Rodgers warms up after a shaky start

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 11, 2008 | by Anonymous

Aaron Rodgers shrugged off a shaky beginning as Brett Favre's replacement. In his first start for Green Bay, Rodgers delivered two scoring drives and a handful of highlights in a 20-17 exhibition loss to visiting Cincinnati on Monday night.

The Packers handed Rodgers the keys to one of the NFL's best offenses after trading Favre to the New York Jets last week. And despite spending most of the past three seasons holding a clipboard, Rodgers didn't show many signs of nerves in his first step out of Favre's shadow.

The Bengals tagged the former Cal star for an early interception off of a deflected pass, but Rodgers recovered to complete 9-of-15 for 117 yards and a touchdown.

He could have had a second scoring strike but couldn't connect on a deep ball to wide open James Jones on the Packers' third drive. On the next play, Rodgers threw a 30-yard pass to Ruvell Martin that helped set up a 37-yard field goal by Mason Crosby.

On the Packers' next possession, Jones caught a dart from Rodgers and ran for a 30-yard touchdown -- despite bouncing off a jarring hit from Bengals safety Marvin White that knocked off his helmet.

Rodgers left the game after the first quarter, with the Packers leading 10-0.

Rodgers was greeted warmly by fans before the game.

"I've always felt like we have the best fans in the NFL, and that they would support our team, regardless of how they feel about myself, or Brett, or management or whatever," Rodgers said. "But it was a great reception when we took the field."

Seahawks: Wide receiver Bobby Engram will miss six to eight weeks with a cracked bone in his right shoulder sustained on the first play of Friday's 34-17 exhibition win over Minnesota. Engram, 35, set a franchise record last season with 94 catches (for 1,147 yards). ... Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (stiff back) missed practice for the second straight day.

Buccaneers: Quarterback Jeff Garcia returned to practice after being sidelined 10 days by a right calf strain, an injury overshadowed by the team's pursuit of Favre as a possible replacement. "At this point, it's water under the bridge. There's no reason to dwell on it," Garcia said.

Panthers: Receiver Steve Smith, who sustained a concussion in a 23-20 overtime win over Indianapolis on Saturday, didn't practice and is listed day-to-day. Smith was suspended for the first two regular-season games for breaking teammate Ken Lucas' nose in a fight during practice this month. Lucas took part in conditioning drills but is still not cleared to practice.

Jets: Tight end A.J. Schable returned to practice. He briefly lost feeling on the left side of his body when he and Cleveland's Cliff Louis slammed into each other on a kickoff return during Miami's 24-20 win Thursday. ... Miami signed former Arena Football League linebacker Maurice Fountain.

Giants: New York signed former Raiders safety Stuart Schweigert. ... Left tackle David Diehl (bruised ribs) missed his first practice in five-plus seasons. "I'll be back," he said. "I'm not worried."

Patriots: New England signed Jeff Shoate, a fourth-year cornerback who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants last season.

Broncos: Right guard Montrae Holland, who reported out of shape and overweight, practiced for the first time after getting down to his playing weight of 325 pounds.

Jaguars: Receiver Matt Jones pleaded not guilty to possession of cocaine, a charge that carries up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Jones, free on a $2,500 bond, returned to Jacksonville, Fla., in time for practice that evening. He faces an Oct. 10 trial date -- two days before the Jaguars play at Denver. Jones was arrested July 10 when a Fayetteville, Ark., police officer saw him inside a car allegedly cutting up cocaine with a credit card.