~WHY THE PACKERS WILL MOTOR THRU DETROIT STILL UNDEFEATED

By Christopher Madden, Packers Insider Analyst

1- Aaron Rodgers
He is the unquestioned MVP of the NFL so far in 2011 and will be the best player on the field.  He has shown the ability to get anyone and everyone involved in the game and prevents any defense from being able to shut down the pass because he simply has too many weapons and knows how to use them all to beat any defense.

The Lions are potent and have talent everywhere on their D-Line. But they've lost at home already this season to Alex Smith and Matt Ryan. Rodgers is a league above those two guys. Advantage Packers.

2- Aaron Rodgers
He is so good he deserves another comment.  He is a winner.  Having won the Super Bowl this February and battling for weeks of must-win games makes a game like this just another game for him. This game won’t phase Rodgers and he actually thrives in moments like this.
He has won and played at an extremely high level in the highest of stages in last year’s Super Bowl so this will be just another game for him unlike the QB who will be taking the snaps for the Lions.

If Rodgers could handle the Steelers with Harrison, Woodley, Polamalu, and coach Dick LeBeau with ease in a loud dome, he can handle the Lions defense in a dome.

3- Charles Woodson
He loves the spotlight, and coming back to Michigan seems to always bring out his best.  Two years ago he took back an INT for a touchdown in a Packers Slaughter on Turkey Day and he will be looking to do it again Thursday. Yes, he will get beat a few times but the risk seems to always be worth the reward every time number 21 lines up in the game so Matthew Stafford better be careful.

Former Michigan Wolverine Charles Woodson loves to return to Detroit. While he has had problems with Calvin Johnson (what CB hasn't), he's also feasted a bit on Stafford. Here, Thanksgiving 2009, Woodson pick-6'd Stafford. Will we see another one this week?

4- Clay Matthews
Points will be plenty in this game, but having a guy with his motor will be an added bonus when looking for that key sack to stop a drive.  Clay seems to thrive in big games and having the national spotlight on him this day will be just what he needs.  I would expect two sacks for him in this game.

5- Packers Experience
Having so many guys that have won a Super Bowl, Playoff games on the road, and every team gearing up for them each week has only made this team tougher.  This has nothing to do with what they will face in Detroit but Green Bay has become the New England of the NFL, the team that everyone aspires to be.

Expect Coach McCarthy and Rodgers to exit Ford Field Thursday at 11-0, and to enjoy a team Turkey dinner later that night.

Prediction
Green Bay 37
Detroit 24

Detroit will get their points. Green Bay will get theirs. This is a game for men. The home crowd will be louder then ever before at Ford Field. It will work until the middle of the third quarter. That is when the thoroughbreds will make their move. It will come quick. It will take a close game and bring it out of reach.

WHY THE PACKERS STREAK WILL STOP IN DETROIT
By Brian E Murphy, Packers Insider senior Editor

#1- The Packers defense has made lesser QB’s and offenses look great this year
Matthew Stafford and the Lions are coming off a 35-point second half at home vs. Carolina en route to a 49-35 win over the Panthers. Stafford threw 5 touchdown passes in the game. And none went to Calvin Johnson.
The Packers have made numerous quarterbacks look Hall of Famish at times this year, from great ones like Drew Brees, to struggling Philip Rivers, rookie Cam Newton, and bottom-10 Josh Freeman this past week.

If Rivers and the Chargers can roll up 38 points, on grass, against the Packers defense, these Lions could put up 49 on these Packers as they did to Carolina on Sunday.

Sadly for Packer fans, expect Lions QB Matthew Stafford to receive the "Galloping Gobbler" Thursday after handing the Packers their first loss of the season.

This is Stafford coming off a 5-touchdown game and his total of 20 touchdown passes this year is 4th in the NFL, behind only Rodgers, Brees, and Brady.

Remember, the Packers only scored 30 on Carolina in week two. Detroit just scored 49 on them over the final three quarters.

#2- The Lions beat the Packers last year once, and almost beat them in Green Bay as well. Both times with backup QB’s
Make no mistake about it. Believing you can beat a team can give a team the confidence that’s necessary to win. These guys know they can beat the Packers because they did it the past time Green Bay visited Ford Field. And they beat the Packers with their 3rd string QB, Drew Stanton. And they did it in a year they went 6-10. Now the Lions are 7-3, and have their franchise QB Stafford starting, as well as a healthy group of WR’s and TE’s.

#3- Megatron
Calvin Johnson has given Charles Woodson and the Packers fits since he entered the league. He’s beaten Woodson high and low, inside and outside, for touchdowns. And that was a younger Woodson.

While Woodson has had an interception for a touchdown each of the past two seasons against the Lions, Calvin Johnson has found the end zone quite a few times.

The Packers best bet will be to put the taller and faster Tramon Williams on Johnson. However, Packer fans might remember Mike Williams this past week having his best game of the season, with a touchdown and other big catches against Williams. Also, Tramon was victimized repeatedly in San Diego three weeks ago by Vincent Jackson, who had been struggling all year until that game.

Megatron torches Woodson, Tramon, Collins

Johnson is in a league of his own as far as talent and size go. He’s a mismatch for whoever the Packers put on him, as history shows.

#4- The Scheffler Factor
It’s no secret the Packers linebackers always have trouble with good tight ends. From Greg Olsen to Vernon Davis to Antonio Gates and now Kellen Winslow, opposing tight ends often have season highs against the heavy feet and slow hips of AJ Hawk and Desmond Bishop.

The Lions have Brandon Pettigrew starting at tight end, but it’s the dancing machine Tony Scheffler, Greg Jennings former teammate at Western Michigan, who find the end zone.

A sight for sore eyes? It is for Packer fans. Lions tight end Tony Scheffler has had plenty of touchdown dances this season.

All he does is catch touchdowns. And then do his creative John Travolta-esque dancing afterwards. Scheffler is happy to be out of Denver.

#5- The Lions Defensive Line
They’re talented and mean, and they take pride taking out quarterbacks. It was a seemingly harmless scramble last year that got Aaron Rodgers concussed and knocked out of the game, and it was a linebacker, DeAndre Levy. But the Lions D-Line will be getting after Rodgers and they have a relentless cast.

It starts with the dirty, but dominating Ndamukong Suh. But there’s also the relentless DE’s Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril off the edges, and former Packer Corey Williams and this year’s first rounder Nick Fairley in the middle. Fairley has also been fined for dirty hits, as Suh has repeatedly.

Aaron Rodgers helmet bounces into the Ford Field turf last year in the 2nd quarter. It would give Rodgers a concussion and end his game, and lead to the Packers losing the game, only scoring 3 points. The Lions, admit it or not, will be trying to put Rodgers on the sideline again Thursday. Rodgers has been too careless lately taking unnecessary hits and tackles. He has to throw the ball away instead of taking a sack, because on any tackle, a foot, ankle, or knee can be injured. Or a hand, as Jay Cutler found out Sunday.

These guys are capable of dominating the Packers offensive line, especially with Marshall Newhouse on one edge, and Bryan Bulaga on the other edge less-than-100% health-wise.

Rodgers has taken far too many hits the past few weeks, both in the pocket, out of the pocket, and running the ball.
Frightfully, his luck might run out this week, again in Detroit. We’ve just seen four other playoff-focused teams lose their quarterbacks for the season or a few games (Schaub in Houston, Vick in Philadelphia, Cassel in Kansas City, and Cutler in Chicago). Rodgers has been flirting with fire since the first time he faced Jared Allen back in week 7.

I don’t think the Packers offensive line can keep him clean enough in Detroit and I expect Rodgers to be battered in this game, clean or nor on the Lions part.

#6- The Ford Field Fanatics
Fair-weather fans or not, the place will be as loud as ever as they relish the opportunity to show they are contenders and knock off the defending champions in front of the rest of the league who will all be home watching it.

If you don’t think that crowd can be a factor against a superior Packers team, you might have forgotten a few Packers visits to Detroit during the Favre era. That team lost in Detroit even during their 1996 championship season, and much of it had to do with the crowd and crowd noise. Just like in Minnesota, the noise has an impact on the Packers offensive line. It gives the defense a slight head-start going after the quarterback.

Yes, the Packers still won at Minnesota despite Jared Allen sacking and chasing Rodgers all day. But that was only a 6-point win, and it was Christian Ponder’s first start ever at QB in the NFL. The crowd noise will be a factor on Thursday.

Ford Field will be rocking on Thanksgiving, and the fans and team will celebrate as if they had won the Super Bowl.

#7 Never-Say-Die
The Lions win over Carolina last week was the third time this season they have come back to win a game that they trailed by 17 or more points. These guys don’t mind falling behind. They never give up, and won’t be phased if Rodgers propels the Packers out to a 21-0 or 27-7 lead. The Lions have come back from more than that to beat the Cowboys and Vikings earlier this year.

Prediction:
Lions 45
Packers 35

As long as Rodgers and the other key guys exit Detroit relatively healthy, this loss will do more good than harm, as was the case the last time the Packers were 10-0 almost 50 years ago.

That was the 1962 season and those 10-0 Packers also lost in Detroit on Thanksgiving. That Packer team went on to win the NFL title. Will history repeat itself?

~Green Bay – James Jones took the two-second tour of Graham Harrell’s place.

One big screen TV, hooked up to a video game. One floor-level rocking chair for gamers. Clothes hung on doorknobs.

An air mattress.

“Yeah, but it’s a top-of-the-line air mattress,” said Harrell, citing the $200 cost.

Graham Harrell gives a little girl a hand slap while riding a bike to practice during training camp earlier this month.

That’s it.

That’s your third-string Green Bay Packers quarterback living large, rolling to work in his 2003 Nissan Altima and coming home to a sparsely furnished basement apartment.

“He needs a good girl to come around,” Jones, a veteran receiver, said with a laugh.

Or maybe an indication that he’s going to stick around.

With his performance so far, it is possible that Harrell might have a reason to hang up a Home Sweet Home sign in Green Bay.

In limited, late action against Cleveland and Arizona in preseason games, Harrell played very well. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown.

He looked comfortable rolling out in the bootleg or picking up a first down on the run. In a recent practice he wowed everyone with a 50-yard post throw to Tori Gurley.

“He’s always thrown a good ball, but he’s starting to understand the offense a lot more,” said Jones. “It’s a 360-degree change from last year to this year, especially when he gets in the shotgun; it’s like being back at Texas Tech.”

Harrell’s teammates say he’s at his best when he’s in the shotgun, the formation that helped him accrue 134 passing touchdowns and 1,403 completions at Texas Tech – the best in NCAA history – and 15,793 career passing yards, second best in NCAA history. Even behind Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn, Harrell’s ability is starting to stand out.

“The third team can be hectic, but when we go in the gun in two-minute, that’s how he played at Texas Tech,” said rookie receiver Randall Cobb. “That’s his bread and butter.”

Harrell looked even better against Arizona than he did in Cleveland, where he lost possession a couple of times. Getting sacked three times didn’t help – one hit came from Harrell’s blind side. Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said Harrell just needed to be more conscious of ball security and that comes with experience.

“We had four balls on the ground when he was in there and I think two were his fault and two were not,” said Clements.

Against the Cardinals, the protection was better and so was Harrell. He led a drive that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ryan Taylor, sealing a victory.

It’s a thrill for him, especially since Harrell might not be here if it weren’t for another NFL coach.

Even with 20 games passing for more than 400 yards with Texas Tech, Harrell wasn’t drafted. Just as Rodgers had to debunk some theories about Jeff Tedford-coached quarterbacks, Harrell may have to bypass a stereotype of quarterbacks who thrived in a Mike Leach spread offense.

“So many quarterbacks have come out of that kind of system, Leach’s offense in particular at Texas Tech, and all had great numbers,” said Harrell. “For one reason or another, they didn’t catch on in the league and they were all good quarterbacks.”

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy watches quarterback Graham Harrell throw a pass during NFL football training camp Saturday, July 30, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

At the combine, Harrell struck up a conversation with Carl Smith, then the quarterbacks coach in Cleveland who has since moved on to Seattle. Smith brought Harrell to the Browns as a free agent for a minicamp in 2009, but they already had a Brady Quinn-Derek Anderson quarterback battle.

So Harrell headed to the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was on their injured list, the CFL’s weird way of keeping players, especially American players, on the payroll so they aren’t claimed elsewhere. But he was healthy and practiced all season and said the bigger field helped expand his range.

“It forced you to make bigger throws,” said Harrell. “One of the knocks of Texas Tech quarterbacks – me or anyone out of there – is that we don’t make big throws, don’t want to go deep. You go to Canada with a 65-yard wide field, you have to make the big throw.”

The Browns called him back for a minicamp in 2010 again, but the numbers were against Harrell. He was let go. And then an unusual thing happened.

“Carl Smith said, ‘I’m going to get you somewhere,’ and he called six teams to get tryouts lined up,” said Harrell. “One of the teams he called was Green Bay. He knows Dom Capers pretty well and he called Dom. In this business, you don’t get people to do that for you too much.”

Capers is the defensive coordinator in Green Bay, and Harrell landed in Green Bay in May 2010. He spent most of last season on the practice squad until he was called up in mid-December to the active roster when Rodgers suffered his concussions. He didn’t play in any game.

Then the lockout offered a potential setback. Harrell missed all of coach Mike McCarthy and Clements’ quarterback school, instruction that Rodgers and Flynn found valuable in their development.

“The lack of the off-season probably did hurt him the most. Matt and Aaron had been through our off-season,” said Clements. “It’s a tough thing to refine the offense. It was hardest on Graham. The off-season would have been important for him.”

In quarterback school, the Packers go over the offense slowly, reviewing basics and instilling philosophies. They may work on a single drill in a 50-minute session.

There’s no time for that now in training camp, said Clements, so they’ve taken an abbreviated version, going over a drill or two a day and getting in a little extra meeting time.

Harrell seems to have responded. His off-season mostly consisted of running around with younger brother Clark. They’d lift in the morning and play tennis in the afternoon and basketball at night before Harrell would crash on Clark’s couch in Abilene, Texas.

“Every now and then I think Clark’s wife would get tired of me, but she’s a good sport,” said Harrell.

But Harrell is always around football-thinking family members. His father, Sam, was a high school coach, so dedicated to the game that even after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis he coached his kids from a golf cart. Harrell’s older brother Zac is also a coach.

Football is in Graham’s blood and that explains why the no-huddle shotgun remains an asset, because Harrell can fall back on his instincts and attack, keeping a watchful eye for a blitz to get him off his rhythm.

“It’s a lot of fun going no-huddle. You get the tempo up and the defense on their heels,” said Harrell. “Other guys can feel that too. Last year I was just trying to repeat what the coach told me and think, where is everyone going to be. Now, as soon as I hear it, I know what I’m doing.”

And where he’s staying.

Full story here

~It seemed fitting that Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews placed a golden heavyweight belt over quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ right shoulder as Rodgers cradled the Lombardi Trophy on the Cowboys Stadium presentation platform Sunday night.

Moments earlier, the Super Bowl XLV MVP took down the Pittsburgh Steelers while knocking out the sizable shadow of his Packers predecessor, Brett Favre.

Rodgers was the shining star of the Lone Star State Super Bowl. He passed for 304 yards and threw three touchdown passes to bring a fourth Super Bowl crown to Titletown, USA, with a legacy-stamping 31-25 victory.

Imagine: What if the Vikings didn't pass on Rodgers in the 2005 Draft, as they did not once but twice. They took WR Troy Williamson and DE Erasmus James with their two picks before Rodgers.

“It’s a special honor,” Rodgers said. “Individually, it’s the top of the mountain. It’s something you dream about as a kid.”

Rodgers had spent three long years shadow-boxing the memory of Favre, never saying a disparaging word. When he got his title shot, Rodgers showed the best way to replace a legend is to create your own.

“Aaron definitely knocked out the shadow of Brett Favre,” defensive end Cullen Jenkins said. “Everybody was talking about our lack of Super Bowl experience compared to the Steelers coming into this game.

“But Aaron looked pretty experienced to me. The Steelers were the ones who looked confused in their final two-minute drill.

“Now we’re going to the White House. Tell the haters they can kiss our Lombardi Trophy.”

Rodgers, 27, joins Bart Starr and Favre as Packers quarterbacks to win Super Bowls. And he follows Starr as the second Packers quarterback to be selected Super Bowl MVP, a feat Favre didn’t accomplish.

“He won the prize, and he won it during a very tough season when he lost some of the great weapons around him,” said Bob Harlan, the Packers’ chairman emeritus, referring to the team’s rash of injuries.

Said Starr: “I like Aaron for many reasons. He’s a super gentleman. You get that two minutes into chatting with him. He’s got a solid foundation and is a quality person. He’s committed to being great.

“Then you have his enthusiasm, his knowledge, his preparation for an opponent; the time he puts forth for that challenge each week is wonderful. When you have that, you can do great things.”

The kid from small-town Chico, Calif., has always dreamt big, hoping to emulate his San Francisco 49ers heroes, Joe Montana and Steve Young. Now Rodgers stands with them in Super Bowl lore.

The Packers have obviously hit a home run with their pick of Rodgers in 2005.

Rodgers more than justified the faith of general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy that he was ready to take the reins from Favre.

“I never felt there was a monkey on my back,” Rodgers said. “The organization stood behind me, believed in me.

“I told Ted back in 2005, he wouldn’t be sorry with this (draft) pick. I told him in 2008 that I was going to repay their trust and get us this opportunity.”

Bold move

McCarthy conveyed belief in his team by channeling his inner Vince Lombardi and having his players sized for their Super Bowl rings the night before they faced the Steelers.

“No disrespect to the Pittsburgh Steelers,” McCarthy said. “But we fully expected to win this game. This is our time.”

And the Packers are Rodgers’ team.

Favre won one Super Bowl in his 16 seasons in Green Bay. Rodgers has one after three seasons as a starter.

“Everybody in Green Bay and Wisconsin can exhale and say, ‘We’re really past Brett Favre,’ ” former Packers running back Dorsey Levens said. “Aaron won’t have to deal with the questions about Brett Favre anymore.

“Imagine what he had to overcome. The Packers drafted a guy to replace a legend who’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Packers fans didn’t want Brett to leave. The only guys who had Aaron’s back were Ted and Mike.

“For Aaron to succeed in that environment is just incredible.”

McCarthy put the game on Rodgers’ shoulders, asking him to throw it 42 times (Rodgers was sacked three times) compared with 13 called runs against the Steelers’ No. 1-ranked run defense.

“Aaron Rodgers is our quarterback, and I’m glad he’s our quarterback,” McCarthy said. “Brett Favre is a great quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. He’ll be a great Packer for the rest of his life.

“But this is about passing the torch from one quarterback to the next.”

What a season. What an improbable postseason run.

The Packers were a chic preseason NFC Super Bowl pick but stumbled to a 3-3 start amid various injuries. After suffering his second concussion of the season, Rodgers missed a Week 15 loss at the New England Patriots, leaving the Packers at 8-6 and needing to win their last two regular-season games to qualify for the postseason.

They did that and more, kicking off a six-game winning streak that culminated with a victorious Super Sunday, making the Packers the NFC’s first No. 6 seed to turn the trick.

Green Bay jumped to a 21-3 lead on the Steelers but lost veteran cornerback Charles Woodson to a broken collarbone and wideout Donald Driver to a badly sprained left ankle before halftime.

"Everybody in Green Bay and Wisconsin can exhale and say, 'We're really past Brett Favre,' " former Packers running back Dorsey Levens said. "Aaron won't have to deal with the questions about Brett Favre anymore. "Imagine what he had to overcome. The Packers drafted a guy to replace a legend who's going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and Packers fans didn't want Brett to leave. The only guys who had Aaron's back were Ted and Mike.

“This is like our season: We faced a lot of adversity, and guys stepped up,” Rodgers said of those final hurdles.

Lombardi goes home

It had been 14 years since the Packers, one of the league’s oldest, proudest franchises (founded in 1920), last won a Super Bowl.

“It’s time to bring the Lombardi Trophy back home,” McCarthy said.

They did it with a gritty team that overcame losing 15 starters to injured reserve. Green Bay starters missed a league-high 91 games to injuries.

“No one blinked,” McCarthy said.

It seemed perfect symmetry, in this year of an HBO documentary dedicated to the memory of Lombardi and a Broadway play celebrating the NFL coaching legend, that the Packers are bringing the 7-pound sterling silver trophy named in his honor back to Wisconsin.

“It’ll be fun driving down Lombardi Avenue with the Lombardi Trophy,” said wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who caught a career-best nine passes for a game-high 140 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh.

These Packers honored Lombardi in every sense.

“Lombardi would have loved coaching this team,” David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, wrote in an e-mail to USA TODAY.

“These Packers are balanced offensively and defensively, as Lombardi’s teams always were. It is a deep team with many good and great players but no outsized superstar, just like the old Packers.

“They are led by a brainy quarterback who was underrated or overshadowed at first and has a quiet determination.

“Aaron Rodgers is a more talented and nimble Bart Starr.”

The league’s only community-owned team is a celebration of NFL parity, showing how a franchise from a hamlet whose capacity is smaller than Cowboys Stadium’s can bring home the ultimate prize through shrewd drafting, belief and playing for each other.

“Whenever the team from the smallest city in professional sports does well, whenever a team that is owned by the people and not some wealthy megalomaniac does well, it is good for the soul,” Maraniss said.

“The beauty of the Packers is that they have all the mythology and symbolism of a dynasty. Yet they are different from other dynasties … so unlike the corporate super-rich Yankees or the glitzy glamour Cowboys and Lakers.

“So they don’t engender jealousies the way other dynasties do, excepting Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings fans from that equation. And you so often hear fans from other cities say the Packers are their second-favorite team.

“These Packers resemble the old Packers more than any Green Bay team since the 1960s.”

But instead of relying on Lombardi’s famed sweep featuring the punishing running of Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung and led by guards Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston, these Packers have built their foundation on the passing of Rodgers to Driver, Nelson, Greg Jennings and James Jones and a defense that limited playoff opponents — the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Bears and Steelers — to an average of 19 points in four postseason games.

The last time the Packers and Steelers met — a 37-36 Pittsburgh win in Week 15 of the 2009 season — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger marched Pittsburgh 86 yards in 11 plays, capping the win with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace after the Packers had gone up 36-30 with 2:06 to play.

This time, with the Steelers down six points with 87 yards to go and 2:07 remaining, the Green Bay defense held.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing to lose,” Roethlisberger said after throwing for 263 yards and two touchdowns. “For me, it’s even more disappointing because you feel like you let a lot of people down.”

In 20 games this season, the Packers did not allow a single touchdown in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, a testament to their defense’s will.

“I didn’t think we were getting respect as a defense,” Matthews said. “Defense wins championships. And here we are world champions. I like to think we etched our names as an all-time defense.”

And maybe as a new-age dynasty, returning a core of players who seem far from peaking.

“(Former general manager) Ron Wolf and I felt the team that won Super Bowl XXXI was really good enough to win two, maybe three Super Bowls,” Harlan said. “We didn’t get it done. But I think this team has the same potential.

“Ted Thompson knows how to build a football team. … He said he was going to build through the draft and build a deep roster. We’ve got a team with a great quarterback that can win for a long time.”

People in Green Bay weren’t saying that about Thompson or Rodgers three years ago when Thompson and McCarthy moved on from Favre after he abruptly unretired, leading to his 2008 trade to the New York Jets.

“I remember being up there the year when Ted traded Brett to the Jets, and I was on the field pregame at Lambeau Field,” Levens said. “I said, ‘Ted, I want to stand here and talk to you for a little while. But I’m a little nervous about standing next to you. … There’s a lot of hunters up here in Wisconsin, a lot of guys with orange vests.

Leader of the Pack.

” ‘I’m going to step over here and get away from you because you’re not the most popular guy up here.’ ”

Thompson has been validated as much as Rodgers, who threw nine postseason touchdown passes and found closure from Favre as the new king of Titletown with the symbolic championship title belt honoring his transformative performance.

“Aaron’s got that monkey off his back,” Driver said. “He’s a superstar quarterback in his own right. He’s on top of the football world. He has the ring and the Super Bowl MVP to prove it.

“We’re glad we’re coming back to Green Bay with the Lombardi Trophy, where it belongs.”

Full story HERE

~

This is the first in a series of position-by-position looks at the Packers’ personnel entering the 2011 offseason. We begin with an analysis of Green Bay’s QB situation.

Overview: Provided starter Aaron Rodgers stays healthy, it’s safe to say there isn’t a team in the NFL in better shape at the all-important QB position than the Packers. Overcoming an uneven start and a pair of concussions — the last of which forced him to miss the Week 15 game at New England — Rodgers was in great part responsible for propelling the Packers to their fourth Super Bowl title in five appearances and league-high 13th NFL championship.

Here’s a breakdown of each of the quarterbacks on the roster:

Aaron Rodgers: The Packers’ 2005 first-round draft pick established himself as one of the league’s elite signalcallers, emphatically emerging from the massive shadow of Packers legend Brett Favre. Utilizing his arm, legs and brain with maximum effectiveness, Rodgers posted an NFC-high 101.2 passer rating before excelling in the postseason on the way to a Super Bowl MVP award with a picture-perfect performance in the NFL’s showcase event.

As long as injuries don't become a factor, the Packers are obviously set at QB for years to come with Aaron Rodgers.

Operating like a coach on the field with his total grasp of the Packers’ multifaceted offensive system, Rodgers possesses pinpoint accuracy and flawless mechanics that kept on improving as the season wore on. He also has an uncanny knack for buying time and escaping pressure and provides an extra-special dimension with his running ability, ranking third among QBs in rushing yards behind Michael Vick and Josh Freeman while gaining 5.6 yards per carry.

Matt Flynn: Flynn proved his worth with a stellar starting effort in place of Rodgers against the Patriots, posting a 100.2 passer rating in a near-upset of one of the league’s best teams. Flynn’s arm strength has steadily improved, and he also possesses excellent poise, toughness and mobility.

Backup QB Matt Flynn performed well in his one start, at New England, despite choking a bit at the end.

Graham Harrell: As third-string quarterbacks go, Harrell, who was promoted from the practice squad after Rodgers’ second concussion, would appear to fill the bill sufficiently enough. But he remains totally unproven and is far from a lock to return next season.

Bottom line: With Rodgers entrenched under center, the Packers’ QB situation is as good as it gets. But with more than a few teams possibly considering a trade for Flynn as a starter, it would not be a shock at all if the team drafts a quarterback in late April.

Full story HERE

Some people believe that 3rd string QB Graham Harrell has a chance to develop into a solid NFL QB under QB-coach Tom Clements and Mike McCarthy. Both Rodgers and Flynn improved their arm strength and technique, and Harrell has already shown some signs of improvement.

~Fifteen years ago, the Green Bay Packers were celebrating a glorious Super Bowl Championship after a 35-21 win over Bill Parcells’ New England Patriots.

Those Packers were led by quarterback Brett Favre, who was in the middle of being named the league’s MVP three times in a row (one tied with Barry Sanders).

In just his 3rd year starting, Aaron Rodgers has now matched Favre and his 20 years, and Peyton Manning and his 14 years with 1 Super Bowl Ring. Like Manning, Rodgers was the Super Bowl MVP in his title.

Those Super Bowl winning Packers also were led by the NFL’s #1-ranked defense, anchored by Hall of Famer Reggie White on the front line, and Packer Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler on the back line.

They also had the league’s best return specialist in Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard. Favre was okay in his Super Bowl win, going 14/27, just over 50%, but his two touchdowns and zero interceptions were enough.

The following year, when the team made it back to the Super Bowl, against Denver, the Packers were a 13-point favorite to win that game and repeat. However, the defense was atrocious against the Broncos rushing attack, and Favre made mistakes, including throwing a key interception. Without that one mistake, the Packers probably would have won the game and repeated.

Now fast forward to 2011. Aaron Rodgers just had a playoff run as good as any ever seen in the NFL. He also played a near-flawless game in the Super Bowl, carrying the whole offense while throwing three touchdowns and over 300 yards passing.

Coincidentally, he also is 27 years old as Favre was when he won his first Super Bowl.

But here’s what makes Rodgers better than Favre: he’s smarter and less risky with his play. With a good supporting cast and good defense, as both that team had and this team has, it doesn’t take high-risk, forced passes to win games. It takes good, solid play, with few mistakes.

Think more Tom Brady than Brett Favre. Think more Joe Montana than Brett Favre. Favre may have racked up more stats of all categories, but he only was part of the one Super Bowl title, and all Packer fans still have the emotional scars of why that is the case.

See playoff games in: Philadelphia (horrible overtime interception); St Louis (record 6 Ints, including two or three returned for touchdowns); vs Atlanta (Michael Vick) and vs Minnesota (Daunte Culpepper), with those two home losses being the first playoff losses ever at home. Then remember his final pass as a Packer in the NFL title game at home versus the NY Giants. What people often forget is that interceptions are often fatal.

Ask Ben Roethlisberger and Steeler Nation.

Now, Aaron Rodgers isn’t perfect and he also will throw the occasional interception, as we witnessed in the NFC title game in Chicago when he threw one right to Bears LB Brian Urlacher (admit it, you thought that was Favre for a minute).

But Rodgers, at this point in his career, his a lot surer with the football and as the stats show, he doesn’t force as many passes as Favre did. Or as Favre still does. Remember, Favre’s risks drove then-coach Mike Holmgren crazy, and this past season, he helped drive then-coach Brad Childress to the unemployment line.

For now going forward, the Packers have a better chance of becoming like the early 2000 Patriots, who won three Super Bowls in a four-year span, than they do of being the one-and-done title winning Packers of the mid 1990′s.

From ESPN, 52 games, including a few playoff seasons for each guy. Edge: Rodgers

~TEAM GRADES

PASS OFFENSE (A)

At midseason, Aaron Rodgers was idling along ranked 16th in passer rating at 85.3 before he and the passing attack exploded. Over the remainder of the regular season, his play was so extraordinary (122.1 rating, 71.4% completion rate) that he vaulted to third at 101.2, trailing only Tom Brady (111.0) and Philip Rivers (101.8). Coupled with his postseason mark of 109.8, Rodgers’ 19-game rating was 103.1.

Rodgers was simply phenomenal over the Packers 2nd half of the season as well as the playoff run. Next year, he'll travel to his off-season hometown of San Diego and face-off against the other best young QB in the NFL, Philip Rivers of the Chargers.

The Packers were fifth in passing yards (257.8) before averaging 260.3 in the playoffs. Green Bay wasn’t a prolific deep-ball team, evidenced by the average distance of its TD passes (19.5) compared with 24.0 in ’09 as well as its total of 17 completions for more than 35 yards, down from 24 in ’09, 19 in ’08 and 23 in ’07. Certainly, Rodgers often looked to throw down the field, but the main thrust was spreading the ball around in short to intermediate zones. When cornerbacks played soft, Rodgers turned 30 called runs into one-step hitches with easy 5- to 8-yard gains. In the first four games, TE Jermichael Finley averaged 75.3 yards and played 25 more snaps (196) than any of the wide receivers. In Finley’s five games, Greg Jennings averaged 36.6. Following Finley’s exit with a blown knee, Jennings averaged 92.3 yards and had his greatest impact. There were 46 dropped passes, down from 50 in ’09 but still too many. James Jones and Jordy Nelson each dropped 10. Jones led the team in average gain after the catch (5.16 yards). The Packers ranked 20th in percentage of sacks allowed. Rodgers was charged with 13½ sacks, down three from ’09, Chad Clifton was responsible for 8 and Bryan Bulaga for 6½.

RUSH OFFENSE (C-minus)

This part of the attack was irrevocably altered when an ankle-leg injury ended Ryan Grant’s season on the 27th offensive snap of the season (his 18th play). Gone was the downhill style of zone running the Packers had employed since mid-2007. Instead, the Packers opted to operate by committee, basically passing to set up the run. Many of the more successful runs came from spread formations against reduced boxes. Counting all games, the four-headed RB menagerie included Brandon Jackson (196-731-3.7), James Starks (110-416-3.8), John Kuhn (90-289-3.2) and Dimitri Nance (36-95-2.6). The Packers’ third-leading rusher was Rodgers (76-412-5.4), who also ranked third among QBs during the regular season with 356 yards behind Michael Vick (676) and Josh Freeman (364). Mike McCarthy seldom abandoned the run, reflected by his 20-game run rate of 42.4% (the NFL regular-season average was 43.1%). He also kept at least one FB on the field for 42.9% of the plays, up from 42.1% in ’09. Without Grant, Green Bay slipped to 24th in yards (100.4) and 25th in yards per rush (3.82). The Packers tied Cincinnati for last with merely three runs of 20 yards or more. On third- and fourth-and-1 rushing, they tied for 19th at 66.7%. The high-water mark was the 12-play, 73-yard march that closed out the 28-26 victory against Detroit. The Packers had 142 “bad” runs, their highest total since 149 in 18 games in ’03. For the second straight season, Daryn Colledge allowed the most “bad” runs (25); Josh Sitton allowed the fewest (nine).

PASS DEFENSE (A)

Green Bay ranked third in pass average (net yards divided by attempts and sacks), its best finish since 2002, and ranked fifth in yards (194.2). Neither of those categories accounts for interceptions, but opponents’ passer rating does. Improving from fourth (68.8) in ’09, the Packers led the NFL at 67.2. Pittsburgh was a distant second at 73.1. Then, in four playoff games, Vick, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler and Ben Roethlisberger could muster just 67.8. With 24 picks, the Packers trailed just one team, New England, which led with 25. They intercepted eight more in the playoffs, all electrifying plays made by Tramon Williams (three), Sam Shields (two), B.J. Raji, Jarrett Bush and Nick Collins. The stellar Williams had nine of the 32 picks. The linebacking corps intercepted six, its highest total since ’94. The 32 interceptions directly led to a whopping 122 points. Collins dropped five interceptions, the team’s highest total by an individual in more than a decade. Dom Capers grew ever bolder with the blitz as Shields developed into a second legitimate outside cover man in nickel. After rushing five or more on just 28.5% of dropbacks in the first six games, Capers blitzed 36.8% in the last seven as the Packers vaulted from 12th last year to third in sack percentage. In 20 games, Clay Matthews led in sacks (17) and “pressures” (55). Shields gave up the most passes of 20 yards or more (10), followed by Charles Woodson with 9½. Woodson allowed the most TD passes (five). Of the four 100-yard receiving games, the 132 yards by the Giants’ Mario Manningham was tops. After the 49ers’ Vernon Davis exploded for 126 yards in Week 12, the final eight starting TEs caught only 16 for 142 (no TDs).

RUSH DEFENSE (B)

On paper, the grade might seem high. The Packers ranked 18th in yards (114.9) and 28th in yards per carry (4.65), a sharp decline from first in yards (83.3) and second in yards per carry (3.59) in ’09. But other than the first Atlanta game when Michael Turner controlled play with 23 carries for 110 yards, the run defense was seldom an issue. In the playoffs, upper-echelon RBs LeSean McCoy, Turner, Matt Forte and Rashard Mendenhall averaged a more-than-manageable 54.5 per game and 4.1 per carry. In all, the postseason yield was 83.8. The inability to contain scrambling QBs was the Packers’ worst sin. In 20 games, opposing passers carried 55 times for 415 yards (7.6). Vick led with 103 yards in Week 1, followed by Detroit’s Shaun Hill (53) in Week 4 and Detroit’s Drew Stanton (44) in Week 13. In 2009, opposing QBs finished with more typical totals of 31 carries for 136 yards. Woodson’s willingness to throw his body around charging from the slot as if he were a 23-year-old LB instead of a 34-year-old CB helped Capers stop the pass because he could use his nickel defense 75% of the time. When Capers elected to hunker down, he felt confident wheeling out wide-bodies Ryan Pickett (340 pounds), B.J. Raji (337) and Howard Green (360). Three days after the defense allowed a season-high 196 on the ground to the Vikings, Green arrived on waivers from the Jets. Adrian Peterson’s 131 yards in Week 7 was the most against Capers’ unit since Week 2 of 2009. A.J. Hawk (157), Desmond Bishop (151) and Woodson (124) were the leading 20-game tacklers; Woodson had the most missed tackles (20), four more than runner-up Charlie Peprah. Matthews and Woodson shared the lead in tackles for loss with seven.

SPECIAL TEAMS (D)

In the Dallas Morning News’ annual statistical analysis, the Packers ranked 29th, which paired them with the 2009 Saints as having the lowest-ranked special teams of any Super Bowl champion. Green Bay had ranked 31st in ’09. Three long returns led to three close losses: Chicago Devin Hester (62-yard TD) in Week 3, Atlanta’s Eric Weems (40, plus Matt Wilhelm’s face-mask penalty) in overtime in Week 11 and New England G Dan Connolly (71) in Week 14. In the playoffs, Weems raced 102 for a TD. Mason Crosby also had a chance to win the Washington game at the end of regulation but missed from 53 yards off the left upright. Certainly the Packers were better disciplined and organized than they had been in coach Shawn Slocum’s first season as coordinator in ’09. They trimmed their horrendous penalty total of 32 in 17 games to 22 in 20 games, which was their best penalty rate since ’06. Slocum’s yearlong battle to curb holding penalties succeeded (three this season compared with 14 in ’09). The Packers found a capable punter in Tim Masthay, who had three phenomenal games. Despite not having a legitimate return man, the Packers did tie for 10th in average starting position (27.6). On the other hand, they ranked 31st in opponents’ starting position (29.8). Thanks largely to two fumbles by Jordy Nelson in one game (home against Detroit), the units had their poorest turnover differential (minus-1) since ’06. Tramon Williams, who didn’t lose any of his five fumbles, swung the Week 16 struggle against Chicago toward the Packers with a 41-yard punt return. The best core player was enthusiastic, tough Jarrett Bush.

PERSONNEL MOVES (A)

What an off-season GM Ted Thompson and his staff had. By season’s end, three members of their seven-man draft class (Bryan Bulaga, James Starks, Andrew Quarless) were starting, one was contributing (C.J. Wilson), one had started (Morgan Burnett), one might have started (Mike Neal) and one apprenticed for a year (Marshall Newhouse). Furthermore, two college free agents (Sam Shields, Frank Zombo) played key roles on defense, and G Nick McDonald stamped himself as a player to watch. The free-agent signing of Masthay 13 months ago appears to have stopped the revolving door at punter. Charlie Peprah, the only free-agent signing with regular-season experience, started the last 16 games. Thompson turned his nose up at the tepid unrestricted market. He didn’t try to re-sign Aaron Kampman, who landed in Jacksonville and played well before blowing out his knee after eight games. Although the Packers will receive a high compensatory draft choice, his pass-rush value opposite Matthews would have been significant. By and large, the wholesale re-signing of eight starters since February has worked. In early October, Thompson was wise to ignore the hue and cry for RB Marshawn Lynch and not offer more than a fourth-round pick. He also was wise to move beyond P Jeremy Kapinos in March and CB Al Harris, 36, in November. Harris lasted three games as Miami’s nickel back before pulling a hamstring. RB Ryan Torain, who was available when Dimitri Nance was signed Sept. 14, led the Redskins in rushing (742). Thompson’s refusal even to consider one of the small return specialists that have taken the league by storm left Slocum high and dry looking for a returner. Forced to add 13 players after opening day, pro scouting chief Reggie McKenzie and his staff made two wonderful choices in Erik Walden and Howard Green.

COACHING (A)

If The Associated Press had waited until after the season to poll its voters on NFL coach of the year, it probably would have been McCarthy by acclamation. The award went to Bill Belichick. To be sure, McCarthy must take his share of the blame for losing six of the eight games that were decided by four or fewer points. His team lost four times as a favorite (at Chicago, at Washington, Miami, at Detroit) and went just 9-7 against the spread in the regular season (they were 4-0 in the playoffs). Special teams, an area that McCarthy pledged to fix, haunted the Packers in four of the defeats. After six games, the injury-riddled Packers found themselves 3-3 with Brett Favre coming to town followed by a road game against the Jets and a home date with Dallas. But McCarthy rallied the troops and shockingly won all three. Acknowledging the team’s shortage of leadership, he strove to establish Woodson and Rodgers in front of the team. More importantly, he found his stride in his fifth season. He did it by formulating a calculated message of hope that he delivered incessantly in a powerful voice. His uber-confidence played exceedingly well on all fronts, most importantly in the locker room. Some backups pressed into service started believing they were all-pros. As the most penalized team from 2007-’09, McCarthy rebounded from the record-setting 18-for-152 embarrassment at Soldier Field to rank third in penalty yards (617), a totally unexpected turnaround. Coordinators Joe Philbin and Dom Capers are among the best, and McCarthy’s seasoned, unified staff is rife with prized position coaches. McCarthy is better conceiving an offense and calling the plays than he is managing the game. Every coach needs something to work on.

OVERALL (A)

When the season started, the Packers had the fifth youngest roster in the NFL (25.92 years) and were a popular pick to win it all. Then Grant went down in the first half of the opener, the first of a wave of injuries that would have brought a weaker team with a lesser roster to its knees. Counting the regular season only, 12 starters missed 86 games, and 19 backups missed 94 games. Among the 31 players who missed 180 games were 15 who went on injured reserve, including nine from the opening-day 53 by Oct. 27. No NFL team this season and no Packers team since 1979 was buffeted quite like this. At 3-3, the Packers were tied for the ninth-best record in the NFC. After sweeping Minnesota and Favre, the Packers lost two straight in mid-December when Rodgers went down with a concussion. The surprising Bears clinched the NFC North title with two games remaining. Then Green Bay (10-6) emerged from the pack, subduing the Giants and Bears to claim the second wild-card playoff berth over Tampa Bay (10-6) and New York (10-6) based on the fourth tiebreaker (strength-of-victory). The Packers’ six losses were by 20 points; privately, players talked about just how close they had been to an undefeated season. Their point-differential of plus-148 was second to New England’s plus-205 but their 10-6 record was tied for eighth best in the league. Green Bay’s schedule included six games against playoff teams and opponents with a composite record of 133-123 (.520) that included four foes each from the powerful AFC East and the NFC East. Emulating the sixth-seeded Steelers of 2005, the Packers swept three road playoff games before demonstrating their ability to get physical in a gritty Super Bowl triumph over Pittsburgh. It was Green Bay’s record 13th NFL championship.

Full story HERE

~Packer Plus writer Rob Reischel gives his team grades for the 2010-’11 season:

PASS OFFENSE (A-minus)

Green Bay was fifth in passing yards per game (257.8) but third in yards per completion (8.0). The Packers tied for fourth in touchdown passes (31) and were third in overall passer rating (98.9). Green Bay also was sixth in passing plays of at least 20 yards (57) and sixth in plays of at least 40 yards (11). Quarterback Aaron Rodgers took a colossal step in his development by winning MVP honors in his first Super Bowl.

Except for this unbelievable drop = int in Detroit that helped lead to that upset loss, Greg Jennings was sensational in 2010 all the way through to his two touchdowns in the Super Bowl. And he's as quality of a person as he is a football player.

Wideout Greg Jennings moved into the upper tier of football’s pass catchers, and James Jones and Jordy Nelson both showed growth. The tight-end position was a problem after the loss of potential Pro Bowl player Jermichael Finley in Week 5.

RUSH OFFENSE (D-plus)

The Packers lost starting running back Ryan Grant in the season opener and were forced to adjust on the fly. It wasn’t easy. Green Bay finished 24th in rushing yards per game (100.4) and 25th in yards per carry (3.8). A year ago with Grant at the helm, the Packers ranked 14th in yards per game (117.8) and 11th in yards per carry (4.3). Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn did all they could, but both were pedestrian. Coach Mike McCarthy kept defenses honest by running 43.8% of the time, virtually the same percentage as 2009 (44.2%). The Packers gambled on James Starks and won. After playing in just three regular-season games, Starks was one of Green Bay’s postseason stars.

PASS DEFENSE (A)

Green Bay ranked first in opposing quarterback passer rating (67.2), the best showing since the 1997 Packers (59.0). The Packers finished second with 24 interceptions, fifth in passing yards per game (194.2) and seventh in yards per attempt (6.5).

Dandy Dom: his pass defense blossomed into the NFL's best, just a year after being torched by Kurt Warner to see the season end in the wildcard round.

The unit’s ability to cover for long stretches also helped the Packers tie for second in sacks (47). The brain trust of defensive coordinator Dom Capers, cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. and safeties coach Darren Perry all excelled. CB Tramon Williams became a star, CB Sam Shields blossomed and SS Charlie Peprah turned into a player. Veterans Charles Woodson and Nick Collins held the unit together.

RUSH DEFENSE (C-minus)

The Packers slipped from first in rush defense in 2009 (83.3) to 18th (114.9). Green Bay’s average yield per rush also jumped from 3.6 in 2009 to 4.7 in 2010, a fall from third to 30th in the rankings. The Packers did a better job in the playoffs, allowing 83.8 rushing yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry. With injuries across the board, Green Bay was all right playing a more bend but don’t break style and refused to sell out to stop the run. It’s hard to argue the results, as the Packers finished second in points allowed (15.0 per game).

SPECIAL TEAMS (D)

Green Bay’s return units remained inept. The Packers ranked just 26th in kick returns (20.1) and 22nd in punt returns (7.9).

Special teams coach Shawn Slocum might have one more year to get his team's performance up to at least par.

The Packers’ coverage units tied for 12th on kickoff returns (21.8) and was 25th on punt returns (11.0). Punter Tim Masthay showed steady improvement and could eventually end the revolving door Green Bay has had at that position. Kicker Mason Crosby made 78.6% of his kicks, just above his career average of 78.0%. Long snapper Brett Goode was as steady as it gets.

PERSONNEL MOVES (A)

General manager Ted Thompson had a solid draft, highlighted by first-round pick Bryan Bulaga and sixth-rounder James Starks. Thompson then found street free agents Sam Shields, Frank Zombo and Tom Crabtree and all became solid contributors. Masthay was a great find and was discovered last January. The only veteran Thompson signed in unrestricted free agency was Charlie Peprah, and he started 11 games at strong safety.

Last season, Ted Thompson's pick-ups like Josh Bell proved fatal. This season, everything Thompson touched turned to gold. Well, other than the 2nd & 3rd round draft picks Neal and Burnett getting injured.

Veteran linebacker Aaron Kampman was allowed to leave in free agency and he lasted just eight games with Jacksonville before blowing out his knee. When the season began, Packers began dropping like flies, but Thompson always had a player waiting to help. From Erik Walden to Howard Green to Matt Wilhelm, Thompson had an answer. Thompson’s decision to part ways with Al Harris proved correct. Some will argue that had Thompson traded for RB Marshawn Lynch, Green Bay would have been the NFC’s No. 1 seed and given itself an easier postseason path. But almost everything Thompson touched turned to gold.

COACHING (A)

McCarthy still has occasional problems with clock management and when to use his challenges. For example, McCarthy electing not to challenge an apparent Week 5 touchdown by Nelson, which may have cost the Packers a win in Washington. But McCarthy’s steadiness, confidence and message have won him the locker room.

Isn't wasn't all smiles and laughs for coach McCarthy in 2010 as he battled injuries left and right.

McCarthy never panicked as players were going down, and therefore, neither did his team. McCarthy remains one of the game’s more creative offensive coaches. On one play, he can hit a defense with his “Big Five,” then counter with a full backfield. He’s been smart enough to turn the defense over to Dom Capers and get out of the way. And he’s had a hand in the gradual improvement of Green Bay’s special teams. He calls himself a “builder” who wants this to be his last job. But he might be intrigued if a general manager position was offered down the road.

OVERALL (A)

Green Bay not only survived the loss of 16 players to the injured reserve list, it flourished. The Packers showed mettle and resiliency most teams wouldn’t have to simply reach the postseason as a No. 6 seed. Green Bay then joined the 2007 New York Giants as the only NFC teams to ever win three straight road games to qualify for the Super Bowl. Almost par for the course, veteran leaders Charles Woodson and Donald Driver couldn’t finish the Super Bowl, but others stepped up. The result was a fourth Super Bowl win in five tries and a league-high 13th NFL championship.

Full story HERE

~ARLINGTON, Texas — In the happy child’s dream, of course, the pass is always complete. That’s how it works with kids playing football in the backyard. It’s always third-and-10, it’s the fourth quarter, it’s the Super Bowl. In the dream, every receiver is covered, but throwing the ball away is not an option, and taking a sack is not an option, and the sound of footsteps grows louder, they are getting closer, time runs out. In the dream — but wait! There’s an glimmer of something. A tiny opening. A receiver’s hand. Something to aim at. The throw will have to be perfect. But if it’s thrown just right …

In the dream, the pass is always completed. Success is so easy to imagine when you’re a kid. And maybe that was Aaron Rodgers’ secret Sunday night under the world’s largest television screen in America’s biggest game. Maybe even after everything that comes with being an adult and the Green Bay Packers quarterback — even after dealing with the absurd pressure of replacing the most popular man in the history of Wisconsin, even after Rodgers’ first dreadful season, after absorbing the thrashings of a league-high 50 sacks in the second season, after this wonderful and trying Packers season with two concussions, beat up teammates and a five-week series of must-win games — maybe even after all that he still had enough of that little kid in him to believe.

"We put the game on Aaron Rodgers shoulders," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said rather bluntly.

For a long night in Super Bowl XLV, the Green Bay Packers always seemed one great play away from finishing off Pittsburgh. There were all sorts of clashing theories going into the game, like always, but one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that the game would be close. There did not seem a reasonable scenario for a blowout. Both teams came in with terrific quarterbacks and terrific defenses and a certain faith in their own team’s history. The Steelers have won six Super Bowl trophies, more than any other team, and those Super Bowl trophies are named for the Packers legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Players on both teams are taught from their first day that winning is sewn into their uniforms.

Still … for a good while this game looked to be a Packers runaway. They built a 21-3 lead late in the second quarter, largely thanks to two Pittsburgh turnovers (an unforeseen development — the Steelers were plus-17 on turnovers during the season). At that moment, the Steelers seemed muddled; they looked uncertain how to attack the Packers defense (they came in with a game plan of quick outs to wide receivers but were being neutralized), and they looked even more uncertain on how to deal with Rodgers.

“He’s an incredibly accurate quarterback,” Steelers defensive back Troy Polamalu said, and Polamalu is right, and it seemed for much of the game the Steelers best plan of defense was to hope for Packers receivers to drop passes. Lucky for them, the Packers receivers often obliged. Jordy Nelson, who caught nine passes for 140 yards and a touchdown, also dropped at least two critical passes. James Jones dropped a pass over the middle at the beginning of the third quarter that might have turned into a 75-yard touchdown — there wasn’t a defender anywhere near him. Brett Swain dropped a critical third down pass late in the third quarter.

Well, it had to be that way: Winning just couldn’t be that easy, not for Green Bay, not after this crazy season when the Packers had all kinds of injuries and overtime losses. The Packers were 8-6 with two weeks left in the season, and at that point they knew that to get where they expected to go they would have to win every game for the rest of the season. This included a three-week playoff road trip, first to Michael Vick’s Philadelphia, then to Atlanta and the 13-3 Falcons, then finally to familiar Chicago. Of course, they won five in a row.

But none of it was easy (well, the Atlanta victory was surprisingly easy), and this wouldn’t be easy either. The Steelers scored a touchdown at the end of the first half, another at the start of the second, and the score was 21-17, and for the rest of the way the game was as tight and tense and violent and unpredictable as expected. The Steelers turned the ball over a third time, and the Packers scored another touchdown — Aaron Rodgers to a wide open Greg Jennings crossing the back of the end zone. Polamalu was the culprit there (“That was completely my fault. Earlier in the game they ran Jennings down the middle and I was anticipating the same play, and I guessed wrong.”)

Then, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger — who has already been quarterback on two Super Bowl winners — brought the Steelers back on a convincing seven-play, 66-yard touchdown drive. His 25-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace came with 7:34 left. The Steelers had to feel good about their chances. Their offense seemed to be humming, finally. Green Bay led by only three. The Packers don’t have the running game to run out the clock in the fourth quarter — it’s the one noticeable flaw in an almost complete team. The Packers and Rodgers had to keep throwing it, and everybody knew it.

“We put the game on Aaron Rodgers shoulders,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said rather bluntly.

On first down, Rodgers was sacked. On third down, the Packers were called for a false start. And so, that left the Aaron Rodgers in the happy child’s dream scenario — it was third-and-10, it was the fourth quarter, it was the Super Bowl. Rodgers dropped back and scanned the field and he saw that every receiver was covered. But throwing the ball away was not an option, taking a sack was not an option, not in this moment. The Packers could not give the ball back to the Steelers now. The sound of footsteps grew louder, the Steelers defenders were getting closer, time was running out. One of the Steelers’ plans to win was to hit Aaron Rodgers. They had hit him often throughout the game.

"He's an incredibly accurate quarterback," NFL Defensive Player of the Year Troy Polamalu said after the game.

Then Rodgers saw something — call it a glimmer. On replays, from any angle, it is actually hard to see what he saw. Greg Jennings was double covered — Pittsburgh’s Ike Taylor was in front and the defensive player of the year Troy Polamalu was behind. From the camera angle behind the quarterback, Jennings looked to be completely hidden by Taylor. But Rodgers saw that little something. He has run this play a thousand times. He’s thought about it a million times. He grew up near San Francisco, where he watched Joe Montana and Steve Young fit passes into impossibly tight spaces when the moment was big. He spent countless hours in the backyard pretending to be them. Now, he wasn’t pretending. He pulled back and he unleashed a throw over the middle.

The ball skimmed an inch over Taylor’s hands, maybe less than an inch. And it zipped into Jennings’ hands. Jennings caught it ran forward and gained 31 yards, a first down, put the Packers in Pittsburgh territory.

“The ball just got over the top of [Taylor's hands],” Jennings would say.

“He put the ball in a really tight space,” Polamalu said.

“I trust Greg there to make a play,” Rodgers said. “I’m just trying to give him a chance.”

The pass did not score a touchdown. It did not give Green Bay an insurmountable lead. It did not put away the Pittsburgh Steelers. But in many ways, it was the play of the game. In that moment, there was simply nothing Pittsburgh could do. After the game, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said what coaches say: “They made plays.” But he undoubtedly meant this play. The Steelers had the defense. They had the momentum. They had the quarterback in their sights. Aaron Rodgers made a play.

The rest is anticlimax. The Packers were able to run the clock down to almost two minutes, and they settled for a field goal to take a 31-25 lead (even with that Rodgers was furious that his team did not punch it into the end zone and finally close it out). Then the Steelers had one last hope — they got the ball at their own 13 with 1:59 left. Roethlisberger hit one pass for 15, but then the drive stalled. And when the Steelers faced fourth-and-five, well, this was not Big Ben’s day for childhood dreams. His throw was high. And the game was finally over.

Rodgers was the game’s MVP, of course. His numbers — 24 of 39, 304 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions — are impressive enough but would have been even better with more reliable pass catching. Anyway, with Rodgers it has always been about more than his impressive numbers.

When he came out of California, he was talked about as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Instead, he plummeted to No. 24 and Green Bay. When he went to the Packers, he found himself sitting behind the legend, Brett Favre. He was basically a nonentity. And then before the 2008 season, the Packers and Favre parted ways, and it wasn’t a clean departure, and it left a lot of anger and disappointment and disarray. And suddenly Aaron Rodgers was the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, and he was asked to pick up the pieces.

“I’ve never felt like there was a monkey on my back,” Rodgers would say after the game ended. “The organization stood behind me. They believed in me. That’s all I needed.” But it’s easy to say that when covered in confetti. Rodgers endured through a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication to the game, and by continuing to believe in himself even when it seemed crazy.

And that’s why it was so touching when on Sunday night, after winning the Super Bowl, he remembered being young. Players often talk about those childhood moments in the backyard pretending to hit home runs like Hank Aaron or hit long shots like Reggie Miller or throw touchdowns like Joe Montana. A choice few get their moment. But until they get that moment, they never know for sure if it’s real or still a dream.

“How do you feel?” someone asked Aaron Rodgers.

“I’m not sure,” he said, and he smiled. “It hasn’t sunk in yet.” You got the feeling that once it does sink in, he will feel pretty good.

Full story HERE

~ARLINGTON, Texas — Revenge? Nah. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t believe in that anymore.

More like celebration. Vindication. Separation.

Thanks to the Green Bay Packers’ manicure-killing 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday evening, Rodgers won a muscle car, a trip to Disney World and his very own era. And he wouldn’t admit it, but he also won first place in the crash diet contest.

"He's got that monkey off his back as well," said Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, a 12-year veteran who was in tears after the game. "People probably doubted him. Didn't believe in him. But we all did."

In one game’s time, Rodgers lost all the weight that comes duct-taped to the shoulder pads of a Packers quarterback. You could almost see his posture instantly improve. If nothing else, his postgame smile was as wide as one of the Cowboys Stadium end zones.

Rodgers stuck it to each of those 23 NFL teams that ignored him on the longest day of his life: April 23, 2005, when the Packers chose him with the 24th pick of the draft. He says it turned out to be the best day of his life, but sorry, here’s guessing Feb. 6, 2011 — when Rodgers’ Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers — just moved ahead.

Do you know what it’s like to hold your breath for nearly six years, just waiting for an MVP night like the one Rodgers had Sunday? You could hear him exhale from here to Green Bay.

With the victory and a 304-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception performance against the best defense in the league, Rodgers put all the distance he’ll ever need between himself and the ghost of Brett Favre. And to anybody who wondered whether Rodgers could win the close one or the big one, the answer is yes and yes.

"Obviously he's following a legend, but he's making a legacy," Jennings said. "He's putting down the foundation for his own legacy."

Titletown USA just got another resident: a fourth Lombardi trophy. It’ll be moving in just as soon as the Packers make their triumphant return to the team’s Lambeau Field offices.

Depending on your football math, this latest trophy was either 14 or three years in the making. Fourteen is how many years it has been between Packers Super Bowl championships. Three is how many years it took for Rodgers to establish, once and for all, his own era.

Need proof? Just look at his smudge marks on that silver Lombardi trophy.

“Brett Favre is a great quarterback for the Green Bay Packers,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’ll be a great Packer for the rest of his life. But this is about passing the torch from one quarterback to the next, and Aaron’s off to a heck of a start.”

Rodgers is a Bay Area guy. He adored the San Francisco 49ers. He grew up watching the legendary Joe Montana win Super Bowls — then watching Montana’s replacement, Steve Young, struggle to do the same.

"I told Ted back in 2005 that he wouldn't be sorry with his pick. And I told him in '08 that I was going to repay their trust and get us this opportunity."

Rodgers was 11 years old when Young stood on the sideline of Joe Robbie Stadium in 1995 and happily told his Niners teammates to “take the monkey off my back!” At last, Young had won his own Super Bowl.

Now Favre and Rodgers have the same number of Lombardi trophy moments. But Rodgers has something Favre never had: a Super Bowl MVP award.

“I’ve never felt like there’s been a monkey on my back,” said Rodgers, who remembered that famous Young quote. “The organization stood by me, believed in me. That’s what I did on the [postgame] podium — I thanked [Packers GM] Ted [Thompson] and [team president] Mark [Murphy] and [McCarthy], really, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity.

“I told Ted back in 2005 that he wouldn’t be sorry with his pick. And I told him in ’08 that I was going to repay their trust and get us this opportunity.”

Of course, 2008 — the season Rodgers replaced Favre as the Packers’ starting quarterback. Since then, Rodgers had put up numbers but not championships. The question lingered: Could he win when it mattered?

It lingers no more.

“He’s got that monkey off his back as well,” said Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, a 12-year veteran who was in tears after the game. “People probably doubted him. Didn’t believe in him. But we all did.”

As the Packers waited for the postgame trophy presentation to begin, wide receiver Greg Jennings, who caught two touchdown passes against the Steelers, kiddingly told Rodgers, “Man, I wish you could just win one playoff game for us.” Ted [Thompson] and [team president] Mark [Murphy] and [McCarthy], really, for believing in me and giving me the opportunity."] “]

One? Try four — or six, if you count the last two must-win regular-season games for the Packers. Rodgers led sixth-seeded Green Bay to playoff road victories at Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago, and now at Cowboys Stadium. The Packers haven’t played at Lambeau since Jan. 2. But they’ll be back for the parade and celebration.

This time, figure on Rodgers getting the biggest Cheesehead cheer. He earned it. McCarthy’s game plan centered almost exclusively on Rodgers and the passing attack. And Rodgers delivered, especially in the deciding fourth quarter.

“Obviously he’s following a legend, but he’s making a legacy,” Jennings said. “He’s putting down the foundation for his own legacy. I think that’s what people are going to start to understand and kind of see that he’s not Brett Favre, he’s Aaron Rodgers. He’s going to do things the way Aaron Rodgers does it. Brett did it his way, but he’s going to do it the Aaron Rodgers way. And that’s the way we got it done, with Aaron Rodgers at the helm.”

And with Rodgers hoisting that trophy.

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~Just as he had after the Green Bay Packers won the NFC championship, Charles Woodson stood in the locker room and addressed his teammates. It was halftime of Super Bowl XLV and the 2009 NFL defensive player of the year had just been diagnosed with a broken collarbone, which he suffered in the second quarter of the game.

Late in the first half, the Steelers isolated their fastest player Mike Wallace and the aging Charles Woodson and sent him deep. Woodson stayed with him and made a diving attempt to pick it off. Unforunately, because Jerry Jones' stadium is rock hard ground, Woodon's collar bone broke on this seemingly-innocent play. Tony Romo broke his collar bone on the same field earlier in the season.

Woodson began to talk to his teammates, to try and tell them how much he wanted to win the title and how they’d need to do so without his presence on the field. One player compared it to the famous “win one for the Gipper” speech.

Only, Woodson couldn’t get out more than a few words before breaking down in tears. “I couldn’t do it,” Woodson said after the game. “I was just too emotional.”

Whatever he said appeared to work. Despite the loss of its star cornerback, Green Bay held off the Pittsburgh Steelers for a thrilling 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV. It’s the fouth Super Bowl title in franchise history for Green Bay.

Down & out, Woodson's season ends because of the rock-hard turf.

Fellow corner Tramon Williams said that the look on the Woodson’s face at halftime motivated him to go out “and do what we needed to do.” Other teammates echoed similar sentiments:

With And Without Woodson

Charles Woodson was a key part of Green Bay’s defense all year, here’s how the Packers fared with and without him Sunday against the Steelers.

	With	Without
Comp pct	52.9	69.6
TD-Int	0-2	2-0
Passer rtg	31.9	118.0
Score diff	+18	-12

Woodson left game in 2nd quarter
— ESPN Stats & Information

That the Packers were able to overcome such a devastating loss was no surprise. The team lost six starters during the regular season, including key offensive threat Jermichael Finley.

Woodson's season ended in a sling, but he'll get his ring.

Losing Woodson was the biggest injury yet. Though the secondary initially struggled in his absence, the unit righted the ship to preserve Green Bay’s lead and guide the team to its first title since 1997.

Woodson appreciated the effort. While clutching the Lombardi trophy after the game, he spoke about his halftime speech. “I don’t think I’ve cried that much since I was a kid,” he said.

Charles Woodson #21 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates in the locker room with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLV

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