Tweet
Rodgers shines in minicamp
Packers quarterback has chance with Favre absent
Posted: Thursday May 25, 2006 4:47PM; Updated: Thursday May 25, 2006 4:47PM
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Aaron Rodgers didn't look like a guy preparing for another year of clipboard duty during the Green Bay Packers' most recent minicamp.
Rodgers took the majority of snaps with the first team in Brett Favre's absence, talking about his "sky-high" confidence and an intimate knowledge of the new playbook that allows him to serve as a "coach on the field."
Rodgers probably won't see much of the field again this year after Favre ended months of speculation by pledging to return for at least one more season.
But Favre was excused from last weekend's practices, allowing last year's first-round pick to show off the results of his hard work in the offseason.
Rodgers' practice habits earned praise from new Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who has emphasized offseason workouts and preparation in his first few months on the job.
"Obviously the hours he's logged in to the offseason are tremendous," McCarthy said. "You see a comfortable quarterback. You don't see a guy that's searching, going through his reads. He's putting the ball in the right place and he's throwing the ball in rhythm, too."
Favre's return will continue to be on a part-time basis through the Packers' organized team activity workouts next month, giving Rodgers even more chances to work with the starters and prove he was worth the 24th overall pick in last year's draft.
"I've kind of been 'the guy' all spring, so that's not really a different role," Rodgers said. "(It's) just an opportunity to exert leadership and work on things to get better, start getting those guys to follow my lead."
Favre's indecision on his football future forced Rodgers to prepare as if he was going to be the starting quarterback. So it shouldn't have been surprising to see Rodgers taking command at times during minicamp, telling his receivers where they were supposed to be during the initial installations of McCarthy's new offense.
"I feel like I've got (the plays) down really well," Rodgers said. "I'm a coach on the field like I need to be, like we prepared this offseason to be."
A confidence boost? Not really, he said.
"I don't need a confidence boost," Rodgers said. "I'm sky-high confidence-wise."
Many of Rodgers' teammates call him by a nickname, "A-Rodg" _ a sign he's earned at least some level of acceptance in the locker room.
But Rodgers still hasn't gotten much of a chance to prove himself in games, so he's still something of an unknown to his teammates.
"Personally, I've always had confidence in A-Rodg," said running back Ahman Green. "It's just, I know that without seeing him in live action, you don't know what a guy can really do."
Rodgers' only significant playing time as a rookie came in the second half of the Packers' lopsided loss in Baltimore Dec. 19. He didn't do much to distinguish himself that night -- but neither did most of his teammates.
"You know what his talent level is coming from college, but to see where he fits in in an NFL game is where you exactly see what a true competitiveness, the true athleticism comes out of a guy like A-Rodg," Green said. "And I believe it's there. He has a strong arm. He has the mental capacity to handle our playbook."
The upcoming workouts will give Rodgers a chance to work on timing and chemistry with his receivers.
"The biggest thing with him is, he has to trust us," Donald Driver said. "We trust him, he just has to get the trust with us. Once he gets to knowing where we're going to be at -- just as Brett has the communication with us -- then everything will work."
Rodgers and the offense got off to what McCarthy called a "sloppy" start last weekend but improved quickly. Rodgers said he wants to become more consistent.
"I think you see that with the guys that stick in this league for the longest time are the guys that are consistent day-in, day-out, practice-in, practice-out," Rodgers said. "That just comes with experience and learning the offense and I feel like I'm being more consistent."
McCarthy, who was the Packers' quarterbacks coach in 1999 before offensive coordinator stints in New Orleans and San Francisco, is taking a hands-on approach to coaching quarterbacks.
"I think he understands a little more what we go through day-to-day and our thought process," Rodgers said. "As much as he puts on the quarterback in our offense, we have a lot of interaction one-on-one -- what I'm thinking, what I'm seeing as far as making checks at the line of scrimmage and then pre-snap and post-snap drops and reads."
McCarthy said Favre will attend the Packers' organized team activity workouts "on and off" next month, giving Rodgers and the other quarterbacks -- second-year player Tom Arth and rookie Ingle Martin -- a chance to prove themselves. Green said he expects to see a lot of Rodgers with the first team, even in preseason games.
Rodgers will take all the experience he can get.
"There's a lot of areas I need to work on in order to reach my expectations, which are probably higher than anyone else out there," Rodgers said.
Comment