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Green Bay is this week's Next Best Thing.

It's hard to not have great admiration for Aaron Rodgers. After the Packers embarrassed the Vikings Sunday at the Metrodome, Rodgers made a beeline for Brett Favre at midfield, and they embraced for a good 20 seconds, both whispering into each other's ear. It's obviously been an odd relationship; they were friendly but never tight in Green Bay, and now Rodgers is proving there is life -- very good life -- after Favre in Green Bay, a prospect that once seemed unthinkable.

I asked Rodgers if he could share anything he'd said to Favre at such an awkward and probably emotional time. Rodgers not only had played at a Favrian level back home in Green Bay, but now he'd come into Favre's new place and finished the process of ripping the team's 2010 guts out. Green Bay 31, Minnesota 3. Somewhere, in some deep place, Rodgers had to be feeling some measure of tremendous satisfaction, but he wasn't going to show it in that embrace, and no matter what he thought of Favre, he realized the moment and knew it was only right to treat Favre with the dignity he hopes he'll receive when replaced. Maybe sometime around 2024.

Hearing my question about what went on between him and Favre, Rodgers said, "I'd rather keep that private. I don't think it'd be right to share it.''

Just the right answer.

The Packers, for what it's worth, look like the best team in the league to me after 10 games for a couple of reasons (and if you want to say it's the Patriots, I couldn't argue much, or the Eagles or Falcons or Jets or even the Saints). The defense has gotten early instability settled; coordinator Dom Capers has figured out the right personnel combinations, and the corner combo or Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson -- who has turned into the kind of leader a head coach dreams of -- is playing as well as any corner tandem in the league. Green Bay's allowed 10 points in the past 12 quarters. The Packers shut out the Jets at the Meadowlands. In the past two weeks, they didn't let two bad teams breathe.

Offensively, it's been about Rodgers' dominance -- 75-percent passing, seven touchdowns, no picks in the past two weeks -- and about the rediscovery of Greg Jennings. A few weeks ago, coach Mike McCarthy saw how Jennings, a legit number one receiver, was being overlooked in the offense week to week, and he began to emphasize more plays for Jennings, more shots for him as the primary target. And he's exploded since then. Check out the difference in Jennings' first five games and his second five:


G W-L Target Rec. Yds. Avg. TD

5 3-2 31 14 183 13.0 3

5 4-1 45 32 520 16.3 6


On Sunday, Rodgers' first of three touchdown strikes to Jennings was a great example of the new emphasis about getting the ball to him, and about Rodgers' patience. Chased from the pocket, Rodgers kept surveying the field while keeping half an eye on Jennings because of what the Pack thought was a favorable coverage matchup. As he rolled left, Rodgers finally saw a wide-enough opening to get the ball through, and fired it, and Jennings caught it for the score. And the rout was on.

"This is exactly the way I saw us playing this year,'' Rodgers said after his four-TD, no-pick day. "No offense to them, but when we play a team and we're playing the way I know we're capable of playing, we feel there's no way they can stop us. And that's the way we're playing right now. It's a good feeling to work the way we have and then have everything go the right way.''

"This is exactly the way I saw us playing this year,'' Rodgers said after his four-TD, no-pick day. "No offense to them, but when we play a team and we're playing the way I know we're capable of playing, we feel there's no way they can stop us. And that's the way we're playing right now. It's a good feeling to work the way we have and then have everything go the right way.''

Turk Nowitzki wrote:Atlanta is pretty good so I'm not going to be on here ranting if we lose this game. I would like to think we have a much better chance of beating ATL on the road than Chicago does of beating the Eagles at home.

On the injury front, safeties Atari Bigby (hamstring) and Anthony Smith (ankle) "will be challenged to make it back" for the game against Atlanta on Sunday. Center Scott Wells continues to be bothered by a strained arch and will be monitored throughout the week.

On playing turnover-free on offense again and finishing plus-two in turnover ratio against the Vikings: "We're doing what we're supposed to be doing the last month, particularly on offense, taking care of the football. ... We train it. It's important. It's a building block. It's part of our team identity and we need to continue to do that."

McCarthy praised the defense, which has given up 10 points in the last three games and just one touchdown in the last 13 quarters. "The defense is in an excellent rhythm right now," he said. "You want to play your best football in November and December. We're very happy with the progress we've made and where we are. We're No. 1 in scoring defense and that's exactly where we want to stay."

McCarthy said he learned Brad Childress had been fired by the Vikings just minutes before stepping to the podium. "I think like any coach in this industry, you're disappointed for him and his family," he said. "I know the struggles and challenges and rewards you go through as a head coach in this league. You never want to see that happen. It's really tough on a family. It's part of the deal. It's part of the job description. It's a tough business from a lot of different angles."

Penalty avoidance continues to be stressed and it paid off with no penalties called against the offense in the loud (at least in the first half) Metrodome. "We emphasize it every week," McCarthy said. "We do the continuing education in team meetings every week. It's always in the forefront of everything we do. We just emphsize it the best we can and the players responded."

Asked if he heard the chants of "Go, Pack, Go!" late in the game, McCarthy said, "How can you miss it? To be in somebody else's home and hear your own fans ... in the fourth quarter, our sideline was having a lot of fun."

The coach said that nothing "out of the norm" had been done to get receiver Greg Jennings more involved in the offense. "We've put Greg in some inside positions," he said. "That's the beauty of that wide receiver group. Every single receiver can play all four positions. Just moving him around, being cognizant of the matchups, how people are trying to play us. We're staying in our base concepts and Aaron (Rodgers) is taking what the defense gives us. We haven't designed any news plays for Greg."

The coach said defensive end Ryan Pickett (ankle) and receiver Donald Driver (quadriceps) both made it through the Vikings game without aggravating their injuries.

Asked whether there was any advantage to playing in domes in consecutive weeks -- the Packers face the Falcons at the Georgia Dome on Sunday -- McCarthy said, "You have some carryover in your preparation. If you want to put that in the advantage column you can throw it over there."

McCarthy reiterated what he said last week: Namely, defensive coordinator Dom Capers was ready to be an NFL head coach again. "Dom Capers is a head coach-caliber individual in this league," he said. "He's built two programs. He's been a tremendous asset to me. Like I said last week, if I was an NFL owner ... I don't want to lose anybody, but there's a number of guys on our staff I'd look at and certainly Dom is one."

MickeyDavis wrote:I certainly hope Capers stays. PLEASE. Especially not to the Queens.