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Rodgers Still Believes in Line

Posted Oct 15, 2009 2:50PM By Bruce Ciskie (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Packers, NFC North, NFL Quarterbacks

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In the end, it's pretty obvious who mentored Aaron Rodgers on his way to becoming an NFL starting quarterback. Green Bay Packer fans might want to curse the name of Brett Favre these days, but between Rodgers' effort in the loss to Minnesota Oct. 5, and his recent comments about the Packers' offensive line and his own play, it has become abundantly clear that Favre had quite the impact on Rodgers.

During that loss to Minnesota, Rodgers couldn't have played more stubbornly. He held the ball too long, took sacks he didn't need to take, forced a throw into a coverage he shouldn't have been throwing into, got hit way too many times, and managed to keep getting up. No matter what they threw at him, he refused to quit or give anything to the Vikings.

Throw in some gray stubble, shorter hair, and a bit stockier body, and you have the epitome of Favre's career in Green Bay.

Frankly, this has to be considered a good thing. Rodgers has played the game with much more control than Favre ever did as a Packer, and that's the one facet of Favre's game that anyone could possibly claim the right to complain about. However, while eschewing Favre's wild style for a more controlled game, Rodgers also appears to have picked up some of Favre's better traits.

Since that game, Green Bay has been largely silent, since the team had a bye week. As they get ready to host Detroit Sunday at Lambeau Field, Rodgers has made two things very clear. For starters, he's not changing the way he plays the game.
"I watched last year's film at Minnesota, and I felt like I had gotten out too early. I passed over a guy in my progression. So I was telling myself all week, be patient, play fast but play under control. They got to me a few times, that's what happened."
Also, you're not going to goad him into throwing his offensive linemen to the wolves.
"It really doesn't do any good," Rodgers said Wednesday. "I trust those guys. I love those guys. They take care of me, I take care of them. That's the way it goes. We have a tight-knit relationship. Nothing gets done when you do something like that publicly."

Rodgers reiterated Wednesday that he has confidence in his linemen, adding that everyone on the team wants and needs to play better for the Packers (2-2) to hit the high expectations they carried into the season.

"We're all pros," Rodgers said. "We all hold ourselves to a standard of play, and I'd say myself and those guys included would probably all agree that personally, we haven't played up to our potential at all times. We all want to play better. We're going to play better."
In the end, the Packers will benefit from this. Rodgers has shown time and time again that he will continue to be a good teammate, and he won't publicly criticize people, even if their failures mean he ends up flat on his back. He's accountable and willing to improve.

And he seems to have developed some of that good ol' southern stubbornness. He may never admit it, but at least some of that has to have come from the legend he followed.

Tags: aaron+rodgers, brett+favre

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