October 25
Green Bay Press Gazette
columnist Mike Vandermause
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If Aaron Rodgers keeps it up, he will shatter the Green Bay Packers' single-season mark for passing yards. His torrid start translates to 291 yards per game, which would surpass Lynn Dickey (279-yard average) in the team record book. But Rodgers isn't piling up eye-popping statistics because of an inordinate amount of attempts. He is on pace to throw 518 passes this season, or 33 per game, a relatively modest total. In 13 of the past 16 seasons, the Packers have thrown the ball more often than this year, which means Rodgers is getting a lot of bang for each throw. His 8.88-yard average gain per pass is on pace for the third-best total in Packers history behind Dickey and Bart Starr. ..."
October 6
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The sight of quarterback Aaron Rodgers holding the football while the Minnesota Vikings pummeled him will be one he and the Green Bay Packers will carry with themselves for two long weeks. A week before the bye, the offense took a step backward in a game that offered Rodgers a chance to showcase how far he had come in 19 previous starts in the National Football League. Rodgers couldn't time up with his receivers, missed some that were open and held the ball a long time looking for someone to get open, ultimately unable to lead the Packers to any points in six consecutive series starting in the second quarter. While his counterpart, Brett Favre, the man whom general manager Ted Thompson ..."
October 5
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Mike McCarthy has coached both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. If he were to put both quarterback's physical statistics on one of the magnetic boards the Green Bay Packers use to evaluate college players, he'd barely be able to tell the difference. "If you look at their magnets when they're on the board, they're almost identical," McCarthy said. "Both have 10-inch hands. Both have 30-something-(inch) arm length. They're big-shoulder guys. They had very similar body types coming out. They both torque the hell out of the football." The comparison stops there, however, when it comes to accomplishments. There are more than a few major differences between them. Favre turns 40 on Saturday, holds ..."
October 5
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Having coached both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, the Packers' Mike McCarthy has a unique perspective on both quarterbacks. In his assessment, the two possess a skill set that is eerily similar. Here are some of the qualities he sees in both quarterbacks. FUNDAMENTALS: "You take Brett Favre and freeze frame him from the waist up and you take this guy here (Rodgers) and freeze frame him from the waist up and you'll see two of the purest throwing motions you'll ever see. Brett Favre is extremely fundamental with shoulder rotation, point of release, big hands, long arms, elbow pointing to the target, all the things I look for. Aaron Rodgers is no different." FOOTWORK: "Brett doesn't get hurt ..."
September 25
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Aaron Rodgers is in the physical prime of his life. Green Bay's quarterback is 25 years old. He's healthy as a horse. And he's never been in better shape. Still, if things around Rodgers don't change immediately, he stands virtually no chance of lasting the season. That's because Green Bay's offensive line is in disarray, and if the problems aren't fixed soon, the Packers' promising season could flame out quickly. During Green Bay's 31-24 loss to Cincinnati Sunday, Rodgers was sacked six times and hit 10 more. In two weeks now, Rodgers has suffered 10 sacks and been hit 19 other times. At that rate, Rodgers might be on the injured reserve list before the bye week. "It sucks," right guard ..."
September 23
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
columnist Lori Nickel
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The problem with the Packer offensive line not protecting quarterback Aaron Rodgers is much deeper than the obvious risk of letting the 25-year-old get pounded all day for the second straight week. The problem is that the ever-conscientious Rodgers sat hunched over at his locker in solitude late Sunday afternoon, looking worse for wear after he took a physical, and undoubtedly mental, beating from the Cincinnati Bengals. And the concern extends beyond Rodgers' aches, his offensive line's protection breakdowns and receivers' apparent lapses in focus. The underlying problem is that Rodgers has been, is now, and perhaps always will be trying to prove that he is worthy to be Green Bay's next ..."
September 14
Green Bay Press Gazette
columnist Brett Christopherson
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Aaron Rodgers ambled his way to the home tunnel, towards an appreciative and vocal throng of fans cheering his every step. The Green Bay Packers quarterback acknowledged the faithful with a pump of his right arm before disappearing into the underbelly of a raucous Lambeau Field, the same arm that moments earlier was seen flailing wildly in celebration of perhaps the biggest heave of his NFL career. He did it. Finally, a fourth-quarter comeback. And now we can all get off his back. Rodgers' 50-yard touchdown bomb to a wide open Greg Jennings with just a shade over a minute remaining accomplished two very important things on Sunday as the Packers unveiled their 2009 season against the NFC ..."
September 9
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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ESPN pro football analyst Steve Young expects Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to be among the elite quarterbacks of the National Football League by the end of this season. Young was asked what player he thought would surprise league observers by having a break-out season. "I don't know if it is a breakout, but from a quarterback's perspective, Aaron Rodgers is going to be in the top five quarterbacks at the end of the year," Young said. "He has dealt with things most guys don't have to deal with and dealt with them extremely well. I sense the handle of the offense, the trust that they have with him to give him opportunities, is just going to expand his ability to play well. "I ..."
July 23
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Replacing an all-time great is perhaps the toughest job in sports. History shows the pressure, scrutiny and burden of filling the shoes of a legend have been too much for several players. A year ago, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers took several steps toward winning over his teammates and a largely skeptical fan base. Rodgers has benefited even more this offseason as Brett Favre - the man he replaced - has flirted with the idea of playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers was far from perfect during the Packers' 6-10 campaign in 2008. But at just 25 years old, Rodgers showed he's capable of handling the position for the foreseeable future. And in essence, he had better be, considering ..."
June 21
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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In his first season as starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers was merely asked to replace a legend. No pressure. For an encore this year, Rodgers likely will have to stare down the resuscitated gunslinger, Brett Favre, in the flesh and in the house he helped build. Oh, and Jay Cutler, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Favre in talent and mentality, has taken up residence in the NFC North with the Chicago Bears. Talk about seeing ghosts. With Cutler and potentially Favre on teams making up a quarter of the schedule, Rodgers will bump into them if he's not looking straight ahead. If Rodgers is going to have any jitters - which he exhibited on the practice ..."
January 25
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Personal reasons kept the Green Bay Packers from adding another member to their coaching staff. Much like Gregg Williams, who turned down Mike McCarthy's offer to be the Packers' defensive coordinator to take the same job with the New Orleans Saints, veteran defensive line coach Bill Johnson said Wednesday he chose the Saints over the Packers for family reasons. "It was as simple as that, really it was," Johnson said at the Senior Bowl. "I can't tell you how impressed I was with the entire operation they have up there in Green Bay. But in the end, New Orleans was a better fit." Johnson said that both his grown children live in Atlanta. He also is a Louisiana native (Neville) and graduated ..."
December 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Do the Green Bay Packers miss Brett Favre? And would their record be substantially better than their current 5-10 mark had they not traded away the future Hall of Famer this summer? Those questions were posed to 10 players last week that played at least two seasons with Favre. Of those, six said Favre was definitely missed, two said he wasn't and two wouldn't answer the question. "Yeah, I miss Favre. I'm not going to lie about it," linebacker Brady Poppinga said. "You know, you miss playing with a guy like Favre, man. He's a passionate, competitive guy. And any time a guy like that leaves, you're going to miss him. He's a legend, man. What are you talking about? Of course we miss him." ..."
December 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Replacing a legend is among the most difficult jobs in sports. Aaron Rodgers knew that going in, so he expected some tough times. With the Green Bay Packers on a five-game losing streak after a 20-17 overtime loss in Chicago, Rodgers' challenge involved much more than just replacing quarterback Brett Favre. Rodgers knew that if they were playing unimportant games in December, it would mean that the Packers had fallen far short of expectations. Nonetheless, as his first season as a starter winds down with the finale this Sunday against the winless Detroit Lions, Rodgers took time to look back. Rodgers wasn't replacing just any legend. He was replacing the man who had started the last 253 ..."
December 15
Green Bay Press Gazette
columnist Mike Vandermause
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It's one thing to accept responsibility for the Green Bay Packers' horrendous slump; it's another to do something about it. That's the difficult place quarterback Aaron Rodgers finds himself in following another demoralizing Packers loss, this time at the hands of the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. The Packers are out of playoff contention and out of explanations for their repeated failures to win close games this season. A 20-16 loss at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Sunday was more of the same old tired routine for the Packers, who for the sixth time this season had a chance to mount a winning drive in the final minutes but failed. "It's frustrating, because it seems to be the same thing ..."
December 10
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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In a season of firsts for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, his latest game against Houston checked off another: First classic Green Bay, bitterly cold game. The temperature at kickoff was 3 degrees with a wind chill index of minus-3, just a few degrees "warmer" than the frigid NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants on Jan. 20. But the wind a few days ago was nothing compared to the nasty game last year at Chicago, where it was 16 degrees and snowing but wind gusts of 40 mph dropped the wind chill to minus-18. Those games were historic. Sunday was just a good first test. Along with everything else he'll have to overcome as the Packers' next quarterback, Rodgers will have to master ..."
November 25
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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He was in the midst of the first bonafide shootout of his career. The kind where the first quarterback to blink, loses. Unfortunately for Aaron Rodgers, he blinked. Twice with a pair of second-half interceptions. When your defense gives up 416 yards - 318 passing - no one is going to pin Monday night's 51-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints on the quarterback. But Rodgers certainly didn't help. Not with interceptions on back-to-back possessions to start the second half when the Packers were trying to keep up with Drew Brees and his pack of - at least against the Packers - uncoverable weapons. "In a game like this you have to take care of the ball and continue to score," Rodgers said. "We ..."
November 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Make no mistake about it, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers takes the snap in the Green Bay Packers' critically important showdown with the New Orleans Saints tonight, his No. 1 priority won't be throwing touchdowns, scrambling for first downs or making sure receiver Greg Jennings gets the ball. No, it will be the same as it has been all year: Don't throw an interception. Under coach Mike McCarthy, the passing offense ranks 11th in total yards and ninth in touchdowns, so it's not like Rodgers is handing the ball off every time. But the number that pleases McCarthy the most is 1.9, which is the percent of Rodgers' throws that have resulted in interceptions. Another way to look at it is that ..."
November 10
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Aaron Rodgers was upfront about his day. "It was one of the most disappointing games of my career," the Green Bay quarterback said Sunday after the 28-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Granted, that's not covering a lot of territory for a quarterback whose career began in earnest this season. But he was right. By his early standards, it was a stinker. Under immense pressure the entire game from the Vikings' pass rush and the eardrum-crushing noise emitted from a Metrodome crowd that including its usual generous portion of Packers fans, Rodgers was sacked four times as Green Bay struggled with the silent count. But beyond the sacks, the communication problems, poor field position, an ..."
October 13
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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While his predecessor Brett Favre earned a reputation for his toughness, extending his consecutive games played streak to 258 Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Aaron Rodgers' ability to play with injuries has been questioned. Just four games into his reign as Green Bay Packers starting quarterback, Rodgers suffered a badly sprained shoulder that almost caused him to miss last week's loss to the Atlanta Falcons. And he entered Sunday's game with the Seahawks having not practiced for two weeks. Sore-shouldered and angry from three straight losses, Rodgers threw for an efficient 208 yards and two touchdowns along with a rushing TD in Green Bay's 27-17 victory over the Seahawks at Qwest ..."
October 1
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a right shoulder sprain last week, did not practice Wednesday and will not practice Thursday. However, the Packers stopped short of announcing him out for their game against the Falcons on Sunday at Lambeau Field. "We decided after his evaluation with our team physician that we're going to have him jog through today and tomorrow," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "So he will not throw Wednesday or Thursday. Then Dr. [Patrick] McKenzie, who's our team physician, wants to look at him Friday and make a determination on what his workload will be for practice on Friday. "I want to give him every opportunity to play in the game." Rodgers, the ..."