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Despite playing his second straight game with a sprained shoulder, Rodgers turned in another sharp performance in the Green Bay Packers’ 27-17 victory at Seattle on Sunday. It’s a strong statement to his teammates, and the best way to silence those who would question his durability.
“His pain threshold is obviously high,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday.
After a tumultuous offseason that ended with the Packers trading Brett Favre to the Jets and sticking with Rodgers as their new starter, pro-Favre fans complained that Rodgers already had been injured twice despite not playing very much in his first three seasons.
Surely, he couldn’t measure up to Favre’s quarterback-record consecutive starts streak. At least that’s what it seemed like when Rodgers injured his shoulder in the Packers’ loss at Tampa Bay Sept. 28.
Despite not being able to practice the following week, he started against Atlanta the following Sunday. The Packers lost the game, but Rodgers won respect.
Still unable to throw in practice last week, Rodgers was sharp again on Sunday, completing 21 of 30 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
So much for Rodgers’ fragile reputation, right?
“I would think so,” Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said. “And the injuries that he’s suffered in the past have nothing to do with him being tough or not tough. You pull a hamstring, break a bone in your foot, there’s not much you can do about that.”
Of course, Clements never really bought the premise that Rodgers’ decision to stay in the game after breaking his foot against New England in 2006 was a sign of his fragility.
“It should be the opposite,” Clements said.
Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin joked that Rodgers’ efforts might undermine the coaching staff’s ability to get players to take practice seriously.
“He’s killing our philosophy of how important practice is,” Philbin said. “He’s probably doing it on purpose. I’m going to get up there Wednesday and tell them what a great week of practice we need to beat the Colts. And they’re going to say, ’Yeah, right Joe.“’
All kidding aside, Philbin said Rodgers’ willingness to play through pain is solidifying his role as a leader. And his ability to play well despite missing practice shows the depth of his preparation and film study.
“I think it’s a good message that he’s sending,” Philbin said. “You view that quarterback position as a leadership position, and when your leader is maybe not 100 percent, yet he’s going out there and giving excellent effort and he’s playing well, performing well, that’s a plus.”
Rodgers apparently has won over wide receiver Donald Driver, a veteran who subtly seemed to side with Favre during the unretirement saga that unfolded during training camp.
“He’s playing well,” Driver said after Sunday’s game. “Especially knowing the guy’s shoulder is hurting and he doesn’t know how he’s going to be able to throw. Week-in and week-out he shows you that he can do everything.”
If Rodgers was hurting on Sunday — and, by all accounts, he was — it certainly wasn’t apparent on the field.
Rodgers didn’t play tentatively; instead of getting rid of the ball early on every play to avoid contact, he could be criticized for holding on to the ball too long on a handful of plays — one of which exposed him to a jarring hit by Seattle’s Patrick Kerney in the second quarter.
He delivered a perfect throw on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, breaking a 10-all tie in the third quarter.
He even executed quarterback sneaks, one for a touchdown.
McCarthy said he didn’t hesitate to call the QB sneak — a play barely used with Favre in recent years — because Rodgers executes the play in a fundamentally sound way that limits his exposure to injury.
“If we felt it was a problem, I wouldn’t have it in the game plan,” McCarthy said.
Notes: McCarthy said DT Ryan Pickett strained a triceps muscle and will likely be listed as questionable on the Packers’ injury report this week. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday. ... Packers DT Justin Harrell is expected to practice Wednesday, potentially adding much-needed depth to the defensive line. Harrell spent the first six weeks of the season on the Packers’ physically unable to perform list because of a back injury.
