Packer Fans Will Need A Lot of Cheese With That Whine

As everyone knows, Brett Favre called it a career yesterday. Favre, the face of Green Bay for the last 17 years has decided to walk off into the sunset. While it may not feel like it right now to some Packer die-hards, there is going to be an NFL season next year and someone is going to have to be the Packer QB. Favre's successor may have the toughest job in all of sports next year, carrying the hopes of every Packer fan in Wisconsin and all across America squarely on his shoulders. To say that this successor has a monkey on his back could be the understatement of the century. This pressure can be more accurately compared to an anvil the size of Wisconsin. Hopefully Aaron Rodgers has been lifting.

Aaron Rodgers was the 24th pick in the 2005 draft and has been sitting behind Favre since day 1. Since then, all reports insist that he has been progressing more slowly than originally hoped, and as of the beginning of the 2007 season, he was not ready to take on a starting role. Luckily for the Packers, Favre decided to stay one more year. Well, it's now 2008, Favre has called it quits, and Rodger's time has come, for better or for worse.

Rodgers will be going into the fourth year of his career, his resume showing 1 td and 1 int. Favre had 37 tds going into his fourth season. A fourth season where Favre shot up from 19tds to 33tds. Comparisons are not fair to Rodgers, who was backing up the "Iron Man", not giving him the chance to truly show what he's got. Well, life isn't fair. The fact is, people of Wisconsin bleed green and gold and they're not prepared for another rebuilding process. The Packers have been rebuilding for years, finally reversing their losing ways last year, earning themselves a trip to the NFC championship game. If the Packers revert back to 2006, a 5-11 record, there's only one place where the criticism will land: Rodgers.

Rodgers, who sustained a season ending injury in 2006 during one of his very few minutes out on the field, undoubtedly stunted any progress that he had made. The injury also rings very ironic considering that Favre holds the QB record for consecutive game started. Rodgers was rumored to be part of the Randy Moss trade talks before last season, backing all the reports that Rodgers is not in line with where the Packers thought Rodgers would be at this point. When Moss decided on the Patriots, the Packers denied any and all Rodgers trade rumors, protecting their investment, surely not wanting to set back his progress any further.

Rodgers played well in his only extended appearance of the 2007 season when Favre was injured in week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys. Rodgers went 18-26, throwing for 201 yards and a touchdown in a 37-27 loss. So there is certainly hope and potential within Rodgers, but I was beginning to think that Favre would play until he was 50, and I think Packers fans did as well. Reality has hit and it has hit hard.