Aaron Rodgers Should Not Play Against the Chargers
No way Aaron Rodgers should play against the Chargers Thursday night.
By JohnRehor
The Packers will play the Chargers in their first preseason game at nowhere close to full strength.
Mike McCarthy has already ruled out Marshall Newhouse, Brandon Saine and Sam Shields among others for Thursday, leaving the window of opportunity for guys like Herb Taylor, Du'ane Bennett, and Casey Heyward to further establish their NFL careers, whether it is as a member of the Packers or not.
It is the first player listed, Taylor, that concerns me the most.
With Newhouse out, and Derek Sherrod still not ready to play, Taylor it would seem would be the next man up in the rotation at left tackle. And based on the comments Mike McCarthy said today, it would appear that Taylor might get a long look at left tackle. Brian Carriveau summed the situation up succinctly:
Based upon McCarthy's comments, I'm inferring that Herb Taylor will be the starting left tackle for Thursday's preseason opener.
I understand this is training camp, and all players are being analyzed with a fine tooth comb, trying to determine if they are going to be part of the future of this team. But we are talking about the MVP of the league, the most important player on the team, being protected on his blind side by someone like Taylor, a player who has not taken a snap in the regular season since 2008. It is something I am not comfortable with-at all.
Even if Rodgers were to play only one series (a very good possibility) rolling the dice with Taylor protecting Rodgers is potentially putting Rodgers at huge risk for injury. One quick move off the edge by one of the Chargers defenders could result in serious injury to Rodgers. An injury to Rodgers, and who knows what the season could turn into. Remember the disaster that Allen Barbre was in 2009? This could be another repeat of that.
If I was Mike McCarthy, I would not let Rodgers anywhere near the field Thursday night, and would give the Chargers a heavy dose of Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman. The MVP doesn't need one or two series to prove anything, and certainly doesn't need to be put at a bigger risk for injury.
Comments (5)
August 07, 2012 at 06:43 pm
Sometimes in order to get out what someone may have inside...you need to show your trust and faith in them to protect your most valued jewel.
However,I would rather another team perform such!
August 07, 2012 at 06:47 pm
Gee whiz John, what next, put a skirt on him? McCarthy isn't going let him get killed. It will most likely be only one series and I believe the coaches can game plan around the lack a legitimate left tackle. Maybe they will take the Saint's approach. You didn't see Drew Breeze throwing many passes. This could be a good opportunity to see if we have any kind of a running game.
JohnRehor
August 07, 2012 at 07:08 pm
No skirts necessary. Just think the protection of the most important player on the team takes priority over everything else. If Rodgers got injured during the one series he played as a result of Taylor, everyone would be up in arms saying MM was stupid for playing him in the first place. Not playing him eliminates that possibility
August 08, 2012 at 12:07 pm
I hear you but living in fear is no way to live.
JohnRehor
August 09, 2012 at 05:05 am
I guess I don't get how that one series Rodgers would play is going to matter much-unless he were to get hurt. And with no proven back up (sorry, Harrell) that could change things dramatically. Just seems too risky to me.