Mike Woods

GREEN BAY, Wisc. - There are a lot of natives here who still believe Ted Thompson should be sentenced to 25 years-to-life in the dunk tank for trading away resident icon Brett Favre.

But however they feel, they have to give the Packers general manager this:

As the situation dragged and patience became short and name-calling increased and all had had enough to the point that they wanted it to end someway, somehow, Thompson stood firm in his stance that he would never, ever trade Favre to the Minnesota Vikings.

Good thing someone here was able to maintain clarity of thought.

If there was one difference between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers on Monday night it was that one team had a quarterback that was blossoming, the other had one still in potty training.

Aaron Rodgers’ coming out party was better than hoped as he led the Packers to a 24-19 victory over the Vikings at Lambeau Field, establishing Rodgers as a suitable replacement for Favre and launching the Packers as the team to beat in the NFC North.

It wasn’t just that Rodgers’ numbers were solid — 18-for-22 for 178 yards, a touchdown, no picks and a robust 115.5 rating — he was solid.

He didn’t look like a guy who was replacing the local legend while making his first NFL start before a national audience. He looked like a guy who was on his third tour of duty.

When the Vikings took the early advantage, he did  not panic. When his offensive line continued to have flags thrown at them early on, he did not give in to frustration. When another offensive-line boo-boo wiped out a 68-yard TD pass to Donald Driver, he did not publicly pout. He made plays not only with his arm, but his feet.

Considering the immense pressure he was under — and we can only imagine, as only a few weeks ago he was being booed by the locals at practice because of who he was not — Rodgers’ night bordered on remarkable.

“I don’t think he could have handled this whole situation better,’’ said fullback Korey Hall, the recipient of Rodgers’ second NFL TD pass, a Favre-like throw off his back foot while being tossed one way yet throwing another.

“You can’t imagine the amount of pressure he has on his shoulders right now. He went out and he was collected and calm; he made good decisions and I think he won the respect of a lot of people. I think more people have faith in him now.’’

Rodgers was blessed with good help. His defense did not allow Vikings’ whiz kid Adrian Peterson to grab the early lead for NFL MVP (19 touches, 103 yards). His favorite punt returner, Will Blackmon, brought one back 67 yards for a touchdown. And tailback Ryan Grant, a no-show in all four practice games, looked in midseason form with 92 yards on 12 carries.

But no matter how any of his teammates performed, his was the only performance that mattered Monday. For if he has any hope of ever escaping Favre’s long shadow, he not only has to play well, his team has to win.

Fair? Considering his youth and inexperience, probably not. But it most certainly is his reality.

“I’m very happy for him,’’ Driver said. “That was the big thing with him, he wanted to come out there and play. He wanted to prove it to the world.

“And I said, ‘What better place to prove to the world that you can start to be one of the greatest quarterbacks than on Monday Night Football.’ And he when out and did that.’’

Well, he didn’t exactly do that. But at a time when he needed to put his best foot forward to calm the many fears now that Favre has departed, he managed to do it without tripping.

He gets points for that, as well as a decently executed Lambeau Leap after his clinching 1-yard TD sneak in the fourth quarter.

“I’ve been dreaming about that for four years to be honest,’’ Rodgers said. “I was hoping my first leap would be a little more flashy — 10-yard, 15-yard run or something — but at that point in the game I just said 'What the heck, I'm going to go for it.'"

And for the first time in his Packers career, Aaron Rodgers was welcomed with open arms.

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