Zero2Cool
16 years ago

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- He'll take an injection. He'll try wearing a shoulder harness. He'll push himself through painful rehabilitation exercises.

Anything to be back on the field for the Green Bay Packers.

Despite a sprained right shoulder that limited him to a light workload in practice Wednesday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he'll do whatever it takes to start Sunday's game against Atlanta at Lambeau Field.

And Rodgers says he doesn't face any extra pressure to push himself because of the ironman consecutive-starts streak put together by his predecessor, Brett Favre.

"Listen, I want to play every game," Rodgers said. "I don't need that, 'Oh, you've got to play because Brett played 250 in a row.' I don't need that. I have pride in myself. I've played with some serious injuries before, so that's personal pride. I don't need any extra fuel to play."

Favre started a quarterback-record 253 consecutive regular-season games for the Packers before he was traded to the New York Jets. Right now, Rodgers' prospects for starting five in a row look iffy.

Rodgers sprained his right shoulder in last Sunday's game at Tampa Bay, and was limited to handing off a few times in practice Wednesday. Rookie backups Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm got most of the work in practice and Flynn will start if Rodgers can't.

Rodgers said the pain is getting better, but the main factor that will get him back on the field is regaining the strength in his shoulder.

"Things are, at least in the big picture, getting better," Rodgers said. "The swelling's going down. But now really, it's really about the strength. If I get the strength back, then I can throw. I'll be able to play."

The Packers are hurting beyond Rodgers' injury.

Green Bay placed defensive line standout Cullen Jenkins on injured reserve Wednesday after he injured a chest muscle Sunday. Jenkins was one of a whopping 14 players listed on the Packers' injury report Wednesday -- a list that also includes cornerback Al Harris, who is out indefinitely with a spleen injury, and cornerback Charles Woodson, who continues to play through a broken toe.

The mounting early season injuries are an unfamiliar problem for the Packers, who were relatively healthy in their first two seasons under McCarthy.

"It's just another challenge, frankly," McCarthy said. "Challenges come at you so many different ways. You have to overcome it."

And after soliciting advice from former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, a close friend, Rodgers said he's willing to take an injection to overcome his injury.

"That (has) potential, I think," Rodgers said. "That's kind of what I was talking about. There's different options once you get to later in the week. Now, I don't know if that's the philosophy per se, if that's the main philosophy. But I talked to Trent Dilfer, and he's had 10 shoulder dislocations, and he said that was something he definitely used to get through the pain."

But Rodgers doesn't want to risk long-term damage.

"That gets into, what do you want to put into your arm? Cortisone is not kind of the typical, I think, thing used for something like this," Rodgers said. "That can be detrimental, I think to some of the ligaments in there, but dulling the pain. I mean, I don't know. I'm just talking hypothetical. Hopefully I won't have to shoot up, strength will come back in the next couple days, be able to throw Friday and go from there."

Rodgers isn't likely to throw a pass until Friday at the earliest.

"He's very positive, feels like he's improving, and I'm going to give him every possible chance to play in the game," McCarthy said.

It is the third significant injury in three-plus seasons for Rodgers. He broke his foot in a game against New England in 2006 and hurt his hamstring in practice late last year.

Rodgers played through a serious knee injury in college, played the remainder of a half after breaking his foot against New England and said he "just sucked it up" to throw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings after hurting his shoulder on Sunday.

Rodgers said pain wouldn't be a limiting factor on Sunday.

"If I don't have the strength to be able to make the throws that I know I'm capable of making, then it doesn't really matter how much pain I'm in," Rodgers said. "But if I have the strength, I think I can deal with the pain."



I think Rodgers got a little defensive in the earlier quotes in this.


edit, I will say this. I am really getting perturbed by the notion that Brett was never an almost SCRATCH to play the following week. I can remember atleast a half dozen times where I was biting my god damn nails until I seen him trot onto the field because reports were "game time decision". People are acting like Rodgers is weak because he MIGHT miss a game and are implying that Brett NEVER almost missed a game. There were many times this happened even with Brett.
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longtimefan
16 years ago
i know of one bye week that saved him with a knee injury

brett that is
Zero2Cool
16 years ago

Rodgers to get 'every chance to play'

[img_r]http://cmsimg.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20081001&Category=PKR01&ArtNo=81001214&Ref=AR&Profile=1058&MaxW=150&Border=0[/img_r]If his friend Trent Dilfers history of shoulder injuries is the barometer, then Aaron Rodgers has a pretty good chance of starting at quarterback for the Green Bay Packers this week against Atlanta.

Rodgers didnt practice Wednesday because of the sprained throwing shoulder he sustained last week at Tampa Bay, and the plan is to have him wait until Friday to try throwing a football and taking snaps with the No. 1 offense in practice.

But he was heartened by his talk this week with the recently retired Dilfer, who told him Rodgers dislocated his throwing shoulder 10 times in his 14-year career as an NFL quarterback but never missed the next game. Dilfer took painkiller injections to help him perform through some of those dislocations, and Rodgers appeared quietly confident that he too will be able to play even if his shoulder remains sore as it is through Sunday.

Theres a lot of options once we get to Saturday and Sunday if Im still feeling the way Im feeling (Wednesday), Rodgers said, alluding to possibility of painkillers if needed.

Coach Mike McCarthy cautioned that the Packers will take into account the possibility of long-term injury to Rodgers shoulder when deciding whether he will play Sunday.

But if Rodgers can get his shoulder is strong enough through rehabilitation to make most or all of the throws required of an NFL quarterback by Sunday, hell probably play.

Any time youre dealing with joint injuries, it's the strength, McCarthy said, to make sure hes in position to operate and not have further injury or anything, be able to perform at the proper level, too. Long-term effects, long-term vision with Aaron will be primary focus, so we'll be smart with him. Every time I say were smart, you guys think he's not going to play, so you can do what you want with that. But we're just going to take it through rehab.

He felt very good this morning. He felt like he made a lot of progress from Monday to Tuesday and then Tuesday to Wednesday. Hes got the full range of motion and the things that he struggled with a little bit on Monday, they were much better (Wednesday), so we'll see how the week goes.

Another factor in Rodgers favor aside from his desire to play Ill do anything to get on the field, he said Wednesday is McCarthys willingness to play him regardless of whether he practices this week.

Rodgers took some snaps on running plays during the long jog-through at the start of Wednesdays practice, but he didnt throw and left the Don Hutson Center after the jog-through to rehabilitate his shoulder while his teammates practiced.

But even if Rodgers' shoulder is too sore or weak to throw much Friday, McCarthy said hell give Rodgers until Sunday to get strong enough to play. McCarthys alternative if Rodgers cant play is to start seventh-round draft pick Matt Flynn, so the long leash with the fourth-year pro Rodgers is understandable.

I'm going to give Aaron Rodgers every chance to play in the game, McCarthy said at his Wednesday press conference. I really can't comment on it until he sees the doctor Friday. I know he's young and there may be a concern about him missing practice reps and so forth, but like I said, I'm going to give him every chance to play.

Rodgers said his shoulder has noticeably improved since Sunday, though it still was too sore and weak to throw Wednesday. He can run without discomfort, and though he wasnt able to sleep much Sunday night because of the pain, by Tuesday night slept well.

Thats kind of an indication things on a big picture are getting better, Rodgers said. The swelling is going down. Now its really about the strength. If I can get the strength Ill be able to throw and be able to play.

Rodgers also figures to be motivated by questions about his durability and the NFL-record 253 consecutive starts by his predecessor with the Packers, Brett Favre.

Rodgers denies Favres streak is pushing him to play and pointed to other injuries hes played through earlier in his career, such as the broken index finger he sustained against Illinois his sophomore season at California, as evidence that hell play if its at all possible.

Rodgers said he didnt practice the week after he broke his finger and hardly threw the ball, but he made his second career start the next Saturday against USC and led Cal to a 34-31 triple-overtime win. He didnt miss a game the rest of the season despite the broken finger, which he couldnt have numbed because he needed feeling in his index finger to throw the ball.

Rodgers rejected the suggestion that Favres streak has to motivate him in some way. But considering all the well-publicized questions about Rodgers durability because of the broken foot that ended his season in 2006 and pulled hamstring that took him out of the No. 2 quarterback role the final four regular-season games last year, its hard to believe he doesnt feel he has something to prove.

I want to play every game, he said. I dont need that, Oh, youve got to play because Brett played 250 in a row, I dont need that. I have pride in myself. Ive played with some serious injuries before, so its personal pride. I dont need extra fuel to play. I want to play extremely, extremely badly.

Rodgers was optimistic hell practice Friday, so hed have at least one day of full-speed action as preparation for the Falcons on Sunday. Hes attending all meetings and doing his normal videotape work.

Friday will be important if I can practice, Rodgers said. Its kind of a broad display of what we practice Wednesday and Thursday, we do our red zone, we do our short-yardage, we do our third downs, we do our normal down and distance. So that will hit every category. Potentially (McCarthy) could lengthen the Friday practice to give me a couple more reps.

Flynn, who took the majority of snaps with the No. 1 offense in practice on Wednesday, said he thinks Rodgers will play even though Flynn is preparing this week to be the starter.

Every time Ive come in here hes been in the training room, so hes doing obviously everything he can, Flynn said.

Flynn, a rookie, shared practice time on Wednesday with Brian Brohm, another rookie who will be Flynns backup if Rodgers cant play. They will get similar work today with Rodgers sidelined.

I was actually impressed with both of them (in practice), McCarthy said of his rookie quarterbacks. I thought they did a very good job of taking to the coaching points, playing fast, as far as the vision, had their eyes in the right places and threw the ball well.



Hmm, the same quote is in this one, but the two quotes are different. I am confued.
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Cheesey
16 years ago
If an injection helps, i say go for it. As LONG as he doesn't risk a worse injury that is.
If it ONLY a matter of pain, and it won't cause a worse injury, do it.

Maybe they could go to NY, get some of Favre's blood, and inject it into AR!!!
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IronMan
16 years ago

If an injection helps, i say go for it. As LONG as he doesn't risk a worse injury that is.
If it ONLY a matter of pain, and it won't cause a worse injury, do it.

Maybe they could go to NY, get some of Favre's blood, and inject it into AR!!!

"Cheesey" wrote:


I don't think pain is the main issue with this injury. As Rodgers has said, the main thing is getting strength back in his throwing shoulder. He can deal with the pain, but if he doesn't have the strength to throw, then he can't play.
bozz_2006
16 years ago
i think the lack of strength has to do with the pain. it feels like he doesn't have the strength because it hurts to throw like he normally does. It's not like his muscles magically shrunk when the shoulder was injured. his strength is the same, it's the ability to use the strength that's the issue. so, shoot him up good and let him play tackle football.
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IronMan
16 years ago
Good point.
TheEngineer
16 years ago
As bozz says, I agree that it's more to do with utilising his strength. He could still bullet the ball pretty damn accurately to Jennings right after injuring it.
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lisa329
16 years ago
Shoulder injuries though, are very serious, especially when it's your QB's throwing arm. It's not just the strength, its not just the pain, its not just mobility... it's all three combined.

My son has had TWO shoulder surgeries in the past 10 months because of a football injury. Now granted, my son's shoulder injury was much more severe than a sprain.. we're talking dislocation, tears of three different groups of shoulder muscles, tendon damage, etc. The surgeon said it looked like minced meat in there the muscle was so shredded. After two surgeries and months of physical therapy, he still does not have full strength in that shoulder or full mobility and a third surgery has not yet been ruled out.

My point though, in bringing up my son's injury is this...he had good days with it where it felt "ok" and he had days where any kind of movement of the shoulder or arm was excruciatingly painful. Now I know Aaron's is apparently just a sprain in comparison, BUT it's still a very painful injury, and also one that has significant impact on mobility and strength. IMHO, if there is any question at all of further injury to the shoulder or if it is bothering him to the point where he can't throw that well, one game out is not a bad thing if you consider the alternative of missing many more games or risking significant injury to that shoulder.
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zombieslayer
16 years ago

"Listen, I want to play every game," Rodgers said. "I don't need that, 'Oh, you've got to play because Brett played 250 in a row.' I don't need that. I have pride in myself. I've played with some serious injuries before, so that's personal pride. I don't need any extra fuel to play."



Awesome. I'm glad he's getting defensive.

If I was asked the same thing over and over and over and over again, you can bet your donkey that I'd get defensive too.
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