Cowboys get to see Rodgers again
Source: CBS SportsLine
Green Bay was trailing Dallas 27-10 last Nov. 29 when Brett Favre injured his right elbow and separated his left shoulder early in the second quarter. In came Aaron Rodgers for his first significant action as a pro, and a little more than a quarter later, the Packers were within three points in a game Dallas finally won 37-27.
With Favre gone to the Jets, Rodgers starts Sunday night in Green Bay against the only team that's already had a good look at him. Just as it was last season, it's a marquee matchup - the teams were 10-1 when they met last season and each are 2-0 now.
It's also a marquee matchup of young quarterbacks: Rodgers and Dallas' Tony Romo, who is in his third season as a starter. Rodgers was a first-round draft pick and Romo an undrafted free agent, but both got their first major playing time by being thrown in on prime time with little warning. Romo did do on a Monday night two years ago against the Giants when Drew Bledsoe was pulled.
After two games this month, Rodgers has completed 70 percent of his passes, hasn't thrown an interception in 42 attempts and has a superior passer rating of 117.8.
"He's making good decisions and he's being accurate with the football," coach Mike McCarthy says. "He hasn't taken many chances, and that's all part of good quarterback play. He needs to continue to do that."
Romo, who grew up in Wisconsin, has a lot of Favre in him. He can make big plays out of nothing, but he can also get himself into trouble, as he did Monday night in the 41-37 win over the Eagles, fumbling in his end zone to give Philadelphia a touchdown, in part because he tried to make a play instead of conceding a safety.
He's looking forward this week to performing in a historic venue.
"I'm a nostalgic person in a sense that I enjoy traditional things. I enjoy watching great players or great sporting events at a great atmosphere," Romo said. "Lambeau Field obviously has great history and it's going to fun to go up there and be part of that a little bit."
Although this is a glamour game, there's not as much urgency as last year, when it was to decide home-field advantage in the NFC. As it turned out, Green Bay lost, yet got the advantage because Dallas lost the game that really counted, its opening playoff game.
But this is a chance to make a statement.
"You've got to play well in September to get to December," Dallas coach Wade Phillips says. "You can look back at a lot of teams that didn't play well enough early and didn't make it. It's not only the last few games. It's the first games that count, too. They count them all."
Green Bay was trailing Dallas 27-10 last Nov. 29 when Brett Favre injured his right elbow and separated his left shoulder early in the second quarter. In came Aaron Rodgers for his first significant action as a pro, and a little more than a quarter later, the Packers were within three points in a game Dallas finally won 37-27.
With Favre gone to the Jets, Rodgers starts Sunday night in Green Bay against the only team that's already had a good look at him. Just as it was last season, it's a marquee matchup - the teams were 10-1 when they met last season and each are 2-0 now.
It's also a marquee matchup of young quarterbacks: Rodgers and Dallas' Tony Romo, who is in his third season as a starter. Rodgers was a first-round draft pick and Romo an undrafted free agent, but both got their first major playing time by being thrown in on prime time with little warning. Romo did do on a Monday night two years ago against the Giants when Drew Bledsoe was pulled.
After two games this month, Rodgers has completed 70 percent of his passes, hasn't thrown an interception in 42 attempts and has a superior passer rating of 117.8.
"He's making good decisions and he's being accurate with the football," coach Mike McCarthy says. "He hasn't taken many chances, and that's all part of good quarterback play. He needs to continue to do that."
Romo, who grew up in Wisconsin, has a lot of Favre in him. He can make big plays out of nothing, but he can also get himself into trouble, as he did Monday night in the 41-37 win over the Eagles, fumbling in his end zone to give Philadelphia a touchdown, in part because he tried to make a play instead of conceding a safety.
He's looking forward this week to performing in a historic venue.
"I'm a nostalgic person in a sense that I enjoy traditional things. I enjoy watching great players or great sporting events at a great atmosphere," Romo said. "Lambeau Field obviously has great history and it's going to fun to go up there and be part of that a little bit."
Although this is a glamour game, there's not as much urgency as last year, when it was to decide home-field advantage in the NFC. As it turned out, Green Bay lost, yet got the advantage because Dallas lost the game that really counted, its opening playoff game.
But this is a chance to make a statement.
"You've got to play well in September to get to December," Dallas coach Wade Phillips says. "You can look back at a lot of teams that didn't play well enough early and didn't make it. It's not only the last few games. It's the first games that count, too. They count them all."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:07 PM
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