I'm talking about the guy, who when traded to the Packers failed his physical, was told he probably would only play for 4 or 5 years before needing hip replacement, and the guy who has over come more personal adversity that any one man should have to endure, our very own Brett Favre looked like his old self Saturday night against a pretty rough defense.

Those who watch could only come away with the same feeling. If Brett Favre could win the game for you every Sunday, the Packers would go undefeated for the season. This whole pre-season he's been pretty spectacular. He's dropped some weight and looks very dedicated to winning again.

However, Green Bay followed suit with the Indianapolis Colts and took out their star QB quick against a defense that is apt to chew you up on any given night, so all we got to see was Favre move the team down the field in the opening drive and score the game's first TD.

Very impressive, to say the least.

If you were watching, Sherman and offensive coordinator Tom  Rossley never used the same group of players, or formation on two consecutive plays. And one particular play was very impressive for only being the second preseason game and that was when they went empty backfield, quick shift to reset Ahman Green back behind Favre then go on a quick snap. Took the Buffalo defense completely by surprise.

Then of course, without having Bubba Franks in there, when the Packers got down inside the red zone, Favre, with his kid-like scramble, bought some time then tossed the short pass to Green in the corner of the end zone for the score. I got caught up in the excitement of the play and forgot it was only pre-season and found myself cheering out loud. I normally reserve that for when it really counts but given this was the first drive of the game meaning it was pretty much starters against starters, the Pack look and performed pretty good. Hard not to get excited if you're a Packer fan.

And we saw the running game start to come together, as well on Saturday night. The young guards that Sherman played are starting to understand their role in the offense. Also, I really liked what I saw with Davenport and I don't just mean his Mohawk hairdo, either. Just a side note, last few years it was dreadlocks, this year, if you were paying attention, a hand full of Packers were sporting the Mohawk look. All I can say is it's different. But Davenport's new, thinner physique that has made him quicker, only enhanced his bulldozing style making him even more lethal this year. And that can only bode well for the Packers and their running game. It was good to see Fisher bounce back from a not-so-good game last week. So, if they can keep the starters healthy, this year might be another division title.

That's the good news.

The bad news is this our second and third stringers still don't look so hot. However, before you get too carried away with that fact, and start to fear for our season, remember this; If one of the starters goes down and is replaced with his backup, it will only be one backup out there at a time not the entire front line.

This makes a big difference if you think about it. When the Packers didn't look or perform so great it was because the entire group of players on the field were second or third stringers. That's not how it will pan out during the regular season. Only one backup will be expected to hold his own on the front line. So it's difficult to determine just how much trouble the team, as a whole, is really in when it comes to the depth of the bench.

Defense could be another story for the fact that most of Bate's players are young and/or inexperienced. Of course, keep in mind some of the players we watched on Saturday won't be there come September. A lot of those kids are not mentioned when people talk about who's in the running to make the team. So it's still too early, and very difficult, to determine the secondary. The front line isn't as bad off, in my opinion. Some missed assignments and being too aggressive, along with six missing starters, had a lot to do with what happened on Saturday against the Bills. But there were some things the defense did, that you had to look past what you saw, in order to see what they did.

HUH?

For instance, there was more pressure on the quarterback against Buffalo. That's a good thing. However, it got over-shadowed by the fact most of those plays got blown up when the pass rushers forgot to maintain their lanes allowing the QB to flush to the outside and elude the pressure. That also gave the QB time to wait for his receivers to beat the secondary coverage and come open. Some of the bigger pass plays were on account of the Packers still evaluating young personal who are also inexperienced. Again, not all of the bad things that we witnessed on Saturday night are expected to be the "norm" come regular season.

One bright spot was the play of the entire linebacker crew. Having Bates' system set them deeper into the secondary, which allows their speed to close on the ball, seems to be working. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Paris Lenon made the team again because he is one of the faster linebackers.

I'm not sure why the special teams broke down Saturday night. Last week against San Diego they looked like a different unit. Saturday night, and on the heels of Sherman's praise in the media about how far along they were already this year as a unit, the special teams mailed it in. They were simply out-played by the Buffalo team. Of course, there's always been a question, in my mind at least, about the coaching ability of the Packers' special team coach John Bonamego, but that's another story.

In the end, my game ball goes to Brett Favre. What can you say? He showed his usual leadership, with perhaps some new-found agility, and the keen ability to lead the team against a pretty tight defense. If there was going to be a second one handed out it would go to Najeh Davenport. He ran hard and strong against that same defense and was throwing some very effective blocks, too. On defense, the big kudos goes to the entire linebacker corps.

One more note, B.J. Sanders is finally starting to get with the program. I'm not sure if he'll ever prove to anyone why the Packers picked him so high in the draft, but his average of over 40 yards again, with his longest of 50 yards, will be a huge asset if he continues to produce like that in the regular season.

Of course, the jury's still out on Aaron Rodgers. Saturday night he, and the second string offense, was pretty bad. Not a whole lot of positives could be taken from what happened during the game other than his ability to scramble. The kid's got to learn to slid feet first, though! My only thought is would he be this ineffective had gone #1 or #2 in the draft to some other team that needed him to be "the man" right away? It's hard to say but from all indications thus far, he's definitely not playing anywhere near his expected potential and I can't help wonder how much, if any, playing behind Favre has to do with it?

Just a thought.

Next up the New England Patriots. It's going to be a tough matchup against the Super Bowl champs but we should start seeing more playing time from the starters now as we get down to the last few weeks of this pre-season. The Packers of 2005-2006 should start to come together this game. And hopefully they'll find their identity quickly, and get ready to make this a fun season. Go Pack!

So, until next time, Keep Driving Forward.