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Cheesehead
GREEN BAY, Wis. - It would only be natural for Aaron Rodgers to gaze out at Matt Leinart on Sunday at Lambeau Field and wonder what might have been.
Two years ago, Rodgers outplayed Leinart as the University of California almost upset Southern California, 23-17. But now Leinart is the rookie starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals and Rodgers is in his second season as the backup for the Green Bay Packers.
Although Rodgers has played merely 36 snaps as a rookie and 11 this season, he is confident that the pluses of his situation will outweigh the negatives.
``When I look back on my career, and this is no disrespect to the quarterback coaches I've had . . . . I've had two incredible ones . . . . I've had the opportunity to work with the greatest quarterback coach I could possibly ask for,'' Rodgers said Friday. ``And that's Brett Favre.''
Rodgers, who doesn't turn 23 until December, said he doesn't know if his stint as Favre's backup with last two, three or maybe even four years.
As Rodgers waits his turn, he relishes his ring-side seat as the final chapters of Favre's career unfold. Here is Rodgers' take on just some of the things that make Favre what he is:
Favre's command of the huddle: ``He's got complete command. I'm far enough away where I can't hear everything he says but I've heard a few things. He keeps it light.''
How he deals with his past two position coaches, Darrell Bevell and Tom Clements: ``He's very respectful but he's got a lot of ideas, which I know he hopes they'll listen to, and they usually do. We'll be watching the film and Brett will throw out a suggestion and we'll stop the film and Tom will write down his suggestion and take it up with coach (Mike) McCarthy and coach `Jags' (Jeff Jagodzinski). There's a real open relationship and there's great communication in there. Tom's been in the league a long time and at the same time Brett has been. So there's a strong mutual respect between the two of them.''
His interaction with backup quarterbacks: ``We got a great relationship. We're often the butt of jokes but we enjoy that. He's a great guy, a great teammate. It's hard to really explain who he is unless you're around him all the time because he's such a dynamic person. He's real easy to work with. I can't even call it work. He's real easy to play with, I guess. He always keeps the mood light. He's a great example of what it takes to survive in this league.''
His courage, toughness and ability to play hurt: ``Against Tennessee last year in pre-season when he hurt his ankle. They're yelling at me to get on the field. I'm hesitating. I'm like, `Brett Favre is not going to take himself out of any game.' They're screaming at me, and he can hear it as well. He's waving them off. Finally, they're throwing me out on the field. I'm like, `Oh great, I'm going to run out there and he's going to wave me off.' I didn't want to do anything to offend Brett. So they finally get him to come off the field. He comes back three plays later . . . . You see him on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, his body's aching. Even Thursday, Friday and Saturday. His body is sore. I can only imagine everything that he plays with.''
His effectiveness when he speaks out within the team: ``He picks his spots. He's not extremely vocal. When he speaks it's when he feels he's supposed to. It's always in opportune times and when we need that. Last year, we were 2-9 or 2-10, and everyone was down. He gave us about a five-minute speech after practice one day. Playing with pride. Not being selfish. Believing in something other than yourself. It was incredibly effective and inspiring.''
The humor he brings to the workplace: ``There's something new all the time. His body sounds. I'll leave that up to the imagination. Just his one-liners. When I first met Tom Clements I didn't see his sense of humor. Until Brett got here. I'll tell you, Tom has loosened up. It's hard to keep a straight face when Brett's in the room and he's cracking jokes and making body sounds. This happens all the time, no matter what time of day or where we're at.''
His view on controversial issues: ``He always speaks from the heart. Sometimes people construe that the wrong way. What he said about Koren (Robinson) was exactly what I was feeling.''
His post-game press conferences: ``To be honest, I actually watch his post-game interviews. I've done that since I was kid. Because I feel like you can learn something from everybody. I think he speaks really well. He's always good about deflecting credit.''
Weightlifting and conditioning: ``He works out. They wanted to make sure we were in shape in training camp. The quarterbacks would run extra gassers after practice. The funniest thing, and it would kind of (upset him) a little bit, would be these fans along the fence saying, `C'mon, old man, run.' That was not cool. And he was working hard. I just hope when I'm 37 I can run the same way he does.''
Ability as a ballhandler: ``I think he's incredible. I've heard people say, `Why does Brett hold the ball out there on a run play? They're just telegraphing the run.' His ballhandling is the same whether it's a run or a play-action pass. The great play-action quarterbacks, like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, hold the ball out there as long as they can to draw the defenders in so the windows can open up downfield. His ballhandling is very underrated. His footwork is also extremely, extremely good.''
His progressions and reading of defenses: ``I think he's doing really, really good. He's doing what they want him to do.''
His relationship with McCarthy: ``I think they have great communication. I keep seeing plays being put in that Brett's been talking about maybe the week before, or during the week and they'll be put in later in the week. So I know they have to spend a lot of time together. There's definitely a trust between them that if coach McCarthy puts a play in that Brett wanted Brett's going to execute it and make it effective. That's really important. I think that's a great quality coach McCarthy has. An ability to interact. It's not a one-way conversation. There's a give-and-take.''
On being a star: ``He handles it great. It's hard to comment because I don't know what he grows through. He doesn't put himself above the team. He doesn't act like he's got a bunch of money in the bank, even though he does. It's refreshing, it's really refreshing.''
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Two years ago, Rodgers outplayed Leinart as the University of California almost upset Southern California, 23-17. But now Leinart is the rookie starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals and Rodgers is in his second season as the backup for the Green Bay Packers.
Although Rodgers has played merely 36 snaps as a rookie and 11 this season, he is confident that the pluses of his situation will outweigh the negatives.
``When I look back on my career, and this is no disrespect to the quarterback coaches I've had . . . . I've had two incredible ones . . . . I've had the opportunity to work with the greatest quarterback coach I could possibly ask for,'' Rodgers said Friday. ``And that's Brett Favre.''
Rodgers, who doesn't turn 23 until December, said he doesn't know if his stint as Favre's backup with last two, three or maybe even four years.
As Rodgers waits his turn, he relishes his ring-side seat as the final chapters of Favre's career unfold. Here is Rodgers' take on just some of the things that make Favre what he is:
Favre's command of the huddle: ``He's got complete command. I'm far enough away where I can't hear everything he says but I've heard a few things. He keeps it light.''
How he deals with his past two position coaches, Darrell Bevell and Tom Clements: ``He's very respectful but he's got a lot of ideas, which I know he hopes they'll listen to, and they usually do. We'll be watching the film and Brett will throw out a suggestion and we'll stop the film and Tom will write down his suggestion and take it up with coach (Mike) McCarthy and coach `Jags' (Jeff Jagodzinski). There's a real open relationship and there's great communication in there. Tom's been in the league a long time and at the same time Brett has been. So there's a strong mutual respect between the two of them.''
His interaction with backup quarterbacks: ``We got a great relationship. We're often the butt of jokes but we enjoy that. He's a great guy, a great teammate. It's hard to really explain who he is unless you're around him all the time because he's such a dynamic person. He's real easy to work with. I can't even call it work. He's real easy to play with, I guess. He always keeps the mood light. He's a great example of what it takes to survive in this league.''
His courage, toughness and ability to play hurt: ``Against Tennessee last year in pre-season when he hurt his ankle. They're yelling at me to get on the field. I'm hesitating. I'm like, `Brett Favre is not going to take himself out of any game.' They're screaming at me, and he can hear it as well. He's waving them off. Finally, they're throwing me out on the field. I'm like, `Oh great, I'm going to run out there and he's going to wave me off.' I didn't want to do anything to offend Brett. So they finally get him to come off the field. He comes back three plays later . . . . You see him on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, his body's aching. Even Thursday, Friday and Saturday. His body is sore. I can only imagine everything that he plays with.''
His effectiveness when he speaks out within the team: ``He picks his spots. He's not extremely vocal. When he speaks it's when he feels he's supposed to. It's always in opportune times and when we need that. Last year, we were 2-9 or 2-10, and everyone was down. He gave us about a five-minute speech after practice one day. Playing with pride. Not being selfish. Believing in something other than yourself. It was incredibly effective and inspiring.''
The humor he brings to the workplace: ``There's something new all the time. His body sounds. I'll leave that up to the imagination. Just his one-liners. When I first met Tom Clements I didn't see his sense of humor. Until Brett got here. I'll tell you, Tom has loosened up. It's hard to keep a straight face when Brett's in the room and he's cracking jokes and making body sounds. This happens all the time, no matter what time of day or where we're at.''
His view on controversial issues: ``He always speaks from the heart. Sometimes people construe that the wrong way. What he said about Koren (Robinson) was exactly what I was feeling.''
His post-game press conferences: ``To be honest, I actually watch his post-game interviews. I've done that since I was kid. Because I feel like you can learn something from everybody. I think he speaks really well. He's always good about deflecting credit.''
Weightlifting and conditioning: ``He works out. They wanted to make sure we were in shape in training camp. The quarterbacks would run extra gassers after practice. The funniest thing, and it would kind of (upset him) a little bit, would be these fans along the fence saying, `C'mon, old man, run.' That was not cool. And he was working hard. I just hope when I'm 37 I can run the same way he does.''
Ability as a ballhandler: ``I think he's incredible. I've heard people say, `Why does Brett hold the ball out there on a run play? They're just telegraphing the run.' His ballhandling is the same whether it's a run or a play-action pass. The great play-action quarterbacks, like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, hold the ball out there as long as they can to draw the defenders in so the windows can open up downfield. His ballhandling is very underrated. His footwork is also extremely, extremely good.''
His progressions and reading of defenses: ``I think he's doing really, really good. He's doing what they want him to do.''
His relationship with McCarthy: ``I think they have great communication. I keep seeing plays being put in that Brett's been talking about maybe the week before, or during the week and they'll be put in later in the week. So I know they have to spend a lot of time together. There's definitely a trust between them that if coach McCarthy puts a play in that Brett wanted Brett's going to execute it and make it effective. That's really important. I think that's a great quality coach McCarthy has. An ability to interact. It's not a one-way conversation. There's a give-and-take.''
On being a star: ``He handles it great. It's hard to comment because I don't know what he grows through. He doesn't put himself above the team. He doesn't act like he's got a bunch of money in the bank, even though he does. It's refreshing, it's really refreshing.''
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