Rodgers’ Development

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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