Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers showed no rust in first action
By Hunter Noll
Aaron Rodgers saw his first action of the preseason for the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, and it came as no surprise when he appeared in midseason form.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t appear in the Green Bay Packers first preseason game. It’s not crazy for a team to sit out a star at some point during the preseason. Still though, it raises the anticipation of actually seeing them play.
Despite the extra week without real game action, Rodgers looked perfectly fine. In fact, the quarterback was extremely efficient in his limited reps.
Rodgers played just one drive. That was all he needed to lead the Packers into the end zone though. The 33-year old went 6-for-8 for 37 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, he picked up 15 yards on the ground on two carries.
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As shown by the 37 yards in eight attempts, Rodgers wasn’t exactly slinging the ball down the field. He was on the mark in a game many people weren’t even expecting him to appear in though. Even better news, his touchdown pass was a 3-yard toss to new tight end Martellus Bennett. If those two can get into a nice rhythm early on, they can be deadly in the regular season.
The true showing of midseason-form Aaron Rodgers had nothing to do with the quarterback using his arm, though. In fact, it had nothing to do with his legs either. Rodgers forced a 12 men on the field penalty, something he’s extremely adept at. It’s actually incredibly impressive how well he recognizes when the defense has too many men on the field.
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With the impressive showing in Week 2, it will be interesting to see how the Packers decide to use Rodgers the rest of the preseason. Week 3 is usually seen as the “dress rehearsal” where starters play most of the game. Even then, Rodgers may only see a half (or less). With the talent of Rodgers, there’s apparently no need to get warmed up.