October 18, 2017 at 1:06 p.m.
Shoutouts & Callouts
Surviving the post-Aaron Rodgers apocalypse
Shoutouts & Callouts
The result: a broken collarbone - the second in four years for Rodgers - and the realization that the Packers' high aspirations of returning to Minneapolis for the Super Bowl in February may have also been snapped.
There has been plenty of speculation in the days since Rodgers' injury. We know he's is going to have surgery to repair the collarbone. We don't know if the injury is season-ending, but we know it's going to keep him off the field for a significant period of time.
That means the weight of Packers nation falls squarely on the shoulders of Brett Hundley, a third-year quarterback out of UCLA, who threw a touchdown and three picks in emergency duty in last week's loss.
"I'm not going to say it's going to stay the same. It's not going to. But that's part of the deal," center Corey Linsley said. "When somebody new comes in there, regardless if it's Brett or another offensive linemen or another receiver, whoever it is has to make that adjustment."
Some other questions to ponder after the Packers' season got turned upside down:
2013 all over again?
We've seen the Packers without Aaron Rodgers before and the results have not been pretty. Rodgers has missed 10 games since becoming the starter in 2008 and the Packers went 3-6-1 in those games, including 2-5-1 when Rodgers injured his left collarbone back in 2013. The quarterback responsible for all three Packers' wins? Matt Flynn, who spelled a healthy Rodgers and proceeded to toss a franchise-record six touchdowns in a meaningless Week 17 win over Detroit back in 2011. Flynn came back as a free agent midway through the 2013 season to go 2-2-1 in the last five games to keep the Packers alive in the playoff hunt.
Not a 2013 repeat?
An argument could be made that the Packers won't go through the same tailspin because the backup quarterback position is more settled than it was back in 2013.
If you recall, the Packers No. 2 quarterback was very much in doubt that year and Vince Young began the preseason as the possible backup before a less-than-spectacular preseason resulted in a cut. Seneca Wallace took over when Rodgers went down against the Bears and was far from effective before he sustained his own injury. Despite the entire state rooting for him, given his ties as the former starting quarterback for the Badgers, Scott Tolzien wasn't much better. The Packers lucked into bringing Flynn back after he was cut by the Bills.
Now the Packers have Hundley and second-year quarterback Joe Callahan, who was signed from the practice squad on Monday. We've seen plenty of both during the last two preseasons but the question that remains to be answered is if either of them can step into such a highly-pressurized situation.
In keeping with team management's mantra to draft and develop, coach Mike McCarthy insisted Monday that the Packers already have the man for the job.
"I've got three years invested in Brett Hundley, two years invested in Joe Callahan," he said. "The quarterback room is exactly where it needs to be, OK? ... We're committed to the path that we're on."
And if that fails?
McCarthy's terse answer regarding the quarterback situation was in response to a question regarding any potential interest the Packers might have in free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The same day of Rodgers' injury, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the league alleging collusion regarding his inability to find a job after being cut by San Francisco following the end last season. Kaepernick, of course, was the originator of the national anthem protests that have become prevalent in the NFL this season.
Leaving politics and undoubted distractions aside, signing Kaepernick would simply be a bad football move for the Packers.
Something people conveniently forget in the whole Kaepernick controversy is that he was already fighting for his starting job in San Francisco when he decided to take a knee. That's because he was largely ineffective in 2015, completing only 59 percent of his passes with six touchdowns and five interceptions while playing only nine games in 2015. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was up in 2016 (16-4), but he still completed only 59.2 percent of his passes.
A big part of Kaepernick's decline came when NFL defenses started to figure out how to stop the read option. Notice Seattle's Russell Wilson hasn't had the same amount of success over the last few seasons, either. While Wilson is more proficient at throwing from the pocket than Kaepernick, some of his best work also came at the height of the read-option craze.
If you really insist the Packers should bring in a quarterback off the street to save the season, then look to Tony Romo instead. Yes he's settled into the CBS booth - rather nicely at that - with Jim Nantz and he's nearly two years removed from his last NFL pass, but Romo and Rodgers possess a lot of similar traits. Both are very comfortable inside the pocket and have big-play ability outside of it. Romo, it would appear, would be the much better fit for the Packers' offense.
Will it even matter?
I'm afraid when the Packers send this week's injury report, our email server will reject it due to the file size.
The Packers' public relations department would almost be better served sending us a list of who is healthy and able to play. Take the secondary alone. Quintin Rollins (ankle) went on IR to accommodate Callahan's promotion to the active roster. Kevin King is concussed, Davon House is injured and Damarious Randall has been too busy being a malcontent over the last three weeks. And now the Packers are supposed to somehow go out and stop Drew Brees and a Saints offense that threw up a whopping 52-spot against Detroit last Sunday? Good luck with that.
As for Hundley, he had better be able to move in the pocket as the Packers' oft-injured offensive line may struggle to protect him. The Packers have nine linemen on the roster. Eight of them played at least 15 percent of the snaps in last Sunday's loss.
All of this spells trouble, and big trouble at that, for a Packers' team that can't get to its bye week soon enough.
In Ted and Mike we trust?
If there was ever a time for McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson to earn their paychecks, this is it. We're about to find out if this team is built to withstand the loss of not only its best player, but one of the top five players in football today.
If the Packers somehow manage to go .500 the rest of the year, that puts them at 9-7 on the season, which still might not be enough for a wild card berth.
The problem is seven of the Packers' final 10 games are against teams which currently sport a record of .500 or better. That includes road games at Pittsburgh (4-2) and Carolina (4-2).
If Hundley - or whoever takes ends up taking the snaps during Rodgers' absence - somehow guides this team to the playoffs, it will undoubtedly prove Thompson's ability to scout talent and McCarthy knack for coaching it.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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