Rodgers focused on job at hand
Green Bay - In his first season as starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers was merely asked to replace a legend.
No pressure.
For an encore this year, Rodgers likely will have to stare down the resuscitated gunslinger, Brett Favre, in the flesh and in the house he helped build. Oh, and Jay Cutler, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Favre in talent and mentality, has taken up residence in the NFC North with the Chicago Bears.
Talk about seeing ghosts. With Cutler and potentially Favre on teams making up a quarter of the schedule, Rodgers will bump into them if he's not looking straight ahead.
If Rodgers is going to have any jitters - which he exhibited on the practice field as the Favre situation came to a head last year in training camp - they aren't showing up yet. The adversity may be mounting, but Rodgers heads into Year 2 with his California cool still intact.
"You know what, I really don't get into that whole thing, I really don't," Rodgers said. "I'm so focused on what I'm doing, what our team is doing. I know we play the Bears twice a year, the Vikings twice a year and the Lions twice a year, but all that other stuff to me is stuff that sells papers, but I don't really get a rise out of it."
Of course, that won't stop the fans from chewing on it. And that will have ramifications if things don't go well for Rodgers and the Packers.
Last year, they did not.
After the Packers ultimately chose Rodgers over Favre, they went from 13-3 in 2007 to 6-10. In eight of those losses, the Packers either led or trailed in the fourth quarter by no more than a score.
Rodgers surely was not to blame. A completion percentage of 63.6, 4,038 passing yards and 28 touchdowns against 13 interceptions are impressive statistics, to be sure. But victories and losses are what matter most. And the Packers failed in that respect.
But where others see reason for worry, the Packers find optimism. Of course, they have no other choice, and that will not halt the chorus of doubters.
"There are always going to be distractions, we just have to manage them," Rodgers said. "We have so much talent in this room; the only thing that can stop us is ourselves. And we stopped ourselves way too many times last year. If we can limit the distractions, I think we're going to be in a position to make a big run."
Off the field, in the meeting rooms, that's exactly what coach Mike McCarthy and Rodgers are working toward together. McCarthy's confidence in Rodgers has grown after last season's performance. Rodgers now has much more input into game plans and the types of plays McCarthy will call.
More freedom
[ul]While Rodgers did have the ability to audible last season, he often was limited to what options he had. McCarthy has indicated to this point that Rodgers will have more options at his disposal.
"I just think that the way he calls plays, he'll give me more responsibility at the line of scrimmage this year," Rodgers said. "I think it's him trusting that he can call more plays where there's more of a chance that I might change it at the line of scrimmage depending on what I see.
"And that respect level has grown through the type of preparation I have put in. I think he saw the way I prepared every week and knew, 'OK, he's studied the film, he's studied the game plan, he knows what to expect, so I can call the play in so if he doesn't like it or he sees something different, he knows what the correct checks are going to be,' instead of calling a play where you're kind of locked into this with no other options."[/ul]
His own self
[ul]Perhaps having more input at the line will allow Rodgers to play less managed. At times last season, Rodgers played like a system quarterback, doing exactly what he had been told the previous three seasons. It was as if Rodgers had programmed himself to be the anti-Favre: limit mistakes, let the others do the heavy lifting.
At times it worked. There were other times when even Rodgers' teammates told him to let loose a little bit.
"There were a few occasions where you could see he totally wasn't himself," receiver Greg Jennings said. "It was kind of like you could see he was trying to be what (the coaches) wanted him to be. Not saying that's what Mike and everybody wanted him to be. But it wasn't Aaron. It was like, 'Man, you have to be you.'
"I remember sharing that with him down in New Orleans when we were going through that shootout. That was one of the games where I really noticed it, that wasn't Aaron Rodgers playing. That was Aaron the coached-up player playing."
That was a season-on-the-line, got-to-have-it game. The Packers were embarrassed on national television, 51-29, as Rodgers threw three interceptions and posted his second-worst passer rating (59.8).
Maybe McCarthy thought the same as Jennings, because McCarthy has made it clear Rodgers needs to be his own man - warts and all - on the field. Not the man the coaches envision him being.
[/ul]
Coach agrees
[ul]"I think it's important, No. 1, for Aaron Rodgers to be himself," McCarthy said. "Do I think he's an extension of myself? Yes, I agree. But it's important for him to do that within his own personality, and you can see this football team is definitely starting to have his name on it."
Will that match with the names of Cutler and, likely, Favre? The Packers bet six years and $65 million - the contract they handed Rodgers after seven starts (4-3) last year - it would.
"You obviously want them to feel like they made the right decision," Rodgers said. "Definitely."
Rodgers, Year 2, starts now.
No pressure.[/ul]