QB Aaron Rodgers chats during an OTA practice last week with veteran WR Donald Driver.
As the quarterback with the unenviable task of following a legend, Aaron Rodgers has the advantage of knowing inside and out the offense he's charged with running.
But all the time spent in Green Bay prior to now has provided another, perhaps even more valuable, element to the transition to the post-Brett Favre era. By putting his work ethic, study habits and communication skills out there for all to see as Favre's primary backup for three years, Rodgers already has the respect and the confidence of his teammates as he takes over the starting job.
"Aaron is more than capable," linebacker Brady Poppinga said. "This is a guy that has been biting at the bit for the last three years. He's ready to go, and he will seize the day in terms of taking advantage of his opportunity. I have no doubt about that."
That confidence isn't simply rooted in Rodgers' admirable performance in relief of Favre last year in Dallas, in a nationally televised, prime-time game between the teams with the best records in the NFC.
Rodgers led the Packers back from a 27-10 deficit by directing two touchdown drives, pulling Green Bay within three points early in the fourth quarter. Though the Packers eventually lost 37-27, Rodgers completed 18-of-26 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown, to Greg Jennings, without an interception for an impressive 104.8 rating.
Yes, the statistics were solid, and Rodgers didn't flinch in the tightest of tight spots. And as much as that performance eased the anxiety of many Green Bay fans who hadn't seen much of Rodgers in the last three years, it wouldn't have meant nearly as much as it did inside the locker room if not for Rodgers' approach to his job and work in practice that his teammates witness every day.
In other words, that game didn't define Rodgers for his teammates, but it helped complete the package of the up-and-coming heir apparent they had been working with the last few years.
"This isn't a rookie quarterback," said defensive end Aaron Kampman, one of Rodgers' close friends on the team. "This is a guy that's been here, been in the system, been waiting for his turn, and done it patiently, done it very well actually. Now it's his time. As a team, he's got the respect of the guys in this locker room."
Thus far the transition during the first full-squad OTAs has been seamless. Rodgers ran the No. 1 offense at this time of year in the past, and even though the job has a different feel to it now, his teammates see the same guy.
"He didn't look nervous to me," receiver Donald Driver said. "I don't know about excited, but ... me and 'A-Rod' talked about this a long time ago -- you have the opportunity. Be 'A-Rod,' and he knows that, that's all that matters. As long as he knows he can play this game, he'll be able to play for a long time."
{sportsad300}As for getting the timing down with the team's deep stable of receivers, that's been a work in progress for the last couple of years, and it's part of what every day in practice is for, whether it be now, during training camp, or in game preparation.
"The timing wasn't perfect with Brett, even though it may have looked like that on Sunday," receiver James Jones said. "We still had to work on that during the season.
"The main thing is understanding where we're going to be at and where he wants to put the ball. But that comes with practice, and once we get that taken care of, we'll be able to go out there and have fun."
Fun for this team, coming off a trip to the NFC Championship Game, means continuing to win games and returning to the playoffs. The proof will come this fall, but the players have every reason to believe in Rodgers, and they aren't afraid to say so.
"We feel so confident in him," said linebacker A.J. Hawk, whose locker is just three stalls away from Rodgers'. "We're glad to have him. It's not like we're throwing a guy into the fire. He's been here for three years learning from Brett, and now it's his fourth year. We have a lot of confidence and he has confidence in himself.
"It's obviously a transition phase, but we don't feel like we're going to miss a step."
