It Just Gets Better for the Packers
The Packers have had a disastrous season by any standard, but at least they’ve been able to reassure themselves that they’ve found a quarterback to carry them into the future while that other guy fades slowly off into the swampy sunset. The new kid on the block, Aaron Rodgers, has been everything the Packer faithful could’ve asked for and more. It’s not his fault the rest of the team is an unholy mess that can’t even squeak out a win at home against the Houston Texans. With any luck, the Packers will be able to re-tool in other areas, and give Mr. Rodgers the supporting cast necessary to make the playoffs his neighborhood.
Rodgers’ performance has been the silver lining on the dark cloud for the Packers this year…but silver linings, as we know, can sometimes be tarnished. Yes Rodgers has had a solid campaign…but he had to do it in spite of a bum shoulder suffered while scrambling Week 4 against Tampa Bay. And now – brace yourselves for it Cheesebrains – it’s been revealed that the quarterback will likely have to get surgery on the shoulder in the off-season. Packer fans know the rub against Rodgers since the start: He’s brittle. Obviously, he was tough enough to endure the pain of the bad shoulder all year – but what if the joint becomes a nagging issue? What if, in the end, he isn’t tough enough to carry the torch the way old #4 did, through thick and thin, no matter the odds, and in spite of being dinged up in every possible part of his body?
I’m not saying Rodgers is doomed to break down – I’m just saying that shoulder surgery, no matter how relatively minor, is never less than a big deal when it’s being performed on a quarterback. That arm is Aaron’s bread-and-butter – and it’s the Packers’ too, especially if they insist on being mediocre in the running game and on defense. How can Green Bay expect their QB to take them on his back and fly them to the promised land if he’s got a busted wing? If I were a Packer fan – and thank God I’m not – I would be very worried about this. Rodgers is just about all they have anymore – #4 ain’t coming back, no matter how many chickens the diehards sacrifice in voodoo ceremonies, and as for the other quarterbacks they drafted this off-season…um, what were their names again? Mickey Finn? Brian Boitano?
Of course there’s this consolation for the Pack – they’re going to have a pretty good draft pick once they lose to the Lions and finish 5-11. I might say it would behoove them to pick a QB, just to be on the safe side, but they have so many needs at other positions. I’m glad I’m not Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay braintrust. They’re going to have some tough decisions to make. Either about helping the team or, if they get fired, what alternate careers they might want to consider. It’s such a tough economy too. And there’s noodle-arm Favre with a chance to still make the playoffs after they told him to get lost. These guys can’t catch a break can they?
