The Packers may not have had Davante Adams, and they may not have had Allen Lazard.
But they had that Aaron Rodgers guy, and the remaining targets in front of them knew that was enough.
Packers tight end Robert Tonyan — himself not a household name, at least in households beyond Ashwaubenon — caught three touchdowns in last night’s win over the Falcons, and said he knew Rodgers would get off to this kind of start.
“Before the season, I already knew it was going to happen,” Tonyan said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “I already knew it was going to happen. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Rodgers has previously been good at football, but he’s playing at a different level this season. The Packers have scored at least 30 points in every game, and haven’t turned it over, making them the first team in league history to start a season that way.
Doing it with a mixed bag of pass-catchers adds to the degree of difficulty, but Rodgers has gotten by with less than Pro Bowl talent on the edges for years (which is part of the reason they keep giving it to him). Between that and the drafting of a quarterback in the first round, instead of someone to help him immediately, Rodgers is clearly motivated to prove a point.
That was tougher last night with they odd lot at receiver, so he merely went 27-of-33 for 327 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Tonyan, making it seem as if he didn’t mind.
“Not really; I’d rather have those guys,” Rodgers said. “I’d rather have us as healthy as possible but the beauty in this game is that’s rarely the case, whether it’s guys playing with injuries or guys who can’t play because of injuries, and that’s just part of the game. You love the opportunities for those other guys because a lot of them have really earned it, have earned the opportunity to be out there, earned the opportunity to be in position to make plays and you get to learn a lot of about character and ability in those moments.”
You also get to learn exactly how well Rodgers is playing.
