That’s how many real games it will take to evaluate Rodgers, according to Mike Lombardi over at the National Football Post. Lombardi makes a great observation in response to a quote in the Journal Sentinel from Reggie McKenzie regarding Rodgers’ mechanics in the pocket:

All this talk about feet, backpedal, and arm, are meaningless if the mind does not make quick decisions.  I’d rather have a quick mind over quick backpedal any day.  What Rodgers is going through right now is the learning curve. More importantly, what the Packer coaches are going through is learning what Rodgers can do now to help them win and what can be put off for awhile.  It’s only going to get worse as the pressure and the new blitzes start on opening day.  Right now the whole Packer playbook is not at the disposal of the Packer coaches.  They have to go slow and bring Rodgers along.  This is a new era for everyone.  Rodgers needs to improve his ability to make quick decisions.  And don’t forget the ten-game rule for evaluating quarterbacks.  It will take us ten REAL games to really know what Rodgers can and cannot do.

Does this mean that we’ll know if Thompson and McCarthy made a mistake in entrusting the team to Rodgers by November? No. It means McCarthy will have a pretty clear idea of where Rodgers’ strengths and weaknesses lie when it comes to the pro game.

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• What If…

The 0:58 mark on this video is a perfect example of Rodgers hesitancy in the pocket. It’s been noted extensively, but I found this particular play interesting for two reasons.

1. It’s a perfect illustration of Rodgers thinking too much. He looks at James Jones to his right as his first read. Then, you can almost see him think “Oh wait, coach told me I was telegraphing last week” and he pulls off Jones and looks to his left. When he comes back to Jones, he’s open, but Rodgers has…
2. Drifted in the pocket. Again and again Saturday night, Rodgers jumped in the pocket unnecessarily. Several times, as in the one in focus here, he simply drifts himself out of a play.

Now, it can of course be noted that the interior of his line did him no favors, but Rodgers needs to be able, especially when the offense comes out in its Big Five formation as it does in the play in question, to feel when the time is right to escape the pocket. Here again, I think it’s pretty obvious Rodgers is being too precious with the criticism early in camp that he was bailing on plays too early. Perhaps, if the protection has been much like it was on Saturday, we have a clue as to why that was happening.

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• What If…

Watching last night, I wasn’t so interested in Rodgers’ abilities on the field. I know that he will be more than serviceable as the Packers’ starting quarterback and he’s in great hands with McCarthy as his coach. But what I WAS interested in more than anything was Rodgers’ demeanor both on and off the field. Early in his career, Rodgers was quick to bark at teammates if they made an error, mistaking being vocal for leadership. Last night we saw a completely different quarterback. Apart from his obvious displeasure after the interception (which is understandable) he was never overly demonstrative about anything, even when Jones ran in for a touchdown with his helmet off. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t make his displeasure clear to Brandon Jackson after Jackson’s blown blitz pickup on the Packers’ first offensive possession of the game. ESPN had a great replay of it, which I rewound a couple times last night to be sure I was seeing exactly what I thought. The best replay I can find of it online today is here. Take a look at the 0:36 mark. Rodgers is on the ground, looks up and just shoots daggers at Jackson with his eyes. On the live broadcast, you see Rodgers get up. No words are said. But Jackson knows he screwed up and let down not only his starting quarterback, but his team. It’s the kind of thing Rodgers would have exploded about in his rookie season and made not only himself look foolish, but his teammate as well. It speaks to his progress that he never lost his cool at the beginning of the game, even though it seemed as if he was playing with the Key Stone Cops for a series or two.

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• Can Rodgers Break the Tedford Curse?

Aaron Rodgers, James Jones, Aaron Rouse
Brandon Jackson, Bob Sanders, Alfred Malone
	Chris Francies

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• What I Don’t Get…

…can we now stop worrying about Rodgers?

An off-the-top-of-my-head list of Aaron Rodgers’ teammates miscues tonight:

• Jason Spitz forgets the snap count (or the entire offensive line does - take your pick)
• Brandon Jackson is completely inept on a very simple blitz pickup
• Donald Driver drops a perfect pass
• Ditto Chris Francies
• Ditto James Jones (though Jones gets a reprieve for later taking a monster hit and continuing on to the end zone)
• Brandon Jackson sets up a ‘Come On In’ sign in the backfield again

You get the point.

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• What I Don’t Get…

I can’t tell you how much I hate this news. Of all the things Aaron Rodgers should be worrying about right now, getting a new contract is not one of them.

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• Think About This

In a lengthy piece over at Yahoo! Sports, Michael Silver brings us all up to date on what has led Favre and the Packers to this point. It’s a great read, full of comment-worthy items, but I’d just like to focus on one that appears at the beginning of the article.

Aaron Rodgers…paused during an individual drill late in the Green Bay Packers’ training camp practice Tuesday afternoon and spied a little boy, maybe 6, among the hundreds of spectators lining the Oneida Street side of Clarke Hinkle Field.“We don’t love you,” the kid said. “You suck.”

First of all, someone needs to smack that kid.

Secondly, where is he getting this stuff? Oh, that’s right. From his Northeast Wisconsin hobbit parents. I am so sick and tired of the willful ignorance that I encountered while visiting the once-great-but-now-suspect state of Wisconsin. This kids parents have obviously told him “Brett Favre is the greatest player ever and the Packers don’t want him back. Aaron Rodgers sucks and won’t win anything. Now go have fun watching practice!” Question for this kids parents: When Ron Wolf traded a first round pick for a third string quarterback, what did you do? Oh that’s right. You lambasted him and were perched on the rails at training camp telling Favre how much he sucked and how Don Majkowski was the greatest quarterback since Bart Starr. In short: You don’t know a damn thing about playing quarterback in the NFL, or about football in general. Stop spreading your ignorance to the next generation, who should have their OWN heroes to cheer for.

Again, this is only one small, fairly inconsequential part of the whole  Silver article. You really should read the whole thing. That first part just really got to me.

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• What I Don’t Get…

From the Insider Blog over at the Green Bay Press Gazette:

As some fans again were chanting “We want Favre” during a red-zone team drill, Aaron Rodgers proceeded to get his pass batted down at the line of scrimmage by Cullen Jenkins. Some of the chanting fans erupted into cheers — such is the circus-like atmosphere that has pervaded Clarke Hinkle Field

These people are a disgrace to Packer fans everywhere. I’m happy to report that Rodgers responded by throwing a touchdown pass to James Jones.

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• What I Don’t Get…