Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. ó It was the kind of situation that made a Pro Bowl player out of former seventh-round draft pick Donald Driver: a scalding pass in heavy traffic between the hashmarks, with a first down on the line.
But Driver bobbled it ó and immediately found Aaron Rodgers to apologize.
“I let a big third-down play go early on, I dropped one,” Driver said. “After that, I went to the sideline and told him it was my fault and I told him it won’t happen again. He knows that, he trusts me, and as you see, he kept throwing the ball to me.”
It was a subtle sign of respect from Driver, a veteran who often called Brett Favre his “brother from another mother” over the years. But Favre is gone now, leaving Rodgers to replace one of the most popular and productive players in franchise history.
By turning a cold shoulder to Favre’s sudden desire to unretire and instead send him packing in a trade to the New York Jets last week, the Packers’ front office and coach Mike McCarthy put their reputations on the line to show confidence in Rodgers.
And Rodgers’ solid showing in his preseason debut as Favre’s replacement Monday night was a first step toward winning over skeptical fans, even though the Packers went on to lose 20-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals.
But Rodgers is most concerned about winning the respect of his teammates, and it was their reaction that meant the most to him.
“After I came out, a lot of guys were really positive about how I played, which feels good,” Rodgers said. “It feels good to know that I have the support of not only the management, which I think has been proven in the public eye, but the guys as well ó which is very important to me.”