GREEN BAY -- Being rookies, it's entirely possible that Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn will struggle in the Packers' preseason opener Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals at Lambeau Field.
But no matter how poorly they play -- not that either one is expecting to stink up the place, given their respective accomplishments in college -- at least they know they'll have to fare better than Aaron Rodgers did in his exhibition debut in 2005.
After all, how much worse can it get than it did for the then-rookie first-round pick?
"Let's see," Rodgers said, shaking his head and smiling. "It rained, my helmet (communication) knocked out, I had to call a couple of my own plays, I completed maybe two passes. So it wasn't the best start."
Especially in comparison to the way starter Brett Favre, who'd completed 9 of 10 passes for 91 yards, a touchdown and a 137.9 rating, had played against the San Diego Chargers. Rodgers, whose second NFL series was interrupted when the headset in his helmet got wet from the rain and malfunctioned, so he couldn't hear the plays being radioed in from the sideline, finished the night 2 for 6 for 7 yards and two sacks for a passer rating of 42.4 before giving way to J.T. O'Sullivan.
Thus, Brohm, a second-round pick, and Flynn, a seventh-rounder, should be able to do better than that -- although coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin expect considerably more.
"Our expectations are high. We can't hold the offense hostage to youth," Philbin said. "We expect our guys to play well. Does that mean they're going to go out there and be all-pros the first time out? No, and we expect them to (continue to) play better in October and December as well.
"The No. 1 thing we want these guys to do is take care
of the football and make smart decisions and manage the game. Do we anticipate that every throw is going to be perfect and right on the money? No. But we expect them to, if there's a protection adjustment to be made, if there's a blitz that occurs, we expect them to know how to respond."
Asked if the Packers will look for a veteran backup in the event that Brohm and Flynn struggle throughout the exhibition season, McCarthy replied, "My plan all along with Brian and Matt has been (that) we have a window to prepare them for the season. I really don't get caught up in what-ifs and who's out there. That's not my thought process. I'm focused on the players that are here. Those two quarterbacks will be ready to play when their time is called upon, and it's the responsibility of the coaching staff and the players to get that done."
For their parts, Flynn and Brohm have each been in much bigger games than this one. Flynn led LSU to the BCS title in January with a victory over Ohio State (and was named the offensive MVP of the game, completing 19 of 27 passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns).
Brohm, meanwhile, played in three colossal games as a junior at Louisville -- regular-season showdowns with West Virginia (the Cardinals and Mountaineers were both ranked in the top 5 at the time) and Rutgers and an Orange Bowl victory over Wake Forest, in which he was the MVP (24-for-34, 311 yards).
"They always say the next game is the most important game, so it will be Monday night here at Lambeau," Brohm said. "But when you play in a game like the West Virginia game -- third in the nation against fifth in the nation on Thursday night -- there's a lot on the line. There's not as much on the line this game.
"I just want to execute the offense. Did I make the right checks? Did I make the right run calls? Did I throw the ball to the right guy? That's what I want to see when I watch the film the next day. But, the first time out there, preseason game, at Lambeau, against an opponent on a Monday night -- it's going to be a good atmosphere. It's definitely going to be exciting. I can't wait to get out there."
Flynn is feeling the same anticipation, especially after none of the three quarterbacks performed particularly well in the Family Night Scrimmage. Rodgers was 7-for-20 for 84 yards and an interception; Brohm was 6-for-15 for 61 yards and a sack; and Flynn was 6-for-11 for 49 yards and a sack.
"It's been a long time since I played a game, and I'm excited. It's what you play the game for -- the games," Flynn said. "I've spent a lot of time in the playbook and watching Aaron and seeing how he runs things. I've definitely gotten a lot more comfortable. When you're up to the line of scrimmage and your brain's not scrambling as much, and you're not thinking about everything as much, you can kind of react and be a little calmer and make different checks and (protection) calls. It's getting a lot more fun. It's slowing down for me."
And with Favre now a member of the New York Jets, Rodgers is the "veteran" example, despite only being in his fourth year and never having started even an exhibition, much less a regular-season game. His advice for the young guys?
"The thing is, you can try to simulate the game speed in practice, but it's a notch higher even in preseason. And then even a notch higher in the regular season," Rodgers said. "They're going to have to be ready to make quick decisions, but slow things down in their own minds as well."
Shallow waters: Remember when the defensive line was the Packers' deepest position, so deep that 11 of them made the 53-man roster coming out of camp?
By the end of Saturday's practice, only seven were healthy: Ends Aaron Kampman, Cullen Jenkins, Jason Hunter, and Mike Montgomery, and tackles Colin Cole, Conrad Bolston and Alfred Malone.
Tackles Ryan Pickett and Justin Harrell have yet to practice in camp; end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila has missed more practices than he's participated in; tackle Johnny Jolly and end Jeremy Thompson have recently been sidelined; and tackle Daniel Muir went down Saturday after being kicked in the shin late in practice.
"We're definitely going to have a problem there," McCarthy said. "We'll probably put in the 3-4 defense (for Monday night), put that in for the game Monday."
He was kidding. We think.
Health takes priority: Speaking of injury problems, while players and coaches alike are looking forward to Monday night's exhibition opener and the opportunity to face off with an actual opponent, McCarthy was adamant that he won't risk the health of his team for the much-needed game work.
The coach said he intends to play Rodgers and the starters on both sides of the ball "approximately one quarter," although "if I need to go a few more snaps, I will." That said, "My only concern is the health of the football team," said McCarthy, whose staff met Saturday night to mete out playing time.
"Every decision will really be based on the health, because I would like to see them all play. "It's important for us to get some momentum, to get out there and play some live football. You don't want to be going through the preseason and feel like you have work that needs to be done in games three and four. (But) they will clearly be health issues."
That includes starting halfback Ryan Grant, who missed the first week of camp and has been out the last two days with a tight hamstring. "If he can go," McCarthy said, "I would like to see him go."
Jason Wilde, a Milwaukee native who graduated from Greendale Martin Luther High School and the University of Wisconsin, is a two-time Associated Press Sports Editors award winner and a Wisconsin Newspaper Association award winner.
His daily coverage can be found on the State Journal's Web site and through his Packers blog on madison.com.
