Aaron Rodgers: The Heir Apparent to Brett Favre in Green Bay

Call him "the Apprentice," call him the "Heir Apparent," or simply call him the man who has been called upon to replace NFL, and Green Bay Packer icon Brett Favre. His real name though is Aaron Rodgers, and he was the 1^st round pick of the Green Bay Packers back in 2005.

On most NFL teams, Rodgers would have had a chance to start by now, but on the Packers' he had to patiently sit and wait his turn behind a man who played an NFL record 275 straight games. With the Packers coming out of an unexpected 13-3 year in 2007, it looked like Rodgers had his worked cut out for him, and only the sudden retirement of the Packer legend was going to get him a start. Well, today that Packer legend officially put an end to his story book career and announced his retirement, leaving Rodgers in the driver's seat of one of the NFL's most historically significant teams.

So what does Rodgers bring to the table, and what can we expect from him this year? If his performance on Thanksgiving Day 2007 against the Dallas Cowboys is any indication, the answer is "plenty." Stepping in for an injured Brett Favre, and against one of the better teams in the NFC, Rodgers completed 18 passes for 201 yards, and one touchdown. In the process he brought back a team down by 17 points to within 3 point of the Cowboys in Dallas.

It was the type of performance that the Packers expected from Rodgers when they signed him to a $24.5 million contract in 2005. The signing was a rather unexpected one for the Packers, and only took place because Rodger, who wound up dropping in the Draft from a potential first pick overall to the 24^th pick of the first round. It was a totally unexpected drop for a kid who had had a brilliant college career at the University of California, where in two seasons as a starter, Rodgers threw for 5,469 yards and 43 touchdowns, while only being picked off 13 times. As the leader of the Golden Bears, Rodgers led California to a fourth place finish in the college polls his junior year.

Away from the game, Aaron Rodgers enjoys playing golf, playing the acoustic guitar, and reading the Bible. He is also a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan. On the field, Rodgers is physically a bit shorter than the prototypical quarterback (he's 6-2), but he has a strong arm, a great understanding of the team's offense, and has begun to grow as a leader for the Packers. Though the next few season's might be one's in which he learns and grows into the position that has been handed him, look for the Packers to finish no worse than 10-6 in 2008, with Rodgers at the helm.

Source:

www.packers.com