Aaron Rodgers' Improvement Is His Own

I have a confession to make: I'm not a big Brett Favre fan.

Don't get me wrong, I do think he's had a great career and he's a clear-cut Hall of Famer.

But my reasoning for not being a big fan doesn't have much to do with Favre's play on the field. Rather, it comes from the way Favre has largely shunned any sort of role as mentor for Aaron Rodgers.

That's why it's particularly frustrating to read an article on Rodgers' noticeable progress this pre-season, in terms of both play and maturity, and see this smack-dab in the middle of it: "Clearly, Brett Favre has rubbed off on him. The Packers hoped that would happen."

The paragraph comes after a discussion of how Rodgers' has ditched the California hair gel he sported out of college for a scruffy beard -- an apparent sign of humility.

Who else sports the scruff look in Green Bay? Well, Brett Favre, of course, so he must be the reason for Rodgers' scruff and his subsequent improved maturity and his subsequent improved play on the field.

It's quite a leap, particularly given the not-so-secret disinterest Favre has for providing Rodgers with that sort of help. Yet, if there's one benefit of not getting help from Favre, it's that Rodgers' improvement and success would be his own.

The Packers media at least needs to let him have that.