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IRVING, Texas - Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has at least one thing in common with his predecessor Brett Favre - the guy will take some chances in an effort to make big plays.
It's a side of Rodgers' game the Cowboys weren't completely expecting when they first saw him in relief of an injured Favre two years ago. Rodgers came in during the second quarter of a Thursday night matchup between the NFC's two top teams and nearly brought the Packers back from a 27-10 deficit, using both his legs and arm to make plays.
Since then, the rest of the NFL has realized Rodgers' talents, and in Sunday's afternoon game at Lambeau Field the Cowboys know to be ready for a quarterback who will both hold onto the ball longer than most, and escape the pocket and try to throw.
"That's what every great quarterback does, buy time and get it downfield," Jay Ratliff said. "That's definitely something he does, so we just have to be disciplined in our rush lanes and our gaps when we're rushing.
"One thing about him, he's always cool. He doesn't get frustrated and he's going to play every down hard. He's definitely a quarterback to be respected."
Despite constant harassment from pass rushers this season, Rodgers' numbers are among the league's best. Through half the season Rodgers has completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 2,255 yards with 16 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. His 103.3 efficiency rating is bettered only by the likes of Drew Brees, Favre, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.
As good as Rodgers has been, the Packers haven't exactly made things easy on him with poor protection up front. Rodgers has been brought down while trying to throw a league-high 37 times, on pace for 74 sacks, just two fewer than the NFL record set by Houston's David Carr in 2002. Green Bay has struggled with injury problems on its offensive line, and started its fifth different combination of linemen during the loss at Tampa on Sunday.
There has been only one game Rodgers wasn't sacked this year, in their 31-3 win over Cleveland on Oct. 25. He's been sacked multiple times on a weekly basis, though, having been dropped 14 times in two games with the Vikings, six times by the Bengals and Bucs, five times by Detroit, four times by Chicago and twice by the Rams.
"It's something we've addressed," Rodgers said during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. "I think we're all kind of tired of talking about it, but it's something we need to improve on obviously. As we look at our team halfway through the season it's definitely one thing that's holding our offense back from being a top two or three offense instead of where we're at right now."
Where the Packers are at right now isn't awful, though. They're eighth in the NFL in points, averaging 26.9 per game.
For that reason, the Cowboys aren't getting too carried away with the thought of teeing off against a quarterback who is willing to hold onto the ball a little longer than most, which can be a double-edged sword. Rodgers may take more sacks, but he can also avoid ill-advised throws into traffic and create more plays with his patience.
"He has been sacked a lot, but you know you can overcome sacks," Wade Phillips said. "They obviously have; they've scored a lot of points. And they've had a lot of long plays, as many long plays as we have, over 20 yards.
"He's not throwing interceptions and they're making big plays because they hold the ball longer. And that's sometimes the price you pay, but also they're scoring a lot. I'll take the points."
The Cowboys are very aware of Rodgers' penchant for waiting the extra split-second to let his guys get open. The wide receivers have been solid as ever, Donald Driver leading the team with 37 catches for 613 yards and four touchdowns, while Greg Jennings has 34 catches for 498 yards and two scores. Over the last two seasons, Jennings leads the NFL in receptions of 40 yards or more, with 15.
The two of them can be even more dangerous when plays break down and Rodgers creates time for them to get open while scrambling out of the pocket.
"It's very different. The rules change," Orlando Scandrick said. "When he's out he uncovers, guys start running around, you've just got to do a good job at matching up guys when you're in zone, and if you're in man, keeping your eyes on your man. . . . Aaron Rodgers is probably the best outside the pocket quarterback that we've seen."
Though the cast was different last season, the Cowboys were pretty successful in their Week 3 trip to Lambeau. Rodgers was sacked five times, a season high, and had no touchdown passes on 39 attempts in a 27-16 Cowboys win. It was among his worst games in what was a superb season, his first as a starter.
What makes for a good matchup Sunday is Rodgers is as aware of what the Cowboys can do defensively as they are of his own talents.
"They're a very solid defense. They've been that way as long as I can remember," Rodgers said. "When you've got a guy like DeMarcus Ware coming off one side and (Anthony) Spencer coming off the other side, plus Jay Ratliff playing as well as he can play, playing really well in the middle . . . they really give you some issues when you're dealing with that front seven, not only from a protection standpoint, but you've got guys who can drop out and do different things with their front, it gives you some confusion problems."
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Josh Ellis - 
