Drew_Smith's Blog

    Game two of the Aaron Rodgers era wasn't quite as promising as game one, but let's not go overboard on critisizm.  There is plenty to go around in this one, so one player shouldn't be to spotlighted.

    Rodgers didn't have a great game, but did keep his composure.  He held the ball a little too long at times, and didn't get enough time to throw in others.  He had receivers drop passes again (Is he throwing a ball that is difficult to catch?  Bubba Franks doesn't play for the Packers any more, but the drops are getting worse...) and also had some timing trouble with his receivers that has to improve in a couple of games when the action counts for real.

      So what did we learn from the game against the Niners?  A few things:

    1.  The interior offensive line problems are far from solved.  The moving of the players from side to side is little more than trying to straighten the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.

    2. Jarrett Bush- great guy, not so good at football. Tough night for him in San Francisco, and he may have played his way off the team.

    3. How about Jordy Nelson in the return game!?  And people were worried when Koren Robison was not re-signed.

   4. Rodgers didn't play well, but if he gets hurt, Heaven help the Packers.  Neither back-up has looked good yet.

    Hopefully some of the problems are just typical preseason stumbles.  The starting defense looked good except for one play, and we haven't seen the running game yet, so there are still some things to look forward to. 

     So are you worried?  Sound off here!

    Round one goes to Aaron Rodgers, in the game of "Did the Packers make the right decision".  But are Packers fans convinced?  The ones at Lambeau field were before the game even started, giving the new starting quarterback a standing ovation before he even played a snap.  Very classy from the Lambeau faithful- I was very happy and relieved to see that. 

    Normally at home games, the Packers introduce the offense, with the defense being introduced on the road.  They switched that up on Monday night, and though they didn't come out and say it, one can assume the Packers were a little concerned about what Rodgers reception was going to be.   Turns out they needn't have worried.

   Nor should Packers fans.  Rodgers will be just fine.  Yes, he's going to throw interceptions- every quarterback does.  Yes he's going to overthrow some receivers and *gasp* lose some games.  But he's going to make smart plays and control the ball well.  Will he be better than Brett Favre would have been?  We won't know, but at least now we know how the fans who went to the game feel about him.

     After seeing the entrance on Sunday night, and exit on Wednesday afternoon- the waving on the steps of the plane, the screaming fans, the media coverage, then quietly heading out of town, it reminded me of two different historic events: The arrival of the Beatles in New York in 1962, and Richard Nixon leaving the White House for the final time.

     The fans rightly adore Favre, and during the last four days have made their feelings known.  However, when it comes down to it, the fans don't run the team, and Brett Favre, while he may still appreciate the fans, doesn't play for them.  He plays for the team, and he plays, perhaps first of all, for himself.  If there is anything that we have learned in this protracted divorce, Favre loves to play football, perhaps even more than he loves the Packers. 

     Perhaps if Favre and McCarthy had had their sit down, heart to heart, man to man, drag them out, brutally honest talk like they had on Monday night sometime in early July instead, Brett would have been taking snaps at camp today.  Now, with too much water under the bridge (Who leaked that he had a company cell phone that didn't exist?) Brett just can't do it, and we can't blame him.  Let's just hope he really does just want to play, so when the trade is complete, he doesn't embarrass himself by retiring once again.

This is going to be one strange Packers Training Camp.  It will be number 10 for me, and I've obviously never had one with Brett Favre.  At least I think it will be without him. 

Right now, you can't be sure.  It seems the Packers relationship with Favre is just too broken to fix it enough for him to ever come back to play for the team.  That said, it is still just a little bizarre to think he could play somewhere else.  The problem: Favre has taken this too far not to go to the conclusion of playing for another team.  He has postured so much, that refusing a trade to any team, even the Raiders or Lions, would make him look like this was never about the football at all.

Could he really love to play this much?  Does he really have that much left in the tank?  I can't imagine he needs the money.  If not, why go through the trouble of even playing for another team, unless they are a viable playoff contender?  That's a lot of work, more than the amount he retired over, to get ready each week with a brand new system. 

   But again, what team?  The Jets are NOT just a QB away from the Super bowl, and the Bucs really aren't either.  The Vikings are the only team that can genuinely say a new quarterback could put them over the top, and the Packers would rather eat the $12 million and de-activate Favre every week than let him go purple.

Will Favre ever be back on the Training Camp field?  We'll know in a few days.

Wow.  A company cell phone.  Really?  So, is this just a conspiracy theorists favorite development, or what?  With the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting that Favre used a Packers cell phone to call the Vikings to see if they wanted him to play for them (allegedly...) you have to wonder if this was on purpose.  If not, you have to wonder where Favre's head and sense of propriety are.

   Either Brett didn't care he was using Packers property to make phone calls against the league rules (arrogant), or he didn't know it was against the rules (ignorant) or he knew and was trying to get the Vikings in trouble (curious). 

   No matter which it is, it is one of the most shocking developments of the entire saga in my mind.  Perhaps this was just an "I'm Brett Favre!" moment, where consequences weren't considered, he was just looking out for number four.  Most likely he was trying to be furtive, but never once thought where the bill for the phone he had in his hand went, since I'm sure he doesn't see any other bills either, and may not live in the world you and I do where we actually look at things before we have to pay them.

   How does this change your view of the situation, if indeed he was checking on iterest before even asking the Packers for his release?  Let me know!

  Where do we go from here?

   So far, the Favre saga has all played out like a big game of chicken.  First Favre feels Thompson is daring him to retire last March, so he does.  Then he says he'll come back to see what they'll do.  They say fine, so he retires again.  The Packers take him at his word, draft replacement parts, daring him to come back since they have moved on, so he eventually says he will.  The Packers say maybe they don't want him, so he dares them to cut him.  They in turn dare him to come back and fight for his job.

   I think I remember playing a game like this when I was about eight years old.  One guy won't jump over the river in the back woods, so he gets dared.  He responds that nobody else would do it, so he dares them right back.  It's what eight year olds do.

   However, it isn't what grown men should do.  Neither side is faultless in this debacle, though the flip flopping of the quarterback certainly could have avoided it all.  If he just says I'll come to camp and play, even if he inside isn't sure, he could still retire in the middle of camp if he wanted to.

     And don't feed me this "unappreciated" line.  In the words of T.O.'s press agent, Favre has had millions of reasons to feel appreciated.  The fact that Thompson left the groveling to the head coach this off-season is no excuse for Favre to retire.  It was Brett's decision, and they were happy to have him back when he first said he wanted to come back.   After a second retirement communication to the team, what did he expect?  Even if he wasn't ready, they couldn't stand still, assuming he would change his mind again.

     This will most likely be over by the start of training camp.   Let's hope it doesn't go much longer, or the Packers could have a circus season the likes we haven't seen for a while.