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By Dave Begel Special to OnMilwaukee.com E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Dave Begel

Published Nov. 18, 2008 at 5:30 a.m.

Tags: packers, rodgers, favre, mccarthy, thompson, begel

It's almost impossible to overstate the importance of a quarterback in the National Football League.

I know that some people say the quarterback gets more praise and more criticism than he deserves. I don't believe it.

A good quarterback can lift a team. A great one can carry a team. A bad one can drag it down. A horrible one can sink a team.

Now, let's take a glance backward to the 2007 season. The Packers, with Brett Favre, were 13-3 and the class of their division. The New York Jets, with nobody at quarterback, were 4-12 and barely edged the 1-15 Dolphins for the worst record in their division.

Fast forward to this year. The Jets, with Brett Favre as quarterback, are 7-3 and in first place in their division after a huge road victory against their most hated rival. It was vintage Favre as the Jets won in overtime. The Packers, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, are 5-5 and have a 1-2 record since Rodgers signed his new multimillion-dollar contract.

I know I should probably let this go, but I can't. It makes me sick to my stomach to see Favre, still at the top of his game, wearing a Jets uniform. I watched the whole game Thursday night and it was like watching my daughter celebrate Father's Day with somebody else.

I know a guy who is very smart about a lot of things, including football. I'm not going to use his name, but he works on the staff of a United States Senator from the Midwest, who is not from Wisconsin and whose last name isn't Obama. This guy, who went to the Harvard Law School, is smart and has very good judgment. Here's part of the e-mail he sent after the Packers' loss to Minnesota.

"Rogers just looks really uncomfortable back there. He looks scared. He can't read a defense. He is totally lost back there. He has terrible field sense and no poise. He has happy feet. I really can't put into words how badly he has been playing.

"And, frustratingly, the local press does not call Rogers out. I saw (Journal Sentinel beat reporter Bob) McGinn this morning (after the Vikings game) criticize the kicker. The kicker? This game was entirely on Rogers.

"I feel like I'm watching the early years of the Bush years all over again. Everything is clearly a disaster, yet the local press keeps blindly taking the team's talking points, while the leader (Rodgers) gets rewarded (with some ungodly long term contract).

"At least the Bush presidency is coming to an end. The Rodgers disaster is just beginning."

I know it's hard to criticize Rodgers after the game against the Bears. But some things should be kept in mind.

First of all, Mike McCarthy seriously out-coached Lovie Smith. Smith was unbeaten at Lambeau Field and he appeared to rest on his laurels rather than actually try to win the game.

No matter what happened, he kept the same vanilla defense going against the Packers. He never brought any pressure on Rodgers, even though teams -- like Minnesota 10 days ago -- have shown repeatedly that is how you rattle the Packers quarterback.

The second thing that's important is that Rodgers was never in a difficult situation all day long. It's easy to be a quarterback when the other team is lousy and appears to not even be trying. The way you measure a quarterback and his mettle is during the tough times, during the tough games.

Rodgers, inexplicably, has a new contract and is the quarterback of a .500 team. The same team that was one game away from the Super Bowl last year.

I still think Ted Thompson and McCarthy made a bad decision (not as bad as John McCain picking Sarah Palin!) when they decided to send Favre packing. And I still believe Rodgers' performance continues to prove that I'm right.

18 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by LegallyBlonde on Nov. 19, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. (report)

Dab-EE-Boy...you stated... If Favre had this years Packer defense last year he may have been undefeated. What season are you watching? Last year's Packers D, overall was much more dominant that the 08 version. Yes, we have more interceptions, and our secondary is playing at a higher-level, but the loss of Jenkins, Williams, combined with Barnett completely dropping off has been huge. We can't stop the run, which is exactly what we did last year against the Giants, Chiefs, Eagles, and Chargers. Teams with similar running games have slashed us in 08 -- Tampa Bay, Falcons, Cowboys, (vikes). Favre is a good player. So is rodgers. The d-line of the pack is mediocre, and thus our team would have the same or similar record with favre. Either way, Go PACK!! Let's move forward with our man.

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Posted by Merle on Nov. 19, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. (report)

You state "It's easy to be a quarterback when the other team is lousy and appears to not even be trying. The way you measure a quarterback and his mettle is during the tough times, during the tough games." The 2007 Packers played 4 playoff teams, two of them SD & NYG were lousy at the time. I recall tough times at Chicago & the NFC Championship when Favre stunk out loud. Rodgers has been sacked 5 more times in 10 games than Favre was all last season. Wells has missed time and Clifton has been spotty at best. As the line goes so goes the team.

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Posted by more_cowbell on Nov. 19, 2008 at 1:42 a.m. (report)

Wow the lawyer from Harvard was breaking down some game film and saw some tendencies. Well golly get the Packers on the phone and put him to work as a QB coach. I'm sure you can check with a Harvard Law on the math but the last time I checked 22 players make up a football team the QB is just 1. You know who else was 1 game away from the Super Bowl and is and is essentially the same team? The 4-6 Chargers. (aside from a non-steroid assisted Shawne Merriman) Huh.. is it possible that members of the Packers (like the Chargers) have fallen off and gotten old quick? No it must be Brett Favre willing a team to win. Is it possible that you have read too much into the Favre wins against such quality teams like Cincinnati, Kansas City, and St. Louis a collective 5-25. And don't forget that stellar performance in the loss to powerhouse 2-8 Oakland. No its got to be that old Favre magic, not a weak schedule. His performance has dropped like a stone after game 10 in the last 3 seasons and the Titans are coming to town. Please promise to write an article at the end of the season, if you are right gloat away and dream of a Super Bowl trip for the Pack if only #4 was still in GB. In the likely event you are wrong man up and admit that the Packers made the right decision.

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Posted by Broner on Nov. 18, 2008 at 5:52 p.m. (report)

Come on Buck, you know you'll be back here reading this drivel week after week. I always find his articles amusing. I think it's neat that he tries. Dave, do you know why the jury is out on Rodgers? Because he's played 10 friggin' games so far. Favre has played 280 or so. How about we just wait at least until the end of this season to begin passing judgement on Rodgers? Geez. Try coming up with something else to write about until at least then. But please, don't write another article about which athletes are attractive and which ones aren't. I wish I could unread that article. Also, I love the logic that when Rodgers was getting pounded by the Vikings D, it was his fault but when he had all day to pass against the Bears, it was the O-line and Lovie Smith's coaching that allowed Rodgers to succeed, not Rodgers' ability. This type of article is what you get when you allow your biases to completely color your judgement. I mean, one of the only people to agree with you is a guy whose member name is Packmvp04. You're not going to get an unbiased opinion there.

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Posted by DanEBoy on Nov. 18, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. (report)

I totally agree with Dave Begel's spin on the Favre thing. I have tried very hard to get over the whole thing, but cannot. We all know that both sides handled the matter very poorly this past summer. But the Packers owed it to Brett to come back "whenever" he decided. ala Michael Jordan. It's all about Mr. T making a statement about "his" draft choice. If anyone thinks that the Packers are a better team with Rodgers than Farve - They're crazy. If Favre had this years Packer defense last year he may have been undefeated. Thanks Dave. I was beginning to think it was just me. . I

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