Charles Woodson a model Packer after rough intro
By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports
~DALLAS – Charles Woodson vividly remembers his first day of practice as a Green Bay Packer. Challenged by numerous coaches, marginalized as a sulking veteran with unwanted attitude, the chastened cornerback and Oakland Raiders refugee felt the sting of a bad reputation that had preceded him to Titletown.
“I didn’t like anybody,” Woodson recalled Tuesday, shortly after concluding his media day interview session at Cowboys Stadium. “That’s what I remember about that day.”
Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson (21) celebrates after recovering a fumble in the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
That day in 2006 made quite an impression on Woodson’s new teammates as well. “It was rough,” one Packers starter from that season remembers. “There was this one coach in particular who was all over him, and Charles did not take it well. The coaches were treating him like a guy with a bad attitude who they wanted to break, and he played right into it. There was a whole lot of yelling.”
As Woodson prepares for the second Super Bowl of his 13-year career in Sunday’s matchup between the Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, he’s getting shout-outs as a positive force in the football universe from all kinds of luminaries – including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I love what he represents,” Goodell said of Woodson on Wednesday. “I just think everything about what he’s doing is great.”
To say that Woodson’s image has undergone a monumental makeover in the five years since he left the Raiders to sign a free-agent deal with the Packers is an understatement. Since arriving in Dallas, he has candidly and forcefully harkened back to the lonely two months he spent as a free agent following the ’05 season – a time when only one team showed legitimate interest in the former Heisman winner and All-Pro.
“It was time to go,” Woodson says of his departure from the Raiders. “Green Bay – I was there because no one else wanted to take a shot on [me]. I had a bad rap. I was a little bit of a wild child. I enjoyed myself as a young man. I guess they were tired of it. That is one of the reasons why I was out of Oakland and why nobody wanted to take a shot on me.
“There was talk about my game declining and not being the player that I was and that I had lost a step – all of that came into play when it came to finding another team.”
Woodson continues: “It was kind of decided for me. Nobody wanted me coming out of Oakland. I tried to go to a few other places and tried calling a few other places to see if they wanted my services. Some teams returned calls, some didn’t. Green Bay was the only team that was calling my agent and trying to set up a time for us to go there and visit Green Bay and that’s how it worked out. The decision was pretty much made for me.”
It’s a decision for which, looking back, Woodson is eternally grateful. After a choppy beginning, the reluctant signee began to fall in line with the program in Green Bay, coming to trust coach Mike McCarthy and his assistants. Woodson scaled back his social life, got married and had a son and came to embrace the joys of a low-key existence in Titletown. He became a respected locker-room leader and is on a potential path to a spot in the Hall of Fame.
After three productive seasons, Woodson was reenergized by the arrival of defensive coordinator Dom Capers, who installed a 3-4 scheme before the 2009 season that allowed the team’s top corner to be utilized in numerous ways. Once a shutdown cover man, albeit one with an uncanny physical presence and a penchant for ferocious tackling, Woodson now became a versatile defensive back who blitzed from all angles, worked the slot in nickel alignments and sometimes rotated to safety – as he did at the start of the Pack’s 21-14 NFC championship game victory over the Chicago Bears.
Charles Woodson will have his eyes on #7 on Sunday, and expects to make some big plays against the Steelers.
He responded with an incredible ’09 season that included nine interceptions, two sacks, three defensive touchdowns, 18 pass deflections and 74 tackles – and NFL defensive player of the year honors. While the numbers weren’t as gaudy in 2010, Woodson remains a force for the league’s No. 2 scoring defense as the Packers try to win their first championship in 14 years.
Not surprisingly, he loves the way Capers deploys him. “The island’s fun,” Woodson says, “but there’s not a lot of action on the island. I like to be in the mix.”
Woodson is approaching Sunday’s game with a sense of urgency for numerous reasons. It’s true that he may have other opportunities, given the overall youth of the Packers. At 34, he would seem to have plenty of football left – like former Steelers, 49ers and Ravens Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (no relation) and many other accomplished corners, Charles will likely extend his career by switching to safety.
With fourth-year cornerback Tramon Williams blossoming into one of the league’s best cover men and ultra-fast rookie Sam Shields coming off a breakout performance in Chicago, Woodson can see the future: “I told our cornerbacks coach, Joe Whitt, that whenever I move to safety, however fast that happens will depend on Sam Shields and when he’s ready to be a full-time corner. That’s when I’ll make that move.”
Yet Woodson also understands the fleeting nature of NFL success – and how an opportunity can be stolen or squandered. He speaks from experience.
A star coming out of college, Woodson walked into a talent-rich Oakland locker room and shone from the start. By the 2001 season the Jon Gruden-coached Raiders were poised to win a championship and appeared to clinch a divisional-round playoff game against the Patriots – in the infamous Snow Bowl in Foxborough – when Woodson blitzed off the blind side and dislodged the ball from former Michigan teammate Tom Brady.
The recovery by Raiders linebacker Greg Biekert would have essentially ended the game, but the seldom-applied Tuck Rule allowed New England to retain possession on a replay reversal, and NFL history was irrevocably altered. The Patriots went on to win the first of three Super Bowls, Brady became a mega-star and Gruden left to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Woodson still reflects back upon the play and the Super Bowl that might have been.
“I think we had that game stolen from us,” he says. “There’s no guarantee we’d have gone on to win the Super Bowl. But we had an opportunity stolen from us. It’s crazy. I think about it from time to time. The hard part is, it wasn’t something that happened on the field. It was an interpretation. That’s a hard way to lose.
“I just read a couple of weeks ago that there may be some thought to review that rule again and maybe throw it out. If they do that I will be a happy man.”
(Al Bello/Getty Images)
Woodson also remembers how the Raiders, after reaching the following year’s Super Bowl under Bill Callahan, got blown out by Gruden’s Bucs. Woodson, who had an interception in the game, played despite having suffered a broken leg weeks earlier. Even more crippling to the Raiders was center Barret Robbins’ Tijuana party binge two days before the game that caused him to be sent home, disrupting Oakland’s offensive scheme and preparation.
“I just wish I didn’t have to go into that game with a broken leg,” Woodson says. “All of us on that team wish we would have had another week to prepare for some of the distractions that happened that week. … Barret Robbins not making it to the team function. It had a great effect on the team. He was our starting center. He was the captain of that line. It altered everything, especially for our offense. We didn’t recover from it and ultimately lost the game.
“I remember being on our way to a meeting and there were whispers about something happening, but nobody really knew what was going on. Then it finally got around that he hadn’t made it in. Nobody knew where he was. It was just a crazy situation and something that you never expected to happen.”
Back then, Woodson was a party animal in his own right. Now he’s a respected team leader who’s in the perfect place at the perfect stage of his career – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You go into situations a lot not knowing what that situation can become,” Woodson says. “You go in there kind of blindfolded. It opened up my eyes knowing that you have to be a little patient with a situation because it is probably the best situation you can be in. That’s what Green Bay was for me. I didn’t want to go there, but I ended up there. It turned out to be a really great move for myself.
“Both myself and the community were apprehensive at first. They didn’t know what they were getting from Oakland. It took both parties some time to get used to each other. What happened is people just really watched me. They watched the way I played the game and fell in love with the way that I played the game. At that point we both grew on each other.”
And now? Well, as his coaches and teammates can attest, Woodson pretty much likes everybody.
Full story HERE
Unsung Heroes: Packers receivers’ egos take back seat to Super production
By Tom Pedulla, USA Today
~IRVING, Texas — When you think NFL wide receivers, you think egos ranging from large to massive.
When you think Green Bay Packers wide receivers, you think egos cast aside in the interest of massive production.
“They are excellent players,” says receivers coach Jimmy Robinson of his deep and tight-knit group, “but I always say they are probably better people.”
With parents who are pastors instilling a great Christian foundation, it's no surprise that Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings is as good of a person as he is a football player. Reggie White wasn't the only one.
Greg Jennings is the statistical leader with 76 catches for 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns. But, after earning Pro Bowl recognition for the first time in his five seasons, he establishes a selfless tone by not necessarily regarding himself as quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ primary target.
“Once the ball is in play, you’re the No. 1 guy. It’s whoever gets open the quickest,” he says.
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Injuries and the continued development of James Jones (50 receptions, 679 yards, 5 TDs) and Jordy Nelson (45 catches, 582 yards, 2 scores) led to a statistical falloff for 12th-year man Donald Driver. He pulled in 51 passes for 565 yards and four TDs, abruptly ending his string of six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
“You can trade a 1,000-yard season for a Super Bowl any day,” he says. “I am happy to do that.”
Driver, through his willingness to do whatever is necessary by absorbing the big hits in the middle of the field, has assured himself a prominent place in franchise history.
Fan-Favorite: Donald Driver is the heart & soul of the Packers and fans want to see Driver win a ring as much as any other player.
He holds the club record with 698 receptions and needs 42 yards to surpass James Lofton (9,656) in receiving yards. At this stage, he is content to expand his job description to include that of mentor.
Jennings says Driver has been important to his progress.
“For me, to have him next to me in the locker room, in the meeting room, you can sponge a lot off a guy like that, how he’s done it for so long at a high level,” he said.
The receivers don’t always scatter in different directions once a practice or home game is over. They enjoy socializing.
“When we get together, we get together as family,” Driver says. “Our kids run around and play with one another.”
They love to compete in activities ranging from cards to darts to dancing. One recent activity had the receivers squaring off against their wives on the dance floor. It proved to be a mismatch.
“We thought we could shake a little bit,” Driver says, “but we ended up losing.”
It says everything about their competitive spirit that a rematch is planned once Super Bowl XLV is over.
“They all want that ball. They all want more. They are no different from any other receivers in that,” Robinson says. “But they recognize the talent in the group and that the ball is going to be spread around.”
The Packers had three receivers finish with at least 50 catches for the first time in their history.
James Jones celebrates with Greg Jennings. Fans can't tell on the television screen, but Jones is very big and strong, as seen here compared to Greg Jennings.
Says Nelson, who is completing his third season, “We have faith in everyone out there.”
The pressure to keep pace — and the players’ varied talents leads every receiver to have a thorough understanding of every role in the passing game. They are almost interchangeable parts.
“I don’t know that anybody else has a top-four group that is of starter caliber the way these guys are,” says Robinson while also noting second-year man Brett Swain’s potential.
Jones says the communication between receivers extends to Rodgers, especially when he is flushed from the pocket.
“We understand what he’s thinking. He understands what we’re thinking,” Jones says. “It’s tough to stop our guys when we’re all on the same page.”
Although not quick, Jordy Nelson has deep speed to go with his strength and size. He often fools DB's with his ability to get behind them, as the Giants learned the hard way back in week 16 here on an 80-yard touchdown catch.
Full story HERE
Step by Step, Aaron Rodgers Making Packers His Own
By Pat McManamon, AOL Fanhouse
~DALLAS — Green Bay is a football haven, charm oozing from every icicle and snow pile.
But even the most charming of Titletowns has its fringe elements. In 2008, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was booed in his first practices and in the first Family Night scrimmage as the team’s starter.
"There were some deep-seated emotions in that room that needed to get out -- that guys were holding in. ... There were a lot of harsh words said, but at the end of the day, we moved on together." -- Rodgers on a team meeting following Green Bay's 4-4 start in 2009
Another individual who clearly lacks life perspective keyed Rodgers’ car. Someone else wrote nasty comments on his driveway — in chalk — and somebody harassed him as he filled his car with gas, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Rodgers now smiles as he looks back. He admits that times were tough, but he has made it as a quarterback in the city by the Northern Bay. And just like so many other players before him, Rodgers has a chance to validate his ascension by winning a championship when he and the Packers face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
That would be a big step for Rodgers, but just getting here required many smaller ones, all of which were important and logical, and all of which laid out a clear path to the Super Bowl.
They started in Butte — California, not Montana — where Rodgers attended a junior college because Division I programs did not deem him worthy. There, Rodgers found himself with a unique group of people, most of whom were 10 years older than him.
“As a young 18-year-old you’re trying to be the field general to guys who have kind of ‘been there, done that,’ ” Rodgers said. “(Who) had life experience, been in the work force, been in jail, been in the military, had leaders before. Coincidentally, I also took a coaching class at the same point.”
It was his first step toward his career.
Attending Butte helped Rodgers be noticed by Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who arrived to recruit a tight end and left with the quarterback who had led the team to a 10-1 record — step two. Setting records at Cal enabled him to be drafted by Green Bay, though he had to wait until the 24th pick to move forward again. Being drafted by Green Bay, though, meant that Rodgers had to wait to play. The Packers had a guy named Favre, and it wasn’t until his fourth season that Rodgers took over.
“That was an important time in my career,” he said of being the backup. “Just to learn the game, learn the offense, learn about defenses. Get in great shape. I think I learned about what it means to be a leader and how leading by example is the most important thing.”
Step taken.
Rodgers had to earn the respect of the fans when he took over in 2008, respect that was tough to gain because of the fans’ affection for Favre. It was tougher to do, Rodgers said, than working his way to the Super Bowl.
But he followed his MO, which is to wait for the opportunity and then take advantage of it. Rodgers’ 4,434 yards and 103.2 passer rating in ’08 were better than any Favre had produced. 
Favre now is not even a blip on the Packers’ radar. Rodgers merely says “that was a long time ago” when asked about backing up Favre, and shakes his head and gives a firm “no” when asked if Favre offered him advice before this Super Bowl.
Another step completed, moving beyond the shadow of No. 4.
But the team had gone just 6-10 in 2008. The next season, Rodgers turned that around to 11-5 and a playoff appearance, in part because of a vocal meeting he helped lead following a loss to Tampa Bay that dropped the Packers to 4-4. There, Rodgers learned that “conflict is good for a team. ”
“There were some deep-seated emotions in that room that needed to get out — that guys were holding in,” Rodgers said. “It was great. There were a lot of harsh words said, but at the end of the day, we moved on together. A lot of times when there is strife on a team it can get out in the wrong way — guys talking in the media on their own or behind the scenes, but we sat in the room as an offense and said, ‘What are the main issues here?’
“Myself, Donald (Driver) and different guys spoke up and we got our issues on the table and moved forward as a team. It wasn’t a divided locker room.”
Green Bay lost to Arizona in overtime in the wild-card game, but Rodgers still had gotten there.
Then, before this season, Rodgers suggested to coach Mike McCarthy that pictures of the Packers former champions be placed in the meeting room, with one blank for the picture yet to be completed.
“I gave Mike (McCarthy) that idea in the offseason,” he said. “He might not tell you that, but a good friend of mine who is also a professional athlete talked about how his coach motivated them in that way. I thought that would be a cool thing for us to see every day in the meeting room because we start a day off in that room. To be able to think about the entire season what we’re really playing for by having that empty picture up on the wall.”
McCarthy said Rodgers’ most significant improvement this season has come in … leadership.
Take another step, Mr. Rodgers.
Rodgers now has brought the Packers to the Super Bowl, winning three games in a row on the road and playing extremely well in getting there. Yet Rodgers seems as unassuming as any quarterback can be. He is only a little bit flamboyant — when he dons the “championship belt” on the field — and at times almost goes under the radar as one of the top-tier quarterbacks in the league.
2007, at Dallas: This was Rodgers first meaningful playing time, when the 10-1 Packers played at the 10-1 Cowboys, and Favre threw 2 bad Ints and dug the Packers in a 17-point hole, before departing with a bad elbow. Rodgers was awesome and almost brought the team back for a win, but the defense couldn't get the ball back one more time.
He said he has not overdone the preparation this week, but he also has not “been out carousing.” He almost blushes when compared to the Tom Bradys of the world; he does not for a second allow anyone to compare him to past Packers greats.
The word grounded comes to mind.
Yes, it’s another step on a journey.
The next step, the most important one, awaits Sunday against Pittsburgh.
Full story HERE
Aaron Rodgers plays a different tune
By Elizabeth Merrill, ESPN.com
~DALLAS — For the first time all season, Aaron Rodgers was nervous. He surveyed the crowd, and gulped. He was not prepared for this.
On the football field, the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback is equipped to handle anything. His thorough preparation helped the Packers stomp Atlanta last month in a shocking playoff rout; his calm, everyman demeanor might have helped salvage this injury-ravaged season. But this was different. This was somewhat embarrassing.
Things are looking up for Aaron Rodgers. A win Sunday against the vaunted Steelers would propel Rodgers to a new, rare level.
“I thought,” Rodgers said, “we were trying to keep that kind of quiet.”
It was a couple of months ago, open-mike night at a new coffee shop in Green Bay. Rodgers was doing a favor for a buddy, who promised that the place would be dimly lit and mostly empty. Of course it was bright and crowded. Who wouldn’t race out to see this? A Pro Bowl quarterback and a long-snapper, Brett Goode, brought their guitars and were about to go on.
The reviews were mixed. Goode said they did OK; Rodgers described it as 10 minutes of awkwardness and a few salvageable moments at the end. A microphone malfunctioned. Words and verses were forgotten. But they’ll no doubt try it again sometime in the offseason. Rodgers has to try it again.
“You have to have some kind of escape,” he said. “You have to have something to take your mind off the enormity of the next game. That’s one thing I’ve learned to do to: Make yourself unwind when it’s appropriate.
“Be as prepared as possible, be as sane as possible.”
How to prepare
Truth is, there is no way to prepare for this week. There are 5,082 credentialed media members descending upon North Texas, an NFL record. And everybody is watching Rodgers, the 54th quarterback to start in a Super Bowl.
In addition to passing for 300+ yards and 3 TDs last season in Pittsburgh, Rodgers' legs also got to the Steelers. Here he scrambled in for a rushing touchdown.
It’s a rare club, and Rodgers knows it. He drove through the frigid northeastern Wisconsin landscape Sunday night, talking on the phone about pressure, expectations and what he’d pack. His story has been well-documented: In 2008, in a bold and heavily scrutinized move, the Packers cut ties with a waffling Brett Favre to go with Rodgers, a youngster from Cal. And just about every day since, Rodgers has been reminded about the legend he replaced.
But back to the packing. He planned to bring a couple of books, including “The Paleo Diet.” Last week, he pondered packing his guitar, but didn’t know if he’d have time to play. So Rodgers and Goode decided they’d play it by ear, maybe hit a pawnshop somewhere to pick up a couple of guitars, which they’d eventually ship home.
NFL quarterbacks, past and present, exist in a fraternity of sorts. For years, Rodgers turned to three mentors — Steve Young, Kurt Warner and Trent Dilfer — to help guide him through the highs and lows of being an NFL quarterback. All three of them have won Super Bowl rings. All three of them say the same thing: Enjoy the week, because you never know if you’ll make it here again.
Dilfer planned to meet up with Rodgers on Tuesday. Ten years ago, Dilfer, now an ESPN analyst, was in this spot, starting in his first Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. He said he would never tell Rodgers what to do, but does give him a few tips on what not to do.
“I was arrogant when I was young,” Dilfer said. “I just wasn’t a good listener.”
But Rodgers, he said, does listen. He’ll tell the kid how he almost completely shut the world out when he arrived back in Baltimore after winning the AFC championship in 2001, how he didn’t turn on the TV or listen to what anyone said or thought about him. How he’d turn out the lights in his hotel room and just lie in bed and visualize.
“I wanted to make sure my mind was free so my body would react,” Dilfer said. “It was the biggest moment of my professional career, and I wanted to be prepared.”
Rodgers, Jarius Wynn, Ahman Green, and Donald Driver salute the Lambeau Field crowd late in the 2009 season.
Dilfer said it’s crucial for quarterbacks to have some kind of hobby, a release, to turn to during the season. “You put such a tremendous burden on your mind, your body, and your soul,” he said, “that you have to have something away from it.” Dilfer played golf, and liked to unwind with his family. Rodgers also likes to occasionally play 18 holes, but can’t play much in Green Bay once the calendar turns to November.
That’s why the guitar is a perfect outlet. Rodgers practices on Tuesdays, which is the Packers’ day off, and plays Saturdays when his game-day preparation is over and he wants to clear his head. He watches “Jeopardy!,” answering roughly 90 percent of the questions correctly according to one teammate, then strums his guitar during commercial breaks.
Rodgers has a diverse playlist — he does everything from country to Pearl Jam to Ben Harper — and recently learned the song “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton.
He became training camp roommates with Goode so they could play guitar together at night. Fullback John Kuhn calls Rodgers a “talented guitar player.” Rodgers isn’t quite ready to brag about his skills. But in the offseason, he does occasionally surprise the locals by showing up at a bar with Goode and their guitars.
The appearance at La Java was different. Rodgers said he’s been nervous only twice in the past year: on a golf course in Lake Tahoe and at that coffee shop that night. In both of those spots, he wanted to do well in front of an audience but was afraid of making a mistake.
It’s not like that in football. Rodgers, in his third year as a starter, is now considered one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. He lost one of his top targets and his running back to injuries by mid-October, but has thrown for 4,712 yards and 33 touchdowns with just 14 interceptions.
“I think he’s very comfortable in his own skin,” Kuhn said. “He’s grown in his role not just as a quarterback, but as a leader of this team.”
‘Don’t let anything distract you’
When somebody new joins the team, from first-round draft picks to scout-team fodder, they can usually count on one thing: that Rodgers will humbly shake his hand and introduce himself, because he believes it’s important to know everybody. When Kuhn arrived, Rodgers asked for his birthday so he could store it in his phone.
Leader of the Pack
He is easily the most visible offensive player in the locker room, and is the most-teased man on the team. Kuhn says it’s because Rodgers is so popular and insists on being friends with everybody. Those gestures paid dividends during the 2010 season, when the Packers had 15 players on injured reserve and struggled to fill in holes each week. In a league that swallows up battered teams, the Packers survived because of their chemistry, Kuhn said. They survived because of Rodgers.
His team bonding sessions will be simple this week, like they have been all season. He’ll play cards with his teammates and enjoy a few good meals. He’ll lock himself away in intense preparation. That’s what he did against the Falcons. In an earlier meeting this year, a game the Packers lost, Atlanta stymied the offense with its third-down packages. So Rodgers pored over third-down tape, and was unstoppable in a 48-21 victory.
But there have been plenty of lows, too. Like the back-to-back overtime losses, and the two concussions. Two months ago, when the Packers lost at Detroit, they were all but counted out of the playoff picture.
Rodgers led the team to five straight wins in what were considered elimination games for Green Bay, so Dilfer, Warner and Young’s advice has been simple for this week: Don’t change a thing.
“They all kind of said the same stuff,” Rodgers said. “Don’t let anything distract you from your main focus. Don’t let anything distract you from your formal preparation habits. I know it’s going to be crazy, but I’m going to try to stay on my schedule as much as possible.”
Buddies with a long-snapper
The fact that a long-snapper is one of Rodgers’ best friends might be the best way to describe, Kuhn said, how grounded their quarterback is. On the surface, Goode and Rodgers would appear to be polar opposites. Rodgers is from Northern California; Goode lives in Arkansas and has a thick Southern accent. When Goode plays guitar, he likes to belt out a Red Dirt tune. And many times, Rodgers will join in.
Rodgers celebrates a Packers touchdown.
Goode and Rodgers have an offseason agreement. The long-snapper will go to his house in California if Rodgers goes to see him in Arkansas. Rodgers is a little hesitant, not because of the venue but because Goode wants them to play a gig at a bar when they get there.
They have fun with everything they do, Goode says. They play Go Fish and UNO. Goode gets mad when Rodgers gets all the answers right on “Jeopardy!” He hopes this week doesn’t turn into a hundred questions about who Rodgers replaced, but suspects it will.
“I would love to see everybody just take him in as he is,” Goode said, “and quit trying to compare him. Everybody’s still asking about Favre instead of getting to know our team and realizing the kind of team that we’ve put together this year. With all the adversity we’ve gone through, it shows a lot about the character of this team.
“Everybody still talks about Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi and Brett Favre. You’re never going to replace those guys; those guys are legends of the game. Aaron is just trying to put his stamp on the Green Bay Packers and trying to get to that level.”
And have a little fun. Rodgers said his set at the coffee shop — if that’s what you want to call it — included a Hootie and the Blowfish song, along with a final tune from Ben Harper. By the end, Rodgers got into it and felt more comfortable on stage. He felt like he belonged.
Full story HERE
In Driver’s seat: Packers wideout overcame hardships to reach XLV
By Don Banks, Sports Illustrated
~DALLAS — Almost every Super Bowl has its sentimental favorites. Someone whose wait for this big-stage moment has been long and agonizing, or a player, coach or owner who has given much to the game and now gets a late, career-capping reward for all the blood, sweat and tears.
But not every Super Bowl has a Donald Driver story. Those are far rarer. There are sentimental favorites, and then there are those whose turn in the Super Bowl spotlight is the kind of karmic payback that we all want to believe is possible if our choices in life are well made, and for all the right reasons.
Driver, Green Bay’s 12th-year receiver, is the senior-most Packer in terms of continuous service, and the franchise’s all-time leading pass catcher with almost 700 catches and more than 9,600 yards.
Driver and Indy's Reggie Wayne were the only two NFL receivers to put up 1,000-yard seasons every year from 2004 to 2009.
This is his seventh trip to the playoffs, but first Super Bowl, and he’s making the game in his home state of Texas, where he grew up on some mean streets in Houston and now makes his home right here in the Dallas area. And did we mention that Driver turns 36 on Wednesday, with hopes of receiving the best birthday gift he could ever imagine Sunday night at Cowboys Stadium?
“It’s been hard. It’s been a long road,” Driver told me last week at Lambeau Field, before the Packers arrived in Dallas on Monday afternoon. “When you go back and think of your career, you always think that you could have and should have made it here a long time ago. But those dreams always seemed to slip away.
“I’m so excited that now I finally have the opportunity to reach one of my dreams, one of my goals. You do dream as a kid of playing in a Super Bowl. I know on Monday, when I hit that runway, I’ll start to believe it’s real. But you’ve got to enjoy the moment. Because it was a long time coming.”
Everybody at the Super Bowl has a tale to tell and can recount for you just how their lives and their football careers delivered them to the NFL mountain top. It’s just that Driver’s saga is better than, well, anyone’s. At least this year.
Simply put, Driver has a been a survivor. Through his troubled teenage years in Houston, where he and his family were homeless at times, living even out of a U-Haul trailer, to the modest beginnings of his NFL career, as an afterthought seventh-round pick in 1999, 213th overall out of Alcorn State. Driver caught just three passes as a rookie, and only had 37 career receptions through his first three NFL seasons. But he finally broke through as a starter and favorite target of Brett Favre in 2002, and went on that season to become the lowest-drafted Packer to play in a Pro Bowl in almost 20 years.
Nothing has come easily for Driver, but his journey has molded him and made him into the man he is today. He’s a beloved figure in Wisconsin, with a Q rating to match, and the only thing that might top his body of work as a Packers receiver is the litany of good deeds he and his foundation have accomplished in Houston, Green Bay and other parts of both states. The Packers estimate that Driver has made more than 500 community appearances over his career, and his particular work on behalf of assisting the homeless and underprivileged children is a reminder of his own past and what he overcame.
“I think you have to embrace that past, and your role,” Driver said. “This week is a gift that’s going to be given to me, but I haven’t had too much given to me my whole career. I always had to work for it. I think I still work for everything I get. But it makes me appreciate it all the more, and take it to heart, because I know it doesn’t come often.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver celebrates his six yard touchdown reception during the second quarter of their game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, September 12, 2010 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Packers won 27-20.
“I’ve been through a lot, but I think I’ve been a survivor to this point. When you go through things in life, you try to figure out what the main focus is, and that is all about survival. There are going to be things, and adversity, that you face throughout your life. But it’s about how you come through those times.”
Driver doesn’t intend to make his Super Bowl week into a long and detailed re-visitation of the troubles he endured as a child and a teenager. But growing up in Houston, he and his mom and his four siblings (he was the middle child) were evicted from their house by a collection agency, spending some nights in low-budget motel rooms, U-Haul trailers, or even the streets. Driver and his older brother, Marvin Driver III, stole cars, sold drugs and did whatever else they could to generate cash for a family that had little.
Driver’s mom, Faye Gray, eventually agreed to let Donald and Marvin go live with their paternal grandparents, and the move brought some structure and a sense of discipline and hope to Driver’s life. Football, track, basketball and baseball soon came to be Driver’s focus at Houston’s Milby High, but he credits his grandparents and his mom with saving him from a life spent heading in a dead-end direction.
“They had a big role in my life,” Driver said. “I would say they saved me. My mom realized that by keeping us she was going to hurt us more than by letting us go. I’ve always said my mom and my grandparents were my backbone. Without them, I don’t know how far I would have gone.”
From being embittered by his past, Driver has used it to help teach others what’s possible with hard work and dedication, and it’s still a reminder to him of the importance of making good choices in life.
“I appreciate what I’ve been through and I also appreciate what I’ve come to be,” he said. “Maybe there aren’t too many who would say that. They’d say they appreciate who they are now, but maybe not what they once did. But it’s your past that helps make you who you are today. My past has made me a better husband, a better father, a better person. All the things I went through in my life have made me better for it, and I don’t take anything for granted.”
Driver said it can still bring a smile to his face just seeing a U-Haul trailer. It reminds him of the odds he beat, and the success he has made from a story that so easily could have ended badly.
“I laugh whenever I see a U-Haul,” Driver said. “All the time. I even laughed when I got in one to help move my foundation’s stuff to another storage facility. Those memories just pop back into your head. But those nights in that U-Haul truck were probably some of the best nights of my life. Cooking food in a little pan, and putting the canned goods in the boiling water. Those are the things I’ll never forget.
“I tell people all the time, I wouldn’t change anything. I wouldn’t go back and say, ‘I wish I could do this over or change that.’ I just laugh at remembering what it was like to not have lights [in our house], to not having food in our refrigerator, to not have many clothes. I can laugh now knowing that my kids, my wife, my family doesn’t have to go through that. I know this, if I ever have to go hunting to live, I know how to do it. I can survive, I promise you that.”
Fan-favorite Driver does a Lambeau Leap
Who knows exactly what constitutes coming full circle in anyone else’s life, but being back in Texas this week, preparing to play in the Super Bowl before his family and friends is pretty close to a round trip for Driver. Though he has played in the era of the look-at-me-receiver, Driver has never been one to call attention to himself or his play. Perhaps this long-awaited turn on the Super Bowl stage will finally serve to win him the national respect that has been slow to come his way. A much-needed late-career course correction, if you will. Even for a three-time Pro Bowl pick.
“I’ve never been that way, because I’ve always thought the way I played the game would earn me the respect of being one of the best receivers in this game today,” said Driver, who along with Indy’s Reggie Wayne were the only two NFL receivers to put up 1,000-yard seasons every year from 2004 to 2009. “I have family and friends and business associates who said maybe we could get you out there more if you talked about yourself. But I never did. I still feel I’m one of the best receivers in the league, but I don’t feel like I have to boast or brag about it.
“I just think you go out there and play, and when it’s all said and done, being the Packers’ all-time leading receiver, and winning the Super Bowl, that speaks for itself. That takes you to that next level.”
Win or lose against the Steelers on Sunday, Driver’s success in the face of hardship is my favorite story of this Super Bowl this week in Dallas. There’s sentiment on the behalf of someone at most every Super Bowl. But there’s only one Donald Driver story, and it’s a tale of perseverance that very much deserves its day.
Full story HERE
Green Bay isn’t intimidated by Pittsburgh’s tough reputation
By Bob McGinn, Journal-Sentinel
~Dallas — It’s defensive end Dwight White spending all week before Super Bowl IX in the hospital suffering from pneumonia, crawling out of bed to play the entire game and then being readmitted afterward for 10 more days.
It’s an enraged Franco Harris thundering 22 yards up the gut for a touchdown in Super Bowl XIII.
It’s menacing Jack Lambert at his gap-toothed best bellowing out signals in Super Bowl XIV.
It’s Hines Ward playing hurt in the 40th and 43rd Super Bowls with major injuries that would have sidelined others.
And now it’s James Farrior jarring ball carriers, Rashard Mendenhall lowering his shoulder in traffic, Casey Hampton blowing up blocking combinations and Ben Roethlisberger refusing to go down.
The Bigger the are, the harder they fall. Big Ben must go down, and BJ Raji, Cullen Jenkins, and Clay Matthews are just the guys to do it.
The Green Bay Packers must do many things well to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday in Super Bowl XLV, but nothing will matter if they don’t stand up physically to a franchise whose trademark has always been hitting people.
“That’s why they’re in the game,” said Ron Wolf, the Packers’ retired general manager who was there with the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium two days before Christmas in 1972 when the “Immaculate Reception” gave the Steelers their first-ever playoff victory. “That’s when it all started.
“They had a dominant defensive player by the name of ‘Mean Joe’ Greene who was as good as anybody who ever played the game from an inside position. There’s a physicality and a mentality that the Pittsburgh (personnel) people have always looked for to make part of their team.”
The Steelers run the ball and they stop the run.
They go deep on offense and they try to frighten the passer on defense.
And they look to impose their will on offense, defense and special teams.
“I grew up in Pittsburgh and I’m aware of all that,” said Ben McAdoo, who coaches the Packers’ tight ends. “I think that’s been part of their culture for a long time. A part of playing good defense is being intimidating.”
On defense, all 11 Packers will be well aware that Ward, even at 38 years of age, will be looking to light up some unsuspecting soul downfield with a cleaving block.
On offense, all 11 Packers know that LaMarr Woodley, Harrison and the rest of coordinator Dick LeBeau’s unit will be trying to knock Aaron Rodgers into next week.
"I can say for that team and that defense, what they say, they back it up," said wide receiver James Jones. "Troy Polamalu is everywhere.
“They’ve got that thing, ‘The Steel Curtain,’ ” defensive end Ryan Pickett said. “People look at them as being a tough team. It’s a credit to them.”
But guess what? These Packers aren’t the least bit worried.
“I think that’s a nice storyline,” coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday. “We respect the way they play. But trust me. We’re a physical football team.”
Three years ago, the Packers were halted one step short of playing in the 42nd Super Bowl by the New York Giants. Brett Favre and Al Harris were unforgettably awful, but perhaps less remembered is how badly the Packers were whipped at the line of scrimmage on that arctic night at Lambeau Field.
From his seat at Lambeau Field during the fall and more recently from his easy chair in Florida, Wolf swears he is seeing the Steelers’ modus operandi bubbling from within the Packers.
“You have that Pittsburgh mentality on that defensive side of the ball now,” said Wolf. “It doesn’t hurt to have a player like (Charles) Woodson. He’s a tough son of a gun.
“It’s also the offensive line. John Kuhn is a tough guy. I think the Packers have got tough guys, and that helps them.”
Both safety Charlie Peprah and Wolf were quick to cite the divisional playoff game in Atlanta as the moment when Green Bay best illustrated its new-found rough and tumble approach. Playing with just five days of rest, the Packers rolled, 48-21.
“I think Atlanta thought that physically they were going to subdue the Packers,” said Wolf. “That was an ass-kicking. That Atlanta’s game. Try to beat you up. And that was no contest.”
The Packers crushed the Giants on Dec. 26 in another game that was billed as a macho type affair.
“I don’t know if teams talk about us, but you watch our tape,” Pickett said. “We’re a pretty physical bunch all around the board. We can line up and hit you in the mouth.”
Based on what Joe Whitt reads and hears, he says the perception of the Packers’ defense is focused on its opportunistic nature.
“It sort of bothers me when people talk about the Jets’ defense and Baltimore’s defense and the Steelers’ defense and how physical they are,” said Whitt, the cornerbacks coach in Green Bay. “But we out-hit the Jets and last year we out-hit Baltimore.
The current Steelers defense is ranked #1 in the NFL today, very reminicent of the Steel Curtain of the 1970's.
“When we get on the field against those physical teams, teams like Chicago, we find a way to get it done. We don’t have to play any more physical than what we play. That should be good enough.”
McCarthy grew up in Pittsburgh, too, and was watching at age 11 when the Steelers won their first championship by manhandling Minnesota in January 1975. He also apprenticed for six seasons in Kansas City under Marty Schottenheimer, a coach who loved nothing better than going toe-to-toe.
“I’ve lived in that world,” said McCarthy. “But physical football to me is not how many times you get up and slobberknock it. It’s fun, but it’s not reality. At the end of the day, we’ve got to score as many points as we can.”
So what does physical football mean to McCarthy?
“Finishing a play is the best illustration of who’s being more physical,” he said. “Is our guy scrapping, clawing and fighting for the extra yard? It’s making a catch and what we call ‘VOB’ . . . violence on the boundary. You’re running out of bounds but instead you run through the hit to get the first down.
“Physical football is winning the fundamental battles. It’s a receiver releasing properly on a DB, or a DB getting his hands on a receiver. It’s finishing runs. Getting off blocks. Finishing tackles.
“To me, it’s not, ‘Let’s get into two backs and see who’s the toughest.’ I’m not running into walls to run into walls.”
The Packers have been respectful, so far at least, of what the Steelers’ tradition is all about.
“I can say for that team and that defense, what they say, they back it up,” said wide receiver James Jones. “Troy Polamalu is everywhere. He’s hitting. Harrison’s crazy. I don’t know how hard they hit, but on film they’re flying around and getting to the ball.”
What the Packers are looking for is co-billing on the hit parade. They might not get there during the game of hype, but they intend to attain it and then some by Sunday night.
“The top two defenses in the league are playing,” said Whitt. “We just have to play our game.”
Full story HERE
Packers’ Woodson now talking the talk
By Charean Williams, Ft Worth Star-Telegram
~IRVING — Charles Woodson has walked the walk in his 13 NFL seasons.
The Green Bay Packers cornerback is a seven-time Pro Bowler and three times has earned All-Pro honors. Last year, he was the league’s defensive player of the year. But this year, for the first time in his career, he also has talked the talk.
Woodson, 34, didn’t have his best season on the field with four pass interference penalties, three defensive holding penalties and a league-leading four illegal contact penalties. But the Packers might not be here without him.
The Packers, who rotated captains during the season, elected six captains before the postseason — Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings on offense, Woodson and A.J. Hawk on defense and Mason Crosby and Jarrett Bush on special teams. The other five captains elected Woodson the foreman, and Rodgers was designated to lead the prayer.
Charles Woodson has walked the walk in the NFL since 1998, but now he's also talking the talk as the Packers vocal leader.
“I told them, ‘The last words before we leave the locker room are going to come from our players,’” coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s a players’ game…. It’s an opportunity for our leaders to step to the forefront, and I’ve watched [Rodgers and Woodson] grow, particularly this last month, as leaders, and our team has responded in a very favorable way.”
Woodson has been a leader by example his entire career, with his 607 tackles, 47 interceptions, 22 forced fumbles and 97 passes defensed speaking for themselves. But, for the first time, he also is the team’s vocal leader.
“The guys kind of just said, ‘Charles, you’ll do it,’” said Woodson, whose only other Super Bowl appearance came in the 2002 season when his Raiders lost to the Bucs. “That was the end of it. I didn’t have to say anything. … I think it comes with a little bit of respect. I think the guys have a lot of respect for me, a lot of respect for my career, the way I play the game. That’s kind of how it is. You kind of lead by example, but at times, you need to speak and you do.”
When President Barack Obama vowed to attend the Super Bowl if his beloved Bears made it to Arlington, Woodson used the pledge to fire up the Packers before the NFC Championship Game.
“Hey, I want you all to think about one thing: ‘One,’” Woodson said to his teammates in the locker room in a speech showing on packers.com. “For two weeks, think about ‘One.’ Let’s be one mind. Let’s be one heartbeat. One purpose. One goal. One more game. One. Let’s get it.”
Woodson paused, but he wasn’t done.
“And check this,” he said, a little louder. “If the president don’t want to come watch us in the Super Bowl, guess what? We’ll go see him. White House on three.”
Woodson’s teammates shouted in unison: “1… 2… 3… White House!”
After the Packers 21-14 victory over the Bears, Woodson autographed a jersey for the president with a message: See you at the White House. Go Packers.”
Tramon Williams and Sam Shields have each had a 2-Int day the past 2 Packer games. Don't be surprised to see Woodson step up and be the playmaker on Super Bowl Sunday.
“He’s done such a great job with it,” Hawk said. “I know he’ll have something good for us come Sunday. His postgame speech after Chicago, I’m sure that’s everywhere now. I told him right afterward, he was smart pulling the president into it. He knew what he was doing.”
Full story HERE
Packers’ Rodgers Has Deep Roots in Chico
By Karen Crouse, NY Times
~CHICO, Calif. — As if anybody here needed reminding, the Pleasant Valley High School marquee last week read: “Excellence Is Not an Act. But a Habit. There’s a PV Viking in the Super Bowl!”
Chico is where the Rodgers family grew up and Chico is very proud of their former unwanted QB Aaron
In this part of the fertile Sacramento Valley, crowing does not thrive. The day after that message appeared, at the alma mater of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, there was talk of taking it down.
“We’re definitely celebrating Aaron’s success,” John Shepherd, the principal, said, “but we don’t need to glorify the school. It’s a fine balance.”
The exclamation point, in particular, seemed out of place, like a Hummer in a line of pickups in the school parking lot. It is a big-city affectation, a honk at the end of a sentence. People do not toot their horns here. They do not try to act California cool.
The usual slang words like awesome or cool are not heard much. Nice is in. As in: “You won the lottery? Nice.”
Will Christensen, Pleasant Valley’s senior quarterback, said: “You don’t see huge houses and a lot of flamboyance. We’re just a dinky little town.”
Situated 90 miles northeast of Sacramento, Chico has a population of 87,713 and is separated from the state capital by roads that run mostly two lanes. The tallest building is a nine-story dormitory on the campus of California State University, Chico, which was built on a cherry orchard and offers 120 majors to its student body of 14,000.
People often come here for college and never leave. That was the case with Rodgers’s father, Ed, who was from Lompoc, a tinier town in Southern California. At Chico, he played on the football team, on the offensive line, and met his wife, Darla, a dancer from whom the younger Rodgers, according to his father, gets his nimble feet.
Rodgers, 27, and his brothers, Luke, 28, and Jordan, 22, grew up here, except for a brief detour to Oregon when Rodgers was in middle school so his father could attend chiropractic school.
One day last week at his office, Ed Rodgers sat at the receptionist’s desk trying to adjust his schedule. It is a short work week for him owing to that secular holiday known as Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Tex.
It is hard for Ed Rodgers to wrap his head around the fact that a native son, much less his middle child, will be playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers on the N.F.L.’s biggest stage. “I knew Aaron had a special gift,” he said, “but you never think your kid is going to wind up in the Super Bowl.”
Ed Rodgers’s football career stalled after college. He had a few Canadian Football League tryouts and played for a California League semiprofessional team in Marysville. It won back-to-back national championships, and Rodgers’s father wryly noted that the team it beat for the second title was the Pittsburgh Colts.
A good omen, perhaps? Ed Rodgers laughed. His laugh deepened at the suggestion that he taught Aaron his quick release so his linemen would face less stress.
“No,” he said. “You can’t teach that. It’s just a gift.”
At age 2, his father said, Rodgers would sit on the couch and watch an entire N.F.L. game without fidgeting, his eyes riveted to the screen.
By age 5, he could identify the formations used by his favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers, and throw a football through a tire hanging from a tree. Larry Ruby, a family friend, said, “That’s when I began thinking his mind was really amazing and his physical attributes were phenomenal.”
Liane Christensen, whose sons, Wes and Will, grew up playing with the Rodgers boys, knew Rodgers had a gift the first time he stood in front of the Christensens’ three-story house and threw a football over the roof and into the backyard pool.
“I never worried about him breaking a window,” she said, “because he was always so darn accurate.”
An old friend of Ed Rodgers attended one of Rodgers’s sporting events and told Aaron afterward, “You’re a really good player.” As Ed Rodgers recalled: “Aaron was like: ‘Yeah, but you should see my brother. He’s better.’ The gentleman turned to me and said, ‘You know, that response is really rare.’ ”
So was Rodgers’s answer to a question posed to him during the admittance interview for Champion Christian, where he attended eighth grade. The principal said, “Tell me one thing you can do to make the school better,” and Rodgers, according to his father, replied, “Your sports teams are going to be really good.”
His father added, “Aaron has always had this interesting combination of being really humble and extremely confident.”
It is a strange mix, like the cooling air masses and warming water vapors that cause the fog that last week sat atop the valley like foam on a cappuccino. It was so thick, Chico seemed to disappear in the mist.
Coming out of high school, Rodgers and other athletes have talked about feeling invisible, not without good reason. A decade ago, on a flight from Phoenix to Sacramento, Rodgers’s father struck up a conversation with his seatmate, an assistant at Arizona State who was on a recruiting trip.
“I remember distinctly saying I’ve got a son who’s a high school quarterback in Chico who I think might be pretty decent,” Ed Rodgers said, “and his response was that between the Los Angeles area and the Bay Area and Sacramento, that’s where they find all their talent.”
Despite his athletic prowess, an A-minus average and an SAT score of 1310, Rodgers did not receive an N.C.A.A. Division I scholarship offer coming out of high school. He stayed home and attended Butte College, a junior college in Oroville, Calif., earned an athletic scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, and was drafted by the Packers in the first round in 2005.
The spotlight shining on Rodgers has burned through the fog that shrouded this city’s athletes. Students who might have quit after high school are actively seeking to extend their athletic careers. A linebacker at Pleasant Valley is headed to Cal on an athletic scholarship and the quarterback, Christensen, is following his older brother and Rodgers to Butte.
“Knowing that someone has come out of the same situation and achieved the kind of success that Aaron has is definitely a huge motivation for me,” he said. “I’ve seen that it can be done.”
Rodgers realizes his football career, now in full bloom, serves as a kind of canopy for Chico’s athletes. His roots remain as deep as the trees that grow heavy with almonds, the area’s No. 1 crop.
When the Vikings’ football team advanced to the playoffs last fall, Rodgers posted a good-luck message on the wall of Christensen’s Facebook page.
“He wrote something like, ‘Now bring those boys home a championship like I couldn’t,’ ” Christensen said, adding, “For him to take time to post on my wall was huge.”
One of Rodgers’s childhood friends, Amy Ruby, is a teacher who was recently assigned her own kindergarten class after toiling as a substitute. When Rodgers found out, he mailed her a box of Packers paraphernalia to decorate her room.
Ten days before the Packers’ showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, Ruby’s parents, Larry and Diane, received a text from Rodgers, who wrote: “Thank you for being there for me throughout my life. Thank you for all the support. Love you. Can’t wait to see you.”
Full story HERE
Packers quarterback Rodgers proves early doubters wrong
By Simon Evans, International Business Times
~Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday but he could be forgiven for wondering if his time would ever come after spending three years as Brett Favre’s understudy.
Remember Roethlisberger's first Super Bowl? He was terrible. But the Steelers still won thanks to a great defense and some terrible calls by the refs. The Packers cannot survive a similar game from Rodgers.
Rodgers’ teammates believe the experience of working behind the scenes without a chance of glory illustrated the personal qualities that have allowed the quarterback to emerge as one of the NFL’s most impressive performers this season.
Record-breaking quarterback Favre, who retired for a third time two weeks ago, spent 16 years with Green Bay where he was a fan favorite while Rodgers, drafted in 2005, was forced to spend his first three seasons as Favre’s backup.
“A lot of people probably doubted him,” Packers wide receiver Donald Driver told reporters on Monday shortly after the team’s flight arrived in Texas. “When all the things are going up and down, the roller coaster with Brett, I just think it got to a point where Aaron was better than most would have been in that situation.”
Rodgers’s patience was tested when Favre first retired, effectively handing him the starting role, only to change his mind and announce he wanted his number four jersey back.
That change of heart eventually led to Favre’s acrimonious departure from Green Bay and mostly unsuccessful spells with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.
Green Bay’s decision to stick with Rodgers rather than give Favre another year was not a popular one at the time but it has been amply justified by his classy display this season.
“He handled it well. He knew he was going to get his opportunity and I think that is all he wanted,” said Driver.
"He handled it well. He knew he was going to get his opportunity and I think that is all he wanted," said Donald Driver.
“He hasn’t let the organization down – he did what you have to do, make the most of it, and I think he has done everything that he can.”
Rodgers, who ran for a score and made a TD-saving tackle in a 21-14 win over Chicago in the NFC Championship game, has been reluctant to discuss his years in the shadow of Favre but on Monday said he was helped through the tough times by friends.
“I had a great coaching staff and also I just surrounded myself with good people, close friends and family, said Rodgers.
“I reached out to a number of people during those times and was able to really get some good advice throughout. I just tried to stay true to my character and I had an organization that backed me and gave me a chance.”
Full story HERE
Clear of Favre cloud, Rodgers’ star shines bright
By Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News
~IRVING, Texas — We hardly hear the “F” word anymore when it comes to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, be it in Green Bay or somewhere far beyond.
This is in stark contrast to his early years as the Packers’ starter, when every pass, every dropback, every read, every interview somehow was related to Brett Favre.
Aaron Rodgers answers questions from the media Monday after the Packers' arrival at the Super Bowl. Rodgers can become the new face of the Packers' franchise with a victory this weekend. (AP Photo)
In five short days, Rodgers has a chance to match Favre in Super Bowl victories and complete a successful, smooth transition as the face of the franchise. All the while, the grizzled Favre has faded away.
Think back to Favre’s last year in Green Bay. Under coach Mike McCarthy, Favre had the Packers on the cusp of a trip to Super Bowl XLII, only to be upset by the Giants in the NFC championship game.
Without Favre’s disappointment and subsequent retirement from the team, the Packers might not have moved forward and set the stage for their resurgence under Rodgers. After three years of grooming, Rodgers was ripe in 2008, a quarterback ready to rise with the young talent around him.
“(Rodgers) knew he was going to get his opportunity — that’s all he wanted,” Packers wide receiver Donald Driver said Monday. “Once you get the opportunity, you have to make the best of it. I think Aaron has done everything that he can.”
Rodgers felt he was worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 draft, instead of Alex Smith, but now admits to the benefits of being selected by a team without a pressing need at quarterback. Instead of being called upon to be a wobbly franchise’s savior, Rodgers had a chance to evolve as a player and leader.
“We had all the pieces in place,” Rodgers said.
With Rodgers going back to a more youthful, beardless look Monday at his first Super Bowl, it would be easy to think this fresh face might be overwhelmed on sports’ biggest stage.
However, at age 27 he’s just one year younger than Super Bowl XLV counterpart Ben Roethlisberger, who has gone 2-for-2 when the ring is on the line. It’s also the same age at which Favre played in his first Super Bowl, and he rose to the occasion in a stellar performance to win Super Bowl XXXI.
With the poise Rodgers has shown through winning three tough road games this year to reach this point, he will be prepared for his opportunity to become a Packers immortal.
In just three years of action, Rodgers already is the NFL’s career leader in passer rating at 98.5. And with a ring, he not only would match Favre’s championship output but also the Colts’ Peyton Manning and Saints’ Drew Brees.
With a win Sunday in the Super Bowl, Rodgers would match the career ring total of both Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.
If Rodgers wins Sunday, the conversation will shift away from him vs. Favre and toward whether he can match the jewelry of Roethlisberger and then the most decorated quarterback of his era, Tom Brady.
Brady was no question the quarterback who wowed everyone the most during the regular season, including a dismantling of Pittsburgh’s defense. Unlike Brady, Rodgers is still standing, and the Steelers know they have to play much a better game then they did against Brady.
On Nov. 14, Brady burned the Steelers for 350 yards passing and three touchdowns and another TD rushing. That’s not unlike the game Rodgers had against the Steelers in December of ’09: 383 yards passing and three touchdowns plus one TD rushing.
“I think Aaron is the best,” Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said Monday. “I think he’s playing the best, including Brady.
“I don’t see people throw the ball where it’s 5 feet off the ground for 40 yards like Aaron does.”
A lot of superlatives have been thrown at Rodgers throughout the Packers’ improbable Super Bowl run. But at this point, comparing Rodgers to the best version of Favre might not be good enough.
Full story HERE