It's not Aaron Rodgers' fault. Not entirely. He didn't ask for his football career to be put in direct comparison to a legend's. He was supposed to go earlier in the 2005draft. He shouldn't have fallen to Green Bay. He was never meant to succeed Brett Favre. But now that's what he'll remembered for. A quarterback who became the pawn in a battle for the supremacy of the Packer organization.

10 years from now if there's a breaking story about espionage in the NFL ranks it won't be about Bill Belichick. It will be when we finally discover that Ted Thompson was a plant from the commissioner's office. An agent sent to destroy the small market Green Bay franchise, make it unprofitable and then relocate the team to London, Mexico City, or god-forbid Los Angeles. Other than the ingestion of large amounts of crystal-meth, or some inbred Alabamian ancestry there's no other explanation for the man's stupidity.

If Favre stayed retired no one ever would have known of Thompson's incompetence. But now, midway through the 2009 season, the Vikings are 7-1 with the Green Bay Hall of Famer at the helm and the Packers are a mediocre 4-4. The Packers suffered their latest loss at the hands of the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers and from there it only gets worse. One week prior, the revenge seeking Brett Favre marched his purple horde into Lambeau Field and dismantled his old team. Meanwhile Ted Thompson hid in the bathroom of his luxury box fearful that his ex-QB would air mail a 90mile-an-hour pig-skin between his eyes.

On two successive occasions this season Favre defeated his former team and his replacement. However, a look at the raw numbers shows that the successor to the Packers' throne was not completely out-gunned in those meetings:

Rodgers- 2 losses, 67% completion percentage, 671 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 interception

Favre- 2 wins, 69% completion percentage, 515 yards, 7 touchdowns, 0 interceptions

Considering that Aaron Rodgers has 16less years experience as a starter in the NFL, did not have an offensive line full of pro-bowl caliber players lining up in front of him, and did not have a player named Adrian Peterson lining up behind him, he fared pretty well. But those numbers do not show the amount of times that Ted Thompson's prized player took a sack and killed his team's drive.

Jared Allen, despite his lack or understanding that mullets should only be worn for comedy, is a good pass rusher. Nobody who played offensive tackle for the Packers in those games can match up with him. But any quarterback in the NFL who holds the ball 5 seconds should knows he's pushing his luck. Even though Rodgers has previously shown the ability to escape the pocket, he found it necessary to continue looking down-field for open receivers 6-7 seconds into the play. In two games Rodgers was sacked14 times for a loss of 71 yards, and a safety. A few of those were not the quarterback's fault. But it'd be hard for Heather Mills to get sacked 7 times in one game. Mainly because Jared Allen would be busy showing her pictures of his Trans-Am and trying to get her to come to a Motley Crue reunion show with him.

It is now evident that Ted Thompson has screwed up the entire situation like Larry Johnson at a nightclub. Packer nation is in a tortured state, their favorite son has turned against them, their management seems wholly incompetent at the moment and there's nowhere to turn. At least when Favre was playing for the Jets, Packer fans could still embrace him. The illusion that he wasj ust a washed up legend playing until his body quits on him, made seeing him in different colors easier. But there's no remedy for watching #4 guide the hated Vikings towards the playoffs while their Ted Thompson built team struggles against the lowly Buccaneers. The twisted feelings of resentment for Thompson, hope for Rodgers,forgiveness for Favre, and that ever present loathing of the Vikings is too much of a mess to untangle.

Favre wasn't done. He proved that in2007 but nobody would acknowledge it. Once Ted Thompson ran him out of a town and a team he revived, Favre had to prove to himself, to the media, to Packers' management that he could still play. Aaron Rodgers will have a great career in the NFL. He's a talented quarterback that will eventually learn to get rid of the ball,probably guide Green Bay to the playoffs multiple times, but will forever be tainted by his association with Ted Thompson's forced removal of Brett Favre from Cheesehead Nation.

Meanwhile Favre the victor will lead his new colors on a march to his third Super Bowl. He came close with Green Bay, and everyone now knows that it could have been them flying high in the NFC North. But management wanted to put a 13-3 team in the hands of an inexperienced quarterback. It wasn't hisfault that Ted Thompson decided to show off his managerial skills in an audition for a future Oakland Raiders GM gig. In the end neither Rodgers, Favre, or Thompson will pay the full price for this debacle. But the broken hearts and spirits of the loyal Green Bay fans maynever recover from the kidnapping of their legend.