Packers Backup Quarterback Situation Now in Spotlight

Someone should have seen this coming.

No one could have, or should have anticipated QB Aaron Rodgers to play a full 16 games this season for the Green Bay Packers. Only the immortal Brett Favre could always be counted on to start 16 games every season.

And here we sit, going into only game five, and Rodgers has what has been diagnosed as a "sprained shoulder." While he might not miss any games due to this injury, everyone who was watching Sunday caught a glimpse of really how catastrophic that would be if Rodgers did have to miss any significant time.

Everyone knew it was a huge risk for the Packers to go into a season with three quarterbacks who had started zero games between them. That risk was realized Sunday.

When Rodgers had to leave the game with a shoulder injury, backup Matt Flynn came in and played like the seventh-round rookie he is. A couple of Flynn's throws on his last drive were nowhere near his target.

Granted, it was his NFL debut, but Flynn looked terrible. The playbook looked like it had been condensed down to a fourth-grade offense, and Flynn appeared to be far from confident in the pocket.

Flynn beat out the Packer's other rookie quarterback, second-round pick Brian Brohm, in training camp and "earned" the backup job.  But to be brutally honest, both quarterbacks are only third-string worthy.

Why General Manager Ted Thompson didn't bring in an established backup still baffles me. Any team that has any dreams of hosting the Lombardi Trophy better have a decent backup quarterback because injuries to quarterbacks happen all the time in this league.

This is even more so the case for the Packers because Rodgers has yet to show in his short career that he can stay healthy. Thompson has to think about this hypothetically.

Let's say Rodgers had sustained a season ending injury Sunday. Do the Packers even make it to eight wins (6-6 from here on out) with Flynn as our starting quarterback? I really don't think so.

However, let's say that Thompson had brought in an experienced backup—like Chris Simms or Daunte Culpepper—early in training camp. That gives that veteran over two months to learn the offense and get fairly comfortable with it (if you don't think that's possible, take a look at that Favre guy in New York).

Would that veteran have a better chance at leading us to the playoffs or beyond than Flynn? I think the answer would be undoubtedly yes.

Maybe I am being too critical of Flynn after only five passes on Sunday, but those five passes really have me worried about the quarterback situation. Recovering from a sprained shoulder is going to be no easy task for Rodgers, and to think he is going to last the rest of the season spot free is thinking irresponsibly.

Coach Mike McCarthy has on numerous occasions said he is "confident" and "comfortable" with his teams' quarterback situation. However, if you asked me, words like "unsure" and "inexperienced" are the only words that come to mind.

I'd hate to see a Packer season go up in smoke this easily.