walleye
16 years ago
Aaron Rodgers has waited patiently for his chance to be the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, and that opportunity will finally arrive Monday night when the division rival Minnesota Vikings visit Lambeau Field for the season opener.

"It's exciting, it really is," Rodgers said. "I've been running out of the tunnel for three years, and now I get to be the guy coming out. It's going to be electric Monday night, a great experience, a great challenge for us on offense.

"It's definitely a little surreal. It feels like it has gone by quick, but I know the years individually went by a little slow. It's nice to be able to be the guy now. I have the opportunity to be one of the leaders of this football team and hopefully get things started on the right foot this Monday."

After serving as the backup to Brett Favre for the past three seasons, Rodgers will inherit a starting role that brings plenty of added responsibility and pressure.

"Life's different," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. "Anytime you move from the 2 chair to the 1 chair, I think you're kidding yourself if you say it's not. It's you now.

"I thought he did a very good job in the No. 2 chair of supporting the starter, as far as in the game-planning, the conversations in the room. Obviously when it was with Brett, he was in the lead chair, and now that he's in the first chair, I think he does a very good job of talking with the other guys, making sure."

McCarthy emphasized the increased preparation that will be required of Rodgers, which he has already seen from him this week.

"Everything is heightened," McCarthy said. "He's on top of his checks, his run checks. He came in early on Monday just to make sure he had it before everybody else. And he needs to continue to do that. You need to continue to put in extra work.

"That's part of being the starter, and every starter I've been around has done the same. It would be nothing to walk down here later in the week and see him in there watching film by himself. He needs to do those types of things."

What Rodgers will see on film is a Minnesota defense headlined by one of if not the top tackle tandem in the league in Pat and Kevin Williams, who helped lead the Vikings to the No. 1 ranking against the run in the NFL each of the past two seasons.

The Vikings also added to their front four in an April trade with Kansas City that brought defensive end Jared Allen, who led the NFL with 15.5 sacks in only 14 games in '07.

"Their front seven is one of the best in the league, so it's going to be a good test for us," Rodgers said. "We're going to have to be diligent with the run, and stay on big Pat and Kevin, and then when we get opportunities to throw the ball, I'm going to have to be effective."

In the Packers' 34-0 win over the Vikings at Lambeau Field last November, running back Ryan Grant ran for 119 yards on 25 carries, including a 30-yard touchdown on Green Bay's first possession. Grant was the only back to run for 100-plus yards all season on the Minnesota defense.

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Rodgers has not had the full arsenal of Green Bay's offensive weapons at his disposal during the preseason, with Grant sidelined the first three games with a hamstring injury, wide receiver Greg Jennings the first two with a knee injury and wide receiver James Jones for the final preseason game with a knee injury. The offensive line has also been forced to do some shuffling due to injuries to center Scott Wells and rookie guard Josh Sitton.

Even though the offense didn't have the luxury of a game with all starters in uniform, Rodgers said he is not overly concerned with the team's ability to find their rhythm come Monday night.

"It's not so much a game-to-game rhythm; it's an in-game thing," Rodgers said. "If we can get off to a good start, get things going early, and get into the flow of the game with a good rhythm and a good tempo on offense, we'll be fine."

Grant is expected to play against the Vikings, with Jones' status uncertain at this point.

"We've still got four talented guys," Rodgers said. "Mentally I think Jordy (Nelson) has done a great job. We haven't put him in too many different spots. Ruvell (Martin) is a guy who can really play all of the positions and he is extremely bright. Donald (Driver) and Greg can play just about every position as well."

Despite the changing lineups throughout the preseason, Rodgers looked impressive in his four starts, finishing 37-of-54 for 436 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception. He and the entire offense struggled in a return to Rodgers' home state of California when the Packers visited the 49ers, as the No. 1 offense generated only 46 yards of offense and four first downs in the first half in a 34-6 loss.

In a contest that Rodgers admitted took on added meaning, he said the San Francisco game provided some lessons as he looks forward to a more significant game on Monday night.

"It just reaffirmed to me the fact that this offense is structured in a way that I don't have to do too much," Rodgers said. "I just need to get the ball out of my hands quickly, and that's kind of what I got back to in Denver was just trusting the progressions, trusting the offense, and making quick, smart decisions.

"It's my job just to spread the ball out, get the ball to our playmakers, and it's their job to make plays when they are out there."

As Rodgers prepares for his first pro start in the regular season, on a national stage no less, he knows that all eyes will be on him, but isn't concerned about how that external attention will affect the team.

"I've played in a game before," Rodgers said. "Although this one means something, I played against Dallas last year. It's just going to be on a different level. I haven't played on a Monday night, but I have played on a Thursday night in Dallas on national TV.

"The pressure I think that a lot of people outside this room put on this game and this team is not going to affect us. It's the pressure that we as individuals put on ourselves to perform."
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Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (19h) : Patriots / Panthers feeling is what I got. didn't watch that one either
Zero2Cool (19h) : Easier to get a camera on her in the suite where she can't impact the game by being distraction???
TheKanataThrilla (19h) : This is the least excited I have been in a long time for a Super Bowl. Unfortunately they both can't lose.
wpr (19h) : So why don;'t they have her on the sidelines and doing the halftime fandango instead of sitting on her but in a $1,000,000 suite?
Zero2Cool (21h) : Think more eyes on Super Bowl with Swift fans pulling for her TE boyfriend?
Zero2Cool (21h) : She dating the TE of the Chiefs.
Zero2Cool (21h) : Taylor Swift has millions of fans, yeah?
Zero2Cool (21h) : They did. They are going to show the post production Sunday with plethora of ads.
wpr (5-Feb) : I thought KC already won
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : If you wanna post about the Super Bowl, please, by all means, open a topic. They are free this month! 😁
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : There doesn't need to be a topic. There's a playoff prediction thread.
packerfanoutwest (4-Feb) : and there no SB contest over in the other Packer forum, either
buckeyepackfan (4-Feb) : #2Officially Retires!
beast (4-Feb) : Probably no SB topic as people are wore out talking about the Chiefs, Refs and Eagles
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : Packers reportedly have their new LB coach, promoting Sean Duggan to that role
Zero2Cool (4-Feb) : WR Cooper Kupp is being traded.
packerfanoutwest (4-Feb) : why is there no SB Prediction topic?
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : Anthony Perkins spent 2024 as a defensive quality-control coach with the Packers.
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : Packers lose another assistant.
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : Defensive Player of the Year and Browns star Myles Garrett has requested a trade.
Zero2Cool (3-Feb) : deleted all my browser history and autofill and passwords. gonna be fun!
packerfanoutwest (3-Feb) : too funny
packerfanoutwest (3-Feb) : Lions QB Jared Goff was the offensive MVP
packerfanoutwest (3-Feb) : for the Pro Bowl, which is flag football
Zero2Cool (2-Feb) : Rather, the murder WAS covered up to prevent ...
Zero2Cool (2-Feb) : JFK murder was a cover-up to prevent war with Cuba/Russia.
Martha Careful (1-Feb) : I have always admired the pluck of the man
Zero2Cool (1-Feb) : I remember thinking he was going to be something good.
Mucky Tundra (1-Feb) : The Dualing Banjo!
Zero2Cool (31-Jan) : Jets have named Chris Banjo as their special teams coordinator, Former Packers player
Zero2Cool (31-Jan) : Jaguars have hired Anthony Campanile as their DC. We lose coach
Zero2Cool (30-Jan) : QB coach Sean Mannion
Zero2Cool (30-Jan) : DL Coach DeMarcus Covington
dfosterf (30-Jan) : from ft Belvoir, Quantico and points south. Somber reminder of this tragedy at Reagan Nat Airport
dfosterf (30-Jan) : So eerily quiet here in Alexandria. I live in the flight path of commercial craft coming from the south and west, plus the military craft
dfosterf (30-Jan) : So eeri
Mucky Tundra (30-Jan) : Now that's a thought, maybe they're looking at the college ranks? Maybe not head coaches but DC/assistant DCs with league experience?
beast (30-Jan) : College Coaches wouldn't want that publicly, as it would hurt recruiting and they might not get the job.
beast (30-Jan) : I thought they were supposed to publicly announce them, at least the NFL ones. Hafley was from college, so I believe different rules.
Mucky Tundra (30-Jan) : Who knows who they're interviewing? I mean, nobody knew about Hafley and then out of nowhere he was hired
beast (30-Jan) : I wonder what's taking so long with hiring a DL coach, 2 of the 3 known to interview have already been hired elsewhere.
Zero2Cool (27-Jan) : Packers coach Matt LaFleur hires Luke Getsy as senior assistant, extends Rich Bisaccia's deal
Zero2Cool (27-Jan) : Chiefs again huh? I guess another Super Bowl I'll be finding something else to do.
Mucky Tundra (27-Jan) : Chiefs Eagles...again...sigh
dfosterf (27-Jan) : Happy Birthday Dave!
Mucky Tundra (27-Jan) : happy birthday dhazer
TheKanataThrilla (26-Jan) : Exactly buck...Washington came up with the ball. It is just a shitty coincidence one week later
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : I forgot, they corrected the call a week later. Lol btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY dhazer!
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : That brings up the question, why wasn't Nixon down by contact? I think that was the point Kanata was making.
buckeyepackfan (26-Jan) : Turnovers rule, win the turnover battle, win the game.
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