The organization is hopeful that having Al Harris, Will Blackmon and Pat Lee back will go a long way toward shoring things up in pass coverage. These boys will certainly have to be up to the task as it is unlikely that Nick Collins and Charles Woodson will be able to dominate the way they did last year. Plus, the Packers still need to do something about their pass rush.

They said goodbye to Aaron Kampman because he wasn't a good fit in the 3-4. Now, Clay Matthews is the only player on the roster who had any success as a pass rusher last season.

Prediction: 2nd NFC North - Green Bay has enough talent to win the North, but I believe Minnesota is still the best team in the division if Favre comes back healthy. I don't even think a healthy line will be enough to keep Jared Allen from living in the Green Bay backfield.

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The Green Bay Packers have long been a model franchise of success and stability, boasting some of the greatest names in sports as well as one of the greatest coaches in history: Vince Lombardi.

After winning the first ever NFL championship, the Packers have consistently been a success in the league, but hit a wall in the 70's, 80's and early 90's. Then, the Packers once again became a perennial championship contender when they drafted a kid by the name of Brett Favre, who catapulted the team back to the forefront of the NFL. He became the face of the franchise and one of the greatest to ever play the position, a blueprint for what is is to be a blue-collared tough guy.

In 2004, the Packers were lucky enough to be able to draft Aaron Rodgers, a quarterback out of California, to take the often-waffling Favre's place when he finally retired. The Pack had its quarterback of the future.

When Favre began his first of a series of short-term retirements in 2008, the Packers decided Rodgers would be the new face of the franchise, but had some awfully large shoes to fill at quarterback.

In the years since, Aaron has proved more than up to the task, fast becoming one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and leading his team to multiple winning seasons and playoff berths.

With his success, the fans have answered and embraced him with a passion as can be shown by the fact that Aaron Rodgers authentic jerseys are rapidly growing in popularity. But as popular as he has been in recent years, be prepared for a massive spike in value for any Packers Aaron Rodgers autographed items or Aaron Rodgers authentic jerseys, as he is now considered as one of the top five quarterbacks in the league.

In 2009, the unflappable Rodgers averaged a more than respectable 103.2 passer rating and threw for over 4,400 yards and 30 touchdowns as the Packers made the playoffs, eventually losing a heartbreaker to the Arizona Cardinals. But in that time Rodgers showed flashes of brilliance.

Green Bay is now poised to battle the Vikings for the NFC North crown and a run at the championship, and the new leader of the Pack is preparing for an even better year than the last. That's why this may be the last time to visit Green Bay Quarterback and grab Aaron Rodgers authentic jerseys and memorabilia while you can, because he's preparing to become one of the Packers' all-time greats.

Even though the Packers won by the convincing score of 26-0, I was really disappointed in the way they played the game.  I have basically come to the conclusion that they are not going to improve much as the season progresses.  In fact, I do not believe they will be able to pick up a wild card spot playing like this.

The problems that the Packers had against the Lions are the same problems that they have had all season long.  My posts are beginning to sound like broken records.  The Packers had an astounding number of penalties, sacks, turnovers, and dropped passes that halted scoring drives in their tracks.  For all the talent and potential that is on the offensive side of the ball, that is also where most of our problems lie.  The only bright spot in the game was our defense.  The Lions are pretty much pathetic and the Packers should have scored more touchdowns.
 
Bigby's return was indeed the only bright spot for the Packers.  The impact was evident immediately.

Having two starting caliber safeties really allows the defensive coordinator to open up his complete playbook.  Capers was able to do a lot of different things with the corners that he was not able to do when Bigby was not there.  When Bigby was gone, Capers had to keep both Woodson and Harris back in coverage because the back up safety was so shaky.  But Bigby's presence allows Capers to bring either or both of them in on confusing blitz packages.  This is essential for the 3-4 defensive scheme that the Packers are trying to run. 
 
But that is where the encouraging things stop.  Detroit entered the game with only five defensive linemen and three of their starters were out.  Given the return of Clifton and the lack of Detroit personnel, Rodgers should have had great protection all game long.  But that simply did not happen.  Rodgers was sacked five times and four times in the first half.  A couple of those were blown blocking assignments and a couple of those were definitely Aaron Rodgers fault.

The offensive line has been horrible this year, but Rodgers must do a better job of feeling the pressure and either moving away from it or throwing the ball away.  A couple of times he simply moved directly into the pressure.  He has done a good job of not throwing picks, but he really needs to spend a lot of time working on throwing the ball away.  
 
To make matters worse Clifton got hurt again.  I do not know for sure how serious it is, but it looked as though he is not going to be available for the ever-important rematch against the Minnesota Vikings on November 1st.  It is not looking good already.  There is almost no way we can win that game without Clifton there.  It will be really hard even if he does play.
 
The Packers running game is also very very poor.  They could not run the ball at all until the fourth quarter. And that is just because the Detroit defensive line was not able to get any breaks the entire game, and they were not even the starters!  I do not know what is worse, the run blocking or the pass blocking.

Either way, Thompson had better be aggressive in getting some more decent linemen into Green Bay uniforms in the off-season.  Thompson has had some very good drafts and has put a lot of good players on the Packers roster in short period of time.  However, if he does not do everything in his power to get some better linemen this off-season, then I will definitely jump on the anti-Thompson bandwagon.
 
Amidst all these negatives, what is the worst one of them all?

Clearly the Packers have some bright spots on their team. Aaron Rodgers can clearly be an elite QB and several other young Packers, like Jeremichael Finley and Clay Matthews, also played well in Minnesota. However, the Packers also have some big time problems. And they are the types of problems that will show up in big games. The two primary problems are the offensive line and in the defensive secondary. These just happen to be two areas that get exploited in the big games at the end of the season.

The lack of pass protection is astonishing. I know that Jared Allen is a really good player, but he is not the next Reggie White. It seems that the Packers offensive line has made the opposing teams defensive ends look like some of the greatest pass rushers of all time each and every week. It is really pathetic considering how good Aaron Rodgers could be if he had some protection.

And Speaking of Rodgers, he has already been sacked 20 times this year. Many QBs do not get sacked that many times all year long. That is on pace for a grand total of 80 sacks over the course of the season. I seriously doubt that Rodgers will be able to withstand that kind of beating all season long. I just hope that he does not get hurt so badly that it affects the rest of his career. Also, I have not checked the numbers, but I am guessing that 80 sacks would break a record.

On the defensive side of the ball, it seems that they can only do one thing at a time. Either they are giving up huge yards on the ground like they did in the first three games or they are giving up huge plays to Favre downfield. The Packers defense obviously committed to stopping the run, and I agree with that strategy. They absolutely had to stop Adrien Peterson. But I did not think that our secondary would struggle like it did.

With most of our defenders watching Peterson, there was a lot of one-on-one matchups and blown coverages downfield. And Favre quickly picked them apart for huge back-breaking plays. The safety that is replacing Bigby was consistently out of position and responsible for multiple downfield plays.

Also, I did not know that 3-4 defense must abandon bump and run coverage with the corners. Woodson is more versatile and is doing fine in this new scheme, but Harris is not doing as well. I am not an expert at the 3-4, but they should try to get Harris in some bump and run coverage. It is his greatest strength and right now we are not using it.

Despite all these huge problems, the Packers are not destined to a long and dreadful season.

The 2008 Green Bay Packers season started out pretty good. They jumped out to a 4-3 record early in the season. From there they struggled mightily only winning two more games the rest of the year. They had a very good offense, but the defense was downright bad. Aaron Rodgers filled in admirably for Packer legend Brett Favre. However, it didn't translate into a successful season for the Pack. Did the Packers do enough after the season to justify any hope of winning it all this year? If you're looking at free football picks, you probably won't put any money on them winning the Super Bowl this year.

The Good News: The best thing about this year for the Packers isn't really about who they picked up, but who they still have. For one, Aaron Rodgers has a full year under his belt as the starter. Since the Packers were bad last year, many people don't realize that Rodgers quietly had one of the best seasons of any quarterback in the league. If you play fantasy football, you might not know that Rodgers was actually the second best quarterback in fantasy last year. This means he was putting up some monster numbers.

In addition to Rodgers, Ryan Grant is back at full strength from the beginning of this year. Last year, he held out through training camp over a contract dispute. He didn't get off to a good start and it took him half the season to get back to form. Once he got going again, he was one of the best backs in the league again. This time around, he should be at full-steam from the beginning.

They also added some help on the defensive side of the ball with nose tackle B.J. Raji and linebacker Clay Matthews in the draft. These two players should go a long way towards shoring up the defense. If they can contribute right away, it might be enough to help the offense win some games.

The Bad News: For a 6-10 team, the Packers were awfully inactive during the off-season. Apparently they feel like they already have most of what they need in house and it just needs to develop. However, that's a very risky approach to take. When you lose 10 games and the only free agents you bring in are a safety and a center, you're really not trying to do much.

Something else to be concerned about is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Although he had a great individual season, he didn't lead the team to victories. The year before, with Favre, they were 12-4. All they did was change quarterbacks and went 6-10. While Rodgers is obviously talented, there are questions about whether he knows how to win in this league.

Outlook: If you're looking for NFL picks, expect the Packers to be middle of the road in the NFC North this year. The Bears and the Vikings will likely be ahead of them when it's all said and done.

At least the Packers should not have to face the pressure of high expectations now. I think that may have had a part in all the penalties and dropped passes. The only benefit to coming out and making it very clear that you are a not a good team is that the expectations are lowered. Maybe our linemen might be able to play a little bit more loose. I am trying very hard to find a silver lining here.

For all the Packer fans who were unable to fully interpret the Cincinnati game: the Packers season is going to be a long and painful one. Especially for Aaron Rodgers. It is really only a matter of time before he ends up on the IR or perhaps even the morgue after the Minnesota game. The Packers offensive line seems to be one of the worst ever assembled in the history of the NFL.

The Minnesota defensive line is so unbelievably good that I will be truly surprised to see Aaron Rodgers complete the game. I just hope that he does not end up with any serious injuries that could ruin his career. Anyway, the fact that the Packers cant block anyone should be obvious to the world by now. And anyone who knows football worth a lick, knows that you cannot go far without the big boys up front.

The direct consequence of this crappy offensive line is that not much should be expected of the team. The offensive tackles now know that the whole world knows they suck monkey balls. Now they should be able to take the role of the underdog. The opposing teams wont take them quite as seriously and we may be able to surprise a team or two.

Sometimes playing like total crap can inspire a team to start playing really really well. I would also like to clarify that I am suggesting that there really is only one unit that I believe is playing like total crap and that is the offensive line. I do not think that Rodgers is playing bad. He has not had any time. So, What will the end result be? When it all comes together, I believe this will be an extremely disappointing year. It is going to be difficult to watch because the Packers will have a couple of rebound games where they look pretty good and maybe only give up three sacks or something like that.

But this can only end badly. And on top of that Brett Favre is probably going to win a lot of games this year for Minnesota.

The '09 season has to be considered pretty successful for the Packers, as they won five more games than in 2008 (Aaron Rodgers' first year as the starting QB) and earned a playoff spot before their defense was gutted by Kurt Warner in the Wild-Card round against the Arizona Cardinals.

That game did show what Green Bay really has in store for 2010 and what could be a big concern. On the bright side, Rodgers was nearly as good as Warner in that game and Rodgers emerged as a Top 5 quarterback during the regular season, ranking fourth in the NFL in yards (4,434), rating (103.2), touchdown passes (seven) and with the fewest interceptions (seven) of any quarterback with at least 200 attempts. Pretty much all of Rodgers' weapons from last year are back although 35-year-old No. 2 WR Donald Driver might be slowing down as he tailed off in a big way at the end of last season.

Warner went balistic on the Green Bay secondary, especially with Al Harris hurt. Charles Woodson and Harris, one of the best tandems in the NFL for years, are both getting up there in age with Woodson turning 34 this season and Harris during 36. I'm probably picking too much on Woodson considering he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and had nine picks and three TDs. Plus he reportedly re-dedicated himself this offseason. Harris, however, is coming off major knee surgery that ended his 2009 season early.

That Green Bay defense will be down two key players this season as Aaron Kampman, a two-time Pro Bowler, is now in Jacksonville (he also suffered a season-ending injury in November last season) and Johnny Jolly was suspended without pay for 2010 after violating the league's substance abuse policy. Although if there's one area the Pack can withstand a few hits, it's probably on the defensive line.

The oddsmakers have Green Bay's wins total at 9.5 for NFL season win totals. What's the best bet there? Let's check the 2010 Green Bay Packers schedule (all times Eastern):

Week 1: Sunday, Sep. 12, at Philadelphia, 4:15 PM
Week 2: Sunday, Sep. 19, Buffalo, 1:00 PM
Week 3: Monday, Sep. 27, at Chicago, 8:30 PM
Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 3, Detroit, 1:00 PM
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 10, at Washington, 1:00 PM
Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 17, Miami, 1:00 PM
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 24, Minnesota, 8:20 PM
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 31, at NY Jets, 1:00 PM
Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 7, Dallas, 8:20 PM
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 21, at Minnesota, 1:00 PM
Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 28, at Atlanta, 1:00 PM
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 5, San Francisco, 1:00 PM
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 12, at Detroit, 1:00 PM
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 19, at New England, 8:20 PM
Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 26, NY Giants, 4:15 PM
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 2, Chicago, 1:00 PM

This schedule ranks as the 22nd hardest in the NFL with an opponents' 2009 cumulative winning percentage of.488 (125-131).

Checking the football betting lines for the first six games, there's really no reason Green Bay should be any worse than 4-2. The Pack get the benefit of being the first opponent of new Eagles starter Kevin Kolb (that game is currently a 'pick'em'), and nobody knows who the quarterback of the Bills will be. The Packers swept the Bears last season by nearly identical scores (21-14 and 21-15), and that matchup will be in prime time for the fifth straight season with the first meeting between the two being No. 180 in the all-time series. This is the 18th consecutive season the Packers have appeared on "Monday Night Football," the NFC's longest streak.

The Pack better be no worse than 4-2 because they could easily fall into a three-game skid (albeit unlikely) entering the bye week with games against Super Bowl contenders in the Vikings, Jets and Cowboys. Of course, that Minnesota game will be Brett Favre's second-ever game as a visitor at Lambeau. He led the Vikings to a 30-23 win over Green Bay in a Monday night game at Minnesota last season and then a 38-28 win at Lambeau.

Green Bay has the benefit of an extra week to prepare for the rematch with Minnesota (the Vikes aren't off the same week) in a game that could well determine the NFC North. Week 10 is the latest a team can have a bye, by the way, and it's the latest the Pack have ever had theirs. Four road games in five weeks is pretty rare, but Green Bay is 18-11 overall on the road under Mike McCarthy from Nov. 15 and beyond. Then the Packers finish with back-to-back home games for only the second time since 1923. Since 1998, the Packers have finished the season against the Bears three times, all of them victories in Chicago.

NFL Handicapping makes this look like a 10-6-type schedule for Green Bay, which may or may not be enough to win the NFC North (I predicted 10-6 for Minnesota as well), but it should be enough for a return trip to the playoffs. Green Bay is currently a slight favorite (+125) over the Vikings to win the North and +650 to win the NFC (tied with Minnesota behind New Orleans and Dallas).

 Aaron Rodgers is looking like he is really ready to be the true leader of the Green Bay Packers this year. In the second half a reporter interview Jason Spitz on the sidelines about Aaron. Based on his responses, it seems that he and the rest of the team are really ready to rally around him. That is the exact chemistry needed to have a big season.

Rodgers' passes are looking really accurate so far. His deep balls have been especially impressive. Even the ones that are incomplete appear to be extremely close. Hi is simply throwing darts out there.

Rodgers pocket awareness and patience also seem to be much improved over last year. Last year he definitely took some sacks because he did not feel the rush.

Now, at least from what I have seen from him so far this preseason, he has had much better awareness of the pass rush. He has been getting rid of the ball when he needs to, and has shown really good patience when he does have a lot of time.

Aaron Rodgers is also developing some really encouraging chemistry with Jeremichael Finley, a guy that I have been telling everyone to watch.  The two hooked up for two TD passes in the first half on friday night and I think they will be trying to isolate Finley to get some big plays.  I look forward to it.

The Rodgers to Jordy Nelson TD pass was gorgeous.  Nelson did not have to break stride at all, he just had to put his hands up.  The pass to James Jones down the sideline was also pretty much perfect.

Based on what I have seen so far, I am going to make a prediction that the only thing that could prevent Aaron Rodgers from having a huge season is injuries.  Injuries to either himself or a bunch of other key players.  Which unfortunately seems to happen to the Packers frequently.  But that is the only way, if our starters can stay healthy, we will have a huge year. Period.

While Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson has said that Brett Favre can come back to the organization, he has said that Favre will not be the starting quarterback.

What?!

It is understandable that the Packers are getting restless with Favre's retirement-then-unretirement saga every season, but at the same time, how can you deny one of the greatest quarterbacks in history the chance to come back and lead the team that he helped build over the last two decades.

First off, the NFL needs him. Favre's infectious passion for the game and pictures of him picking up snowballs and launching them after throwing touchdowns has kept fans entrenched in a time when arrests, scandals and even deaths have rocked the game.

Second, the fans need him. Partially for reasons above, but let's look at them more in-depth. Favre is the face of 75 percent of America. His five-o-clock shadow and blue-collar attitude builds an invaluable connection with the rest of the United States.

He isn't advertising with Nike or Under Armour; his endorsement deals include John Deere and Wrangler. He could probably sign endorsement deals with bigger money partners, but he stays true to himself and what he is.

Such a connection with the American public has lifted the game immeasurably. In recent years, athletes have been put on such high pedestals that they've actually been dehumanized - much like today's celebrities.

However, in the Favre folklore, there is nothing more human than a guy that had to endure his father's passing and go to work a couple of days later.

Oh by the way, it just so happened to be Monday Night Football and it just so happened to be one of the most masterful quarterback performances in the history of the game.

And third, the Green Bay Packers damn sure need Favre to be worth anything. If Thompson says that an unproven Aaron Rodgers is the starter over a man that took a half-talent, low-budget team and turned them into a world champion, he is smoking a hell of a lot more than Wisconsin cheddar.

If Favre decides to come back, it would not only be unfair to Favre to be holding Rodgers' clipboard, it would be unfair to Rodgers to put that type of pressure on Rodgers.

For once, something involving an NFL decision goes beyond the dollars-and-cents reasoning. It would simply be better for the game if Brett Favre is the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers in 2008.

John Burbar is a featured writer for Sportsfananza.com. Sportsfananza is the a leading online news and video sharing site for sports fans to share information, ideas and provides sports fans with a voice. Members of Sportsfananza can post user-generated sports videos and sports articles (blogs) about any sports topic.

I cannot believe how fooled I was by the pre-season. I really thought the Packers were ready to take on the world and kick the crap out of Brett Favre. How wrong I was. The main problem that the Packers have is their blocking. It all starts up front and the Minnesota Vikings are going to sack Aaron Rodgers about 15 times and end his season at this rate. Favre will only have to hand it off to Peterson and his team will take care of the rest. This is going to make it difficult to post a winning record much less make it to a Super Bowl.

The biggest and most obvious problem that the Packers have is in their offensive line. If Clifton cannot play, they might as well just throw Brian Brohm out there and let him take the pounding so that we can have Rodgers next year after we can get some linemen in the off season. Rodgers is going to be running for his life every single week and we are probably not going to be able to run the ball worth a crap either. It is going to get very ugly.

When you cannot block the Bengals, do not even think about making a playoff run. I hope they draft about five offensive linemen next year in the draft and go after some free agents too. I know we have some cap room and Thompson needs to do something fast or we are going to miss this window that we have. We have some extremely talented areas on our team and we need to take advantage of that.

As much as I like the flash of the "skilled positions," we need to focus on getting offensive linemen. It all starts there. If Rodgers had some time, he would be picking defenses apart.

Taking over a team with the tradition of the Green Bay Packers has got to be a daunting task.  This is especially true if you are following in the footsteps of one of the all-time greats like future hall of famer, Brett Favre.  Aaron Rodgers has not performed too badly, though it is still rather early, in his transition into the starting quarterback role for the Packers.  Here is a look at five things you may not know about Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

1.  His first NFL regular season touchdown pass was completed in his third season while he was still serving as the backup to Brett Favre.  It came on November 29, 2007 in the second quarter of the Packers game against the Dallas Cowboys and it was an 11-yard pass to Greg Jennings.

2.  His firs NFL regular season interception came during his rookie season in what would become a 48-3 Monday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

3.  During his last year of college (2004) at the University of California, Aaron Rodgers while playing quarterback caught a ten yard pass.

4.  He was not widely recruited out of high school, in fact he received only one invitation and it was as a walk-on from the University of Illinois.  He started college at Butte Community College before transferring to Cal for his sophomore season, Rodgers' first game as starting quarterback was against the same University of Illinois team that had been the only school to offer him a spot on their roster.

5.  During his second season in the NFL and still serving as the backup to Brett Favre, he broke his left foot while filling in for an injured Favre in a 35-0 loss to the New England Patriots.

Aaron Rodgers has shown some flashes of talent and a good amount of leadership during his short time as the starting quarterback of the Packers.  At the rate he is going, it should not be long before he is regularly thought of as one of the better quarterbacks in the league.  The better he performs, and the better he will be thought of by opposing players and fans alike.  This is the best way for him to escape the long shadow cast by former Packers quarterback Brett Favre.