Packers' Rodgers is in spotlight for opener

GREEN BAY, WIS.

Even Scott Hunter replacing the legendary Bart Starr in 1972 can't compare to how strange it will be when Aaron Rodgers -- not Brett Favre -- starts at quarterback for the Green Bay Packers on Monday night at Lambeau Field.

Hunter at least started 10 games as a rookie the year before when a sore-armed, soon-to-be 38-year-old Starr could muster only three starts, going 0-3 as the Packers finished last in their division.

Rodgers, on the other hand, has never started an NFL game. And not only has Favre started a record 275 consecutive games, he's also coming off a season in which he led the Packers to a division title and the NFC Championship Game as a 38-year-old Pro Bowl player.

Starr retired following the 1971 season. He helped Hunter's transition in 1972, working as a quarterback consultant and calling the plays for then-Packers coach Dan Devine.

Favre retired following the 2007 season, but changed his mind and ended up being traded to the New York Jets. So rather than being helped by Favre, Rodgers' every baby step will be measured against each stride Favre takes as an 18-year veteran and future Hall of Famer.

Talk about pressure.

And, oh yeah, Rodgers' first assignment is beating the rival Vikings and their newest defensive toy, $74.5 million reigning NFL sack king Jared Allen.

"Aaron isn't overly emotional, so he's handled all of this pretty well, I think," Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said. "He takes things in stride pretty much. Kind of laid back at times."

Laid back? How about darn near flatline?

"This is just another game," Rodgers said.

Come again?

"It's your attitude you take into it, it's your focus each day in practice and in preparation with the film study you do every week," Rodgers said. "It is just another game.

"Everybody outside of the locker room is going to make it up to be a big spectacle, and that's fine. The pressure I put on myself to perform and the expectations we have as a team will stay the same."

So who the heck is this guy?

Born Dec. 2, 1983 in Chico, Calif., he's the NFL's third-youngest starting quarterback at 24. Among Week 1 projected starters, only 23-year-old rookies Matt Ryan in Atlanta and Joe Flacco in Baltimore are younger than Rogers, a four-year veteran.

Long before he was the 24th overall pick in 2005, Rodgers was a two-year starter at Pleasant Valley High in Chico. He once threw a school-record six touchdowns in a game, but the only Division I-A school to make him an offer was Illinois. And the Illini only wanted him as a walk-on.

Rodgers chose nearby Butte Community College instead. In 2003, while recruiting a player at Pleasant Valley, University of California coach Jeff Tedford discovered Rodgers.

Rodgers ended up at Cal and became a starter by the fifth game of his first season. In his second start, he helped the Bears upset then-No. 3 Southern California. A year later, he left for the NFL early after leading Cal to a No. 4 national ranking.

Rodgers was a potential No. 1 overall pick. But the San Francisco 49ers picked quarterback Alex Smith, who is now a backup behind journeyman J.T. O'Sullivan. Rodgers tumbled through the first round until Ted Thompson, in his first year as Packers general manager, plucked him from the board.

Three years and only 59 official passes later, here we are, at the end of a grooming period that is more than three years in the making.

"I think he's had very good preparation as far as following a great player at his position and also being in the same system now for three years, and really have some carryover from the system he was in his rookie season," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "It's really at the point where the player actually needs to go out and play the game. That's the last thing on his checklist."

So what makes the Packers think Rodgers is the guy? Well, here's a checklist compiled from the team's locker room this week:

Intelligence

When Favre showed up for McCarthy's first offseason Organized Team Activity, Rodgers had already been in Green Bay for a month studying the offense. He always has been a regular at Lambeau during the offseason.

"He's very smart and understands what we're trying to do," Clements said. "He can put us in the right situations and get us out of bad situations at the line of scrimmage. He makes the right checks and the right protection adjustments. That's very important, and he's very good at making quick decisions."

Arm strength

"He throws it hard, hard, hard," wide receiver Donald Driver added. "I even dropped one in practice because he threw it so hard."

Release and accuracy

At Cal, Rodgers set the school record for consecutive completions (26) and tied the NCAA record for consecutive completions in a game (23).

"A very quick release and a very accurate ball," Clements said.

Mobility (somewhat)

He isn't Vince Young, but, "he can move around well enough that he can scramble sometimes and get some yards," Clements said.

The Packers also put the quarterback sneak back into their playbook for the first time in more than 10 years. Favre never liked it.

Confidence

Yeah, it was preseason, but Rodgers played well. He completed 68.5 percent of his passes with three touchdowns, one interception and a 103.6 passer rating.

"The thing he was lacking was confidence in himself," Driver said. "He always said he felt the offense didn't believe in him. Well, we always believed in him. He had to believe in himself. Now that he has that, he can go out there and play with all the confidence in the world."

Poise under pressure, especially off the field, where expectations will be high, to say the least

"I know that comes with the territory playing quarterback at Green Bay," Rodgers said. "I knew that even if Brett had stayed retired there would still be that comparison my entire career. I hope it is a long career here at Green Bay. We wish Brett well and we're focused on what we got to do."

Thirty-six years ago, Hunter stepped into Starr's shadow. With the help of a strong running game, Hunter led the Packers to a division title that year. Two years later, after refusing to cross the picket line during the 1974 preseason NFL players strike, Hunter was traded to Buffalo. He retired in 1979 after going 21-18-3 with the Packers, Bills, Falcons and Lions.

Rodgers is hoping for more sustained success. Now, it's time to find out if that will be the case.

Finally.

"He's been primed, he's been prepped, he's been all of that," Packers receiver Greg Jennings said. "We're going to take what we got, and what we got is Aaron Rodgers. He's a great quarterback and he's going to show people what he can do on 'Monday Night Football.' He's ready."