ARod

[HarveyWallbangers]

This has nothing to do with Favre. It's just nice to see some of the comments from his teammates.


“I’m very happy for him,’’ said Donald Driver. “That was the big thing with him, he wanted to come out there and play. He wanted to prove it to the world. And I said, ‘What better place to prove to the world that you can start to be one of the greatest quarterbacks than on Monday Night Football.’ And he when out and did that.’’


“Aaron’s a natural born leader,’’ said center Jason Spitz. “He always commanded respect in the huddle, just by the way he executed the offense.’’


“I don’t think he could have handled this whole situation better,’’ said Korey Hall. “You can’t imagine the amount of pressure he has on his shoulders right now. He went out and he was collected and calm; he made good decisions and I think he won the respect of a lot of people. I think more people have faith in him now.’’


“I’ve said this all along, he understands what life is about,” Aaron Kampman said. “I think he understands that he plays for a bigger purpose than himself. I think he understands he has something special inside of him.”


“What you guys don’t know about Aaron, he has a lot of confidence in himself,” Nick Barnett said. “That’s what you need, especially at that position and what he went through. He’s got that confidence and composure. Everybody in this locker room had faith in him.”


"People need to get behind him," tackle Chad Clifton said. "He's a good football player. You would have thought he was a 10-year veteran tonight. Very calm, very collected. Played an outstanding game."


"We've always been confident (in Rodgers)," veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher said. "The great thing about it is he's going to stay even-keeled, (even if) people are going to be patting him on the back. He realizes that each week you have to perform. I'm sure we're all going to enjoy this, but we'll move on to the next week, and we have to go do it again."

Tauscher, among several admiring teammates, called Rodgers' coming-out performance "spectacular."

"He came out with a lot of people kind of judging how he was going to do, but he came out and played like we expected him to play," Tauscher said. "I think that's what he expected of himself, and that kind of exudes through to everybody else. Guys have a lot of confidence in him."


"It was Mr. Rodgers' neighborhood officially when we started training camp," Packers receiver Greg Jennings said in hindsight after the game Monday.


"He's young, he's excited, he's fired up to be out there," Packers guard Darren Colledge said. "It's not old hat for him. He's just excited to get out and play football, and you can see that.

"He's pure energy inside the huddle, and he's positive about everything. He thinks we can convert on any situation. That's the kind of guy you want in there."

[Freak Out]

He looked very relaxed out there...his time on the the bench was well spent it seems. I was so bummed when the Driver TD was called back..that was a heck of a read and throw.

[]{ilr]3]

He looked very relaxed out there...his time on the the bench was well spent it seems. I was so bummed when the Driver TD was called back..that was a heck of a read and throw.

Those Refs must have wanted to get there names known nationally or something. Watching the replay, if Moll was down field his big toe must have been the only thing that was 5 yards down field. I thought it was sick the way those refs tried to control the game.

[MJZiggy]

He did a great job out there last night and it's good to see his teammate applaud him this way. He was sitting in a pressure cooker and managed to keep his cool. Impressive.

[sheepshead]

{ilr]3]
He looked very relaxed out there...his time on the the bench was well spent it seems. I was so bummed when the Driver TD was called back..that was a heck of a read and throw.

Those Refs must have wanted to get there names known nationally or something. Watching the replay, if Moll was down field his big toe must have been the only thing that was 5 yards down field. I thought it was sick the way those refs tried to control the game.

That call was so weak and it had nothing to do with the play.

[The Gunshooter]

{ilr]3]
He looked very relaxed out there...his time on the the bench was well spent it seems. I was so bummed when the Driver TD was called back..that was a heck of a read and throw.

Those Refs must have wanted to get there names known nationally or something. Watching the replay, if Moll was down field his big toe must have been the only thing that was 5 yards down field. I thought it was sick the way those refs tried to control the game.

I don't know exactly how the rules read but that's what Isaw too, he may have been barely 5 yards but the ball was in the air also.

[TheRaven]

I thought the refs were a bit excessive on the continual calls, but it at least did appear to me that Moll was 5 yards down the field. I have only seen the replay once though, so maybe I am wrong.

[LL2]

Arod did great! It's one game though and there are 15 more to go, and many more seasons to play. I was pissed that the TD throw to Driver was called back too.

[HarveyWallbangers]

He'll have another test this week. His first road game. The team might have a letdown on a short week. Detroit always gets fired up playing us. I think this will be a good test. He needs to keep mistakes to a minimum and take his chances when they are there.

[mission]

March:

when i watch Rodgers, I see a little bit of the IT factor... a little swagger, that joe montana "hey, is that john candy up there?" confidence... i think he'll be a great game manager and really fit our scheme and ill be honest, i was the last guy sold on him up until even that Dallas game ... he's only going to get better. There's a vibe with him.

Also March:

Rodgers is starting to really grow on me. I like his swagger ... that's infectious. I was an average QB at best but cocky (and still am) as hell and I feel like that raised the game of the guys around me. He's not gonna be Favre, who ever will be, but if he can stay healthy (and so far that's a big IF), then he's gonna help us win more games than we lose.

He's got that Northern california stoner boy vibe about him... likeable, confident, but down to earth all the same ...

Also March:

i like his swagger. he's cocky ... that's so important. im lookin forward to this year.

July:


i see it in rodgers, his poise, demeanor, cockiness/swagger ... favre has a flare for the dramatic. see the broncos big win, the giants loss, the retirement, the unretirement ...

dramatic doesn't usually win super bowls. being cool, calm and collected does ...

I sound like a broken record with some of those posts (i get it) but I was saying the same shit about him that his teammates are gushing with. Over and over and over and over again. Getting argued with over and over and over again.

It's not like I've ever been to a practice or know what his teammates are saying outside of the media. I was just a pretty decent QB in my day and it doesn't take Norm Chow to tell from the Cowboys game that he had the X Factor. Consistency blah blah and all that is great but when you have IT, you WILL be consistent. A-rod is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Joe fucking cool. That's the recurring comment in all of his teammates comments...

The fact that it took (is still taking) so long for some of you people to recognize the intangibles just exhibits the level of casualness in football understanding that some of you have. Not trying to talk down although that's how it will come across but really... just watch the guy... forget about passes and X's and O's for a second. Just watch his body language. Just that.

I dont want to say it was OBVIOUS but the only worry Ive ever "verbalized" was his durability ...

I've been saying this!

[/b]

[oregonpackfan]

Using the Olympic scale for gymnastics and diving, I would rate Rodgers' performance a 9.9.

His stats were impressive at 18 of 22 passing attempts and a 115 passer rating. He brings a dimension that Favre no longer has--he can run the ball for first downs--something he did at least three times.

Just as important, Rodgers demonstrated leadership, poise, and good judgment. On the TD pass to Kuhn, analyst Ron Jaworski pointed out that Rodgers looked at 3 different receivers before he chose to throw to Kuhn.

Rodgers also held up extremely well for the emotional pressure of: his first NFL start, appearing on MNF, and dealing with being the successor to the whole Favre saga debacle.

My confidence in his abilities jumped even higher after that game.

[mission]

A-Rod highlights from last night:
http://www.nfl.com/videos;jsessionid=BC3E22129EB990D610B096F26CDB29DE ?campaign=ec0005&videoId=09000d5d80aa8d33

[Rastak]

I thought he looked pretty good. Nice throw and a great catch by Jennings. There were two plays that really won the game for the Packers and that was one of them.


The special teams TD was the difference in the game but so was Rodgers. He really played well after settling down.


I still can't believe the Vikings had more total offense and lost the damn thing!


It was a helluva tough game though. Hats off to GB.

[swede]

Rodgers demonstrated leadership, poise, and good judgment. On the TD pass to Kuhn, analyst Ron Jaworski pointed out that Rodgers looked at 3 different receivers before he chose to throw to Kuhn.

That play was an excellent example of how the game has slowed down for Rodgers.

He even seemed to create a brand-new release point high and away from his body in order to get the best angle on that pass, throwing to a spot where it was gonna be a TD or incomplete.

As a casual fan, I can't claim I had the esoteric tools or foresight needed to identify and document my precocious confidence in AROD's possessing of the "IT" factor.

I think I might be seeing a glimpse of it through the casual haze, though.

[Scott Campbell]

I still can't believe the Vikings had more total offense and lost the damn thing!


Is that the equivalent of "losing pretty"?

[HarveyWallbangers]

I still can't believe the Vikings had more total offense and lost the damn thing!

Is that the equivalent of "losing pretty"?

Let's be real here. We can say this penalty wasn't called or that one. This play or that. This stat or that. The bottom line is that the Packers looked like the better team last night. They don't add punt return yards onto total yards, so that's going to skew the stats. The Packers got 76 yards on one punt return, scoring 7 points, and eliminating a drive. Partly because of that and some of the big plays by the Packers offense, the Vikings had 20 more plays, but only 38 more yards. With the two score leads, the Packers got conservative on offense, so that helped the Vikings out in the second half. I can understand bringing this up if there was a huge disparity in yards or if the Vikings looked like a better team, but that wasn't the case. I hear a lot of whining about the officiating from Viking fans today on KFAN. I also hear things like we just gave up three fluky plays, but at no point did I feel the Vikings looked like a better team. They have a great run defense and they have a Hall of Fame talent at RB, but they just didn't look good enough in a lot of other areas. The Packers looked like a better all around team.

Now, it was only one game, so this season is far from over.

[AV David]

"Watching the replay, if Moll was down field his big toe must have been the only thing that was 5 yards down field. I thought it was sick the way those refs tried to control the game."




I'm not positive, but I think you only get two yards down field in a pass situation.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I don't think you can go downfield at all if you aren't blocking anybody. It was a stupid play by Moll and the Vikings got lucky because they didn't do anything to force the penalty, but the officials got the call right.

On the other hand, I've heard a lot of people say we got lucky on the Shiancoe call, but completions are different than fumbles. Unless they changed the rule, the receiver has to catch the ball and make a football move. Otherwise, the receiver has to maintain possession even after he hits the ground. The ground can't cause a fumble, but the ground can cause an incompletion in that case.

[boiga]

This was on the JSO blog, but I also found it on a old forum: here (http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/the-inevitable-problem-with-the-hidden-audible)

Section 2 Pass Interference/Ineligible Player Downfield
Article 1 Pass interference can only occur when there is a forward pass thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. This applies regardless of whether the pass crosses the line.
(a) The restriction for the offensive team begins with the snap.
(b) The restriction for the defensive team begins when the ball leaves the passer’s hands.
Article 2 It is a foul when an ineligible offensive player (including a T-formation quarterback),
prior to a legal forward pass:
(a) advances beyond his line, after losing contact with an opponent at the line of scrimmage;
(b) loses contact with an opponent downfield after the initial charge and then continues to advance or move laterally; or
(c) moves downfield without contacting an opponent at the line of scrimmage.
The above restrictions end when the ball leaves the passer’s hand.
Note: The guideline for officials to use for an ineligible player(s) to be illegally downfield: the offending player must be more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage prior to the pass.
Penalty: Ineligible offensive player downfield: loss of 5 yards from previous spot.
Article 3 It is not a foul for an ineligible receiver downfield when ineligible receivers:
(a) block an opponent at the line of scrimmage drives him downfield, loses the block
and remains stationary;
(b) are forced behind their line;
(c) move laterally behind their line (before or after contact of their initial charge) provided
they do not advance beyond their line until the ball leaves the passer’s hands; or
(d) have legally crossed their line in blocking an opponent (eligible offensive player A1 may complete a pass between them and the offensive line).
Article 4 After the ball leaves the passer’s hand, ineligible forward pass receivers can advance:
(a) from behind their line;
(b) from their own line; or
(c) from their initial charge position, provided they do not block or contact a defensive player(s) until the ball is touched by a player of either team. Such prior blocking and/or contact is forward pass interference.


edit: bolding what Moll did.

[Rastak]

I still can't believe the Vikings had more total offense and lost the damn thing!

Is that the equivalent of "losing pretty"?

Let's be real here. We can say this penalty wasn't called or that one. This play or that. This stat or that. The bottom line is that the Packers looked like the better team last night. They don't add punt return yards onto total yards, so that's going to skew the stats. The Packers got 76 yards on one punt return, scoring 7 points, and eliminating a drive. Partly because of that and some of the big plays by the Packers offense, the Vikings had 20 more plays, but only 38 more yards. With the two score leads, the Packers got conservative on offense, so that helped the Vikings out in the second half. I can understand bringing this up if there was a huge disparity in yards or if the Vikings looked like a better team, but that wasn't the case. I hear a lot of whining about the officiating from Viking fans today on KFAN. I also hear things like we just gave up three fluky plays, but at no point did I feel the Vikings looked like a better team. They have a great run defense and they have a Hall of Fame talent at RB, but they just didn't look good enough in a lot of other areas. The Packers looked like a better all around team.

Now, it was only one game, so this season is far from over.


I never said there was a huge disparity in yards. I said the Vikings got more of them and lost!

I agree the Packers looked like the better team. No arguments here.


Would you add in returns if you were arguing the Bears the last couple of years? Unlikely... :wink:


I don't listen to KFAN much since I got XM radio so no comment.

Packers won at home by 5. I thought Arod looked good and hats off to the GB team in general. A game well played....after that horrible 1st quarter by both teams that is.

[Rastak]

I don't think you can go downfield at all if you aren't blocking anybody. It was a stupid play by Moll and the Vikings got lucky because they didn't do anything to force the penalty, but the officials got the call right.

On the other hand, I've heard a lot of people say we got lucky on the Shiancoe call, but completions are different than fumbles. Unless they changed the rule, the receiver has to catch the ball and make a football move. Otherwise, the receiver has to maintain possession even after he hits the ground. The ground can't cause a fumble, but the ground can cause an incompletion in that case.


They did drop the the stupid term football move last year actually.

[Chevelle2]

I don't think you can go downfield at all if you aren't blocking anybody. It was a stupid play by Moll and the Vikings got lucky because they didn't do anything to force the penalty, but the officials got the call right.

On the other hand, I've heard a lot of people say we got lucky on the Shiancoe call, but completions are different than fumbles. Unless they changed the rule, the receiver has to catch the ball and make a football move. Otherwise, the receiver has to maintain possession even after he hits the ground. The ground can't cause a fumble, but the ground can cause an incompletion in that case.


They did drop the the stupid term football move last year actually.

Hahah yeah, now its a "discernible length of time" hahah WTF

[Chevelle2]

I don't think you can go downfield at all if you aren't blocking anybody. It was a stupid play by Moll and the Vikings got lucky because they didn't do anything to force the penalty, but the officials got the call right.


From what I understand the penatly for illegal man downfield was Rodgers fault. I believe what happened was this:

He called a run play in the huddle. But, at the line, he audibled to a pass play. Now, in his audible, he checked off to the recievers.

Typically the QB throws the ball immediately after the snap. This time he pumped and waited for Driver to get downfield, during which time the o-linemen went out to run-block, still thinking it was a run play.

The olinemen, thinking it was still a run play, ran downfield to block, while, unbeknownst to them, Rodgers was back there slingin it.

[HarveyWallbangers]

From what I understand the penatly for illegal man downfield was Rodgers fault.

It sounds to me like McCarthy thinks Moll was at fault.


(The illegal downfield penalty on Moll, what is the rule?)

They give you a yard past...Based on my understanding and looking at the picture, the engagement of the block, he ended up falling forward and got too far downfield. But we should have been engaged there, that shouldn't have been a problem based on the defense and the way we were blocking it.

[Chevelle2]

From what I understand the penatly for illegal man downfield was Rodgers fault.

It sounds to me like McCarthy thinks Moll was at fault.


(The illegal downfield penalty on Moll, what is the rule?)

They give you a yard past...Based on my understanding and looking at the picture, the engagement of the block, he ended up falling forward and got too far downfield. But we should have been engaged there, that shouldn't have been a problem based on the defense and the way we were blocking it.

Thanks for the clarification!

[boiga]

They did drop the the stupid term football move last year actually. Now they have to get two feet down and maintain control of the ball on the way to the ground. He didn't maintain control, and thus it was an incomplete pass. Good call there.

Moll fell forward after losing contact with the guy he was blocking more than 1 yard ahead of the line of scrimmage. He had to remain stationary after losing contact according to the rules I just posted. Ticky tack call.

[Bossman641]

From what I understand the penatly for illegal man downfield was Rodgers fault.

It sounds to me like McCarthy thinks Moll was at fault.


(The illegal downfield penalty on Moll, what is the rule?)

They give you a yard past...Based on my understanding and looking at the picture, the engagement of the block, he ended up falling forward and got too far downfield. But we should have been engaged there, that shouldn't have been a problem based on the defense and the way we were blocking it.


On the illegal man down field penalty, how far down the field is a lineman allowed to go while the quarterback is behind the line of scrimmage? Is there anything else affecting this call? --Max Salk, Northbrook, Ill.

Under NFL rules, it is a foul when an ineligible offensive player, including a T-formation quarterback, prior to a legal forward pass advances beyond the line of scrimmage after losing contact with an opponent at the line of scrimmage. The guidline for officials to use is the offending player must be more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage prior to the pass.
If you watch the replay, Moll wasn't engaged with anyone. I think he maybe doubled on the DE for a split second before moving downfield to find a LB. I think Moll should have stayed on his block longer, he didn't, hence the call.

[Brohm]

I don't think you can go downfield at all if you aren't blocking anybody. It was a stupid play by Moll and the Vikings got lucky because they didn't do anything to force the penalty, but the officials got the call right.

On the other hand, I've heard a lot of people say we got lucky on the Shiancoe call, but completions are different than fumbles. Unless they changed the rule, the receiver has to catch the ball and make a football move. Otherwise, the receiver has to maintain possession even after he hits the ground. The ground can't cause a fumble, but the ground can cause an incompletion in that case.


They did drop the the stupid term football move last year actually.

I thought it was a catch at first and was confident it would be overturned. However, when looking at the replay, it did look like the ball was coming out prior to him hitting the ground, thus the incompletion. Either they saw what I saw or have a much better angle. Or maybe is was just inconclusive and they gave a crappy explanation. Vikings got the 1st afterwards anyways but the loss of the timeout was a kicker for them.

[boiga]

I thought it was a catch at first and was confident it would be overturned. However, when looking at the replay, it did look like the ball was coming out prior to him hitting the ground, thus the incompletion. Either they saw what I saw or have a much better angle. Or maybe is was just inconclusive and they gave a crappy explanation. Vikings got the 1st afterwards anyways but the loss of the timeout was a kicker for them. From my viewpoint, it looked like the ground caused the ball to come loose. But that doesn't matter. If he goes to the ground, he has to maintain control of the ball through the entire process.

It's the same as if he had gotten two feet in before falling out of bounds, and the ball came loose upon impact. They've made the rules a little more consistent by using the same criteria in both cases. Two feet down, maintain control going to the ground.

Edit: If any one is interested, here's Mike Pereira the NFL VP of Officiating discussing this and the force outs: http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80a7b1bc

[Harlan Huckleby]

Just as important, Rodgers demonstrated leadership, poise, and good judgment. .

Plus he excelled in talent, and killed in the swimsuit competition.