I know it’s still early, but the Packers looked miserable Saturday night against the 49ers. The Packers, who were 13-3 last season, were routed by the 49er, which hasn’t been a very good team in a long time. The score? 34-6!!! Yes, it’s only preseason, but still embarrassing.

Run the Damn Ball

What was the deal with not running the ball? They ran the ball only a handful of times in the first half, which is just unacceptable. The Packers are starting a QB that has never started a regular season game, and he desperately needs a running game to help with that transition. McCarthy’s arrogance after the game about his play selection was unnerving, to say the least. He needs to take some responsibility for his mistakes, and not just blaming the players.

QB Transition

Aaron Rodgers, and the rest of the QBs for that matter, were awful. The two rookies have an excuse, but Rodgers is supposed to be the starter, and should be making decisions like a starter. Rodgers was sacked four times, but I don’t think that was just the fault of the offensive line. Twice, I remember there being two receivers open, and Rodgers passed them up on his check-down. It’s one of the many things that QBs learn over the years, and one of the many things you never had to worry about with Favre. Rodgers seems to be doing some good things, but he needs to work on the little things, like recognizing defenses, staring down the safety, throwing the ball away, and not being indecisive with his checkdowns. If Rodgers doesn’t bouce back from that abysmal performance, it’s going to be an ugly season, not to mention Ted Thompson will be looking for a new job.

Odds and Ends

• The first string defense looks good. The second string, not so much.
• Al Harris and Charles Woodson better stay healthy. None of the backups look very good. Blackmon is their best bet.
• Woodson looks like a pro bowl corner. At 31, he just needs to stay healthy.
• Brandon Chillar is a starting quality linebacker. Great free-agent pickup.
• Jordy Nelson is the real deal. It may or may not happen his rookie season, but Jordy is poised to be a playmaker for years to come.
• Jarrett Bush on the other hand, probably played himself out of a roster spot.
• Ryan Pickett and Justin Harrell need to get healthy….STAT!

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I love my Packers, but the Packers organization has handled this Brett Favre situation as poorly as it could possibly be handled. McCarthy is playing dumb, Thompson is playing the egotist, and Murphy has entered this debacle too late to resolve the situation. Favre, a living legend, just wants to play football.

I think we all know who the better quarterback is, and he’s willing to compete for that starting position. Yes, this would be a HUGE distraction since the media would be all over that story. The only way to really resolve this issue is to either make Favre the starter right now, or to get rid of him.

Keeping Favre

I personally think the Packers should just suck it up and make their Favre starter right now. It would end the media circus immediately, and most importantly, the Packers would be putting the best QB on the field. They could tag Rodgers at the end of the season, and trade him if he doesn’t want to play for Green Bay. Either way, they’d still have Brian Brohm, who looks like he’ll eventually be better than Rodgers anyway.

Losing Favre

The Packers can try and trade him, but because of his salary, he has the upper hand on where he gets traded, and it appears he’d like to play for the Vikings. Why? It seems he’d like to stick it to the Packers for not letting him come back, and he’d also have a similar offense, and some familiar faces in Minnesota.

I don’t think any Packer fan likes the thought of Favre playing anywhere except Green Bay, but if he’s traded to another NFC North team, all hell is going to break loose. Fans will revolt! Rodgers will be hearing the boo birds all season long. If Thompson thinks he has enemies now, watch what happens if/when he trades Favre to a rival like the Vikings or the Bears. Ultimately, Ted would be run out of Green Bay, and rightly so. I think Ted’s done a good job of building up the roster, but how he’s handled this situation has been unforgivable.

I say give the man his job back.

Related:

Favre says of situation: ‘This probably isn’t going to work’

Here are five reasons Favre would start for Packers

Packers make their choice with Favre; now they can wallow in it