Packers' Future

This may be the last post I make on this blog. After it is published, I expect a crazed mob of cheeseheads with pitchforks to hunt me down. But I will be brave. (And if you don't like the opinions expressed on this site, feel free to click that Make a Donatation button on the left. I will gladly consider adopting your opinion as mine, for the proper price of course. Harleys welcomed in place of cash, with idea preference given to donors of Road King and Heritage Springer models.)

At 2-9, the Packer season is over. Even a miracle finish will leave them with a losing record and without a division title. With two games against Chicago and another against Seattle, that miracle finish is little more than a fantasy. It is time to look toward the future. Ready? It is time to bench Brett Favre and hand the reigns over to Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is the future of the franchise, not Brett. Sooner rather than later, #4 will be gone and all will be in his young hands. The last five games of the season provide a perfect opportunity to evaluate Rodgers and to get him valuable experience on the field, experience that will give him a headstart on next season. It worked out well for Eli Manning.

Brett Favre is the Packers. I understand that. I've never seen a player become so much the face of a franchise as I have Favre. His face and name are everywhere here in Wisconsin. But, as hard as it is to imagine my cheesey friends, the franchise will live on after Favre. Sooner or later, another quarterback will supplant him in the minds of the fans, just as Brett supplanted Starr. The end of an era, like the death of a loved one, is always hard to accept. But life moves on, and so should the Packers.

Maybe Brett can continue to start, to keep his streak alive and to get a shot at 5 more touchdown throws for an even 400 in his career, but Rodgers should be, at the least, getting the bulk of the playing time.

Now, if you need me, I'll be in a foxhole waiting for witness protection.