Packers enter the Twilight Zone with Rodgers out with injury

When Aaron Rodgers was first anointed as Brett Favre’s successor, I was skeptical for one major reason: Rodger’s perceived fragility, such as breaking his foot against New England to end his season in 2006. But he has avoided serious injury till now, fracturing his collarbone on the non-throwing side after he was picked up and pile-driven into the ground on the first series of the Monday Night loss to Chicago. This only happens when a defensive player intends on injuring another player; strangely, you rarely see this with running backs or receivers. As much as quarterbacks are “protected,” in many cases they are still “marked” for serious injury like this (see Favre in the 2009 NFC championship game). 

If Matt Flynn was still the Packers’ back-up, there would probably be less concern about the immediate future. But current back-up Seneca Wallace is another short—5-11—quarterback who is a true back-up and has not proved to be anything but, despite numerous opportunities to prove otherwise. To be sure, Wallace has “experience” in the NFL, even started in Seattle when Matt Hasselbeck was injured. When Mike Holmgren moved to Cleveland to oversee team operations, he had enough confidence in Wallace to acquire him. Still, Wallace was only 1-6 as a starter for the Browns, and he is at best the kind of quarterback who needs to be “controlled”—meaning making short, easy passes so as to keep mistakes to a minimum. For a team like the Packers whose strength is their downfield passing game, this can’t be good. 

Boomer Esiason, who provided analysis on the radio broadcast,  observed that now the Packers will be dependent on their defense and running game—two aspects that have not been Packer strengths for the most of the past two decades, although they have on occasion run the ball well this season. But if Wallace remains the quarterback, opposing defenses will play to stop the run and not worry too much about the passing game. Things look bleak indeed; at best it looks like an 8-8 season unless Rodgers comes back sooner than later, or the Packers sign Flynn—who was just released by Buffalo after EJ Manuel was pronounced fit for duty. There is, of course, another "option," as radio play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan joked: Packer GM Ted Thompson could give Favre a call and see if he wants to mend fences.