With Favre retired, there is a new leader of the Packers
The Green Bay Packers are still adjusting to life without quarterback Brett Favre.
For the last 16 years, Favre was the face of the franchise, the centerpiece of a team that went to the playoffs 11 times, reached the NFC championship game four times and played in two Super Bowls, winning one.
His locker, 10 weeks after his retirement, still belongs to Favre. His shoulder pads sit on a shelf. The nameplate remains.
Some of the Packers rookies, in fact, took pictures of the locker during their minicamp earlier this month.
“Just when you walk through the locker room, you have this locker standing there and it’s like, what are you going to do with it?” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “You can’t put anybody in it. Would you want that locker? You’ve got to be kidding me.
“So there’s definitely going to be an absence. There will be a number of different signs or symbolic situations that are going to remind you of Brett. I think those are all positives. I think it’s a tribute to what he’s accomplished. I think it’s a great example to our players.”
Favre occupied that locker and place in the starting lineup for 275 consecutive games, counting the postseason. He is expected to be replaced in the starting lineup by Aaron Rodgers, who has taken 121 regular-season snaps since the Packers selected him in the first round of the 2005 draft.
As insurance, the Packers took two quarterbacks in this year’s draft: Brian Brohm of Louisville in the second round and Matt Flynn of LSU in the seventh.
“I’m happy with what we have,” Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. “You bring players into your system, you get a chance to mold them a little bit.”
But the job is Rodgers’ to lose. He was impressive in relief of an injured Favre last Thanksgiving in Dallas when he came off the bench and completed 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in a loss to the Cowboys.
And he has impressed the coaching staff with his presence in the locker room during the start of the offseason program.
“I’m excited for Aaron Rodgers, but I’m excited every year,” said McCarthy, who guided the Packers to a 13-3 record and a berth in the NFC championship game last season after two nonplayoff seasons. “This business is incredible because every year is so distinctly different. Every team is a different team. Every season takes on different obstacles.
“We feel like we’ve been planning for this. Personally I thought we were a year away from life after Brett, but we’re prepared for this.”
Rodgers has a three-year jump on his competition, and the organization intends to keep winning with him. Veteran Craig Nall, a backup for most of the last five years, will not be brought back.
“You hope that when the names change the foundation is set and guys come in and play the way they’re supposed to play,” Philbin said. “Our expectations are high. You hope the Green Bay Packers’ offense has somewhat of an identity and guys understand what the expectations are.”
McCarthy does not envision changing the offense to suit Rodgers.
“Our offense will be very similar to last year’s approach,” McCarthy said. “Aaron has a top-level arm in the NFL. There’s not a throw that I would not be comfortable with him making. None of that will change.
“It’s important for Aaron to take over the huddle, command it. It’s different for every quarterback, so that’s something that our players are aware of and already used to. He’ll be able to be in charge from day one. … To replace a legend like Brett Favre, I definitely feel he’s the right guy for this task.”
