Last Thursday, when the Packers fell to the Cowboys, a strange feeling rushed over me.

It wasn’t one of grief, although the Pack had lost just their second game of the year. It wasn’t one of rage, although the men in stripes did everything but take away an Al Harris interception to ensure a Cowboys victory.

Actually, wait, I think they did do that. Yeah, sure enough, they did. Still, it wasn’t rage. It was a feeling of guilt.

For the entire second half and a little bit of the second quarter, I was cheering for a Packers’ quarterback to lead a comeback, only it wasn’t number four. This guy had a No. 12 jersey on, yet, there I was, rooting for him anyway.

What’s more, the way this guy was playing, he was deserving of my hoots and my hollers and whatever other sounds are involved in the cheering process.

It was third-year backup Aaron Rodgers, and he looked good. Even after watching him nearly lead a comeback against one of the league’s top teams, I couldn’t help but shake that feeling of guilt. I had just cheated on Brett Favre with a guy who sported a Fu Manchu for much of the pre-season.

It was a dirty feeling, and for a while, I hated myself for it. I realized that I wasn’t ready to cheer for another quarterback to lead the Packers, especially after a 249-game love affair with Favre.

I realized something else, though. When that time does come–when I am finally forced to move on–Rodgers will make for one helluva rebound.

Before the game against the Cowboys, in which Rodgers got his chance due to a rare injury to Favre, he had yet to see significant playing time in a regular season NFL game. Critics had their way with him based on his mop-up duty performances in blow-out losses to the Ravens in his rookie year and the Patriots the following season.

Not one second of that action was meaningful in determining the outcome of the game, yet Rodgers was criticized for his poor play on occasions when his teammates looked even worse.

If anything, Rodgers should be commended for his actions in the Patriots game, when he played an entire quarter on a broken ankle.

It might not have been a 249-consecutive games started like Favre, but he made sure to string together at least a two-consecutive quarters played streak.

Ignoring the garbage time snaps, Rodgers’ 18-26, 201 yard, one touchdown performance against Dallas wasn’t all that surprising. In the pre-season, Rodgers looked impressive, finishing with a quarterback rating of 98.3 in four games. He was equally as impressive in 2006, when he finished with a rating of 101.1.

Maybe if Cris Collinsworth(less) had seen these numbers, he wouldn’t have said “the Green Bay Packers aren’t going to win a whole lot with Aaron Rodgers playing quarterback unless things change drastically,” when Rodgers checked in on Thursday.

The game was on NFL Network, though, meaning only about seven people heard what Collinsworth had to say, so I guess he’s off the hook.

Now that Rodgers has shown that he might just be able to start in the NFL someday very soon, the next course of action for the Packers is keeping him around. Given the team’s success this season, Favre will likely be back for another year (or five), but convincing Rodgers to continue his role as starting clipboard-holder might not be an easy task.

Rodgers should realize that he’s in a perfect situation, collecting paychecks without taking a weekly beating.

In 2005, the 49ers debated whether to take Rodgers or Utah’s Alex Smith with the first overall pick. They obviously went with Smith, and he’s struggled mightily in his first three seasons. In all likelihood, Smith’s career will be over before Rodgers’ even starts.

It’s a win-win situation for Rodgers and the Packers to keep the heir-apparent around, if only they both realize it. If not, there’s always Craig Nall.

For now, Favre will continue to play and Rodgers will continue to watch. When the time finally comes for Favre to call it quits, Rodgers looks capable of filling the future Hall-of-Famer’s Wrangler jeans.

And what a feeling of relief that is.

> Comments