Rodgers says 2010 season is favorite so far

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- With the Packers' first preseason game just one week away, quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Thursday held his weekly press conference with the media. The NFL's reigning Most Valuable Player talked about watching players he's gotten to know get cut from the team, which wide receivers have impressed him the most and more.

Five question-and-answer highlights:

1. What are some benchmarks you're hoping to check off during training camp?

RODGERS: Don't get hurt, don't do anything really stupid, don't make the same mistake twice. For me, it's about a feel that I want to have come Week 1. Right now, you're trying to figure out some of the young guys who are getting more playing time, some of the old guys who are getting a little more opportunities, get on the same page with those guys and get a feel for how Jordy (Nelson) and Greg (Jennings) and those guys are running their routes and how the tight ends are reacting. It's fun. I'll be ready once the season starts.

2. What do you have planned for an encore following your 45-touchdown, six-interception performance last season?

RODGERS: Be consistent and win a Super Bowl. It's fun to be able to play the way you want to play and be consistent throughout a season, but it's all about how you finish a season in the end. I'll probably look at (last) year 10, 15 years down the road and be proud of the things I was able to accomplish and that we were, as a team, doing things that haven't been done here in a long time. But the 2010 season is my favorite until we get back to the Super Bowl and win another one.

3. How much improvement have second-year tight ends D.J. Williams and Ryan Taylor shown?

RODGERS: I think D.J. and Ryan have done a great job. It's fun to see young guys take that next step. Guys who both really contributed to special teams last year, they didn't have a major role in the offense, but you could see their roles potentially expanding. It is early in training camp, we haven't played any games yet and we have a long way to go, but those guys have done what they've been expected to do as far as making that jump from Year 1 to Year 2. Like I tell those guys, it's all about your preparation and really the mental jump you can make. Physically, those guys are very gifted with big bodies and athleticism, but really it's about their approach. If they can understand our offense, which is difficult to totally ascertain at times, that's how you can make that jump.

4. Have any of the young wide receivers really stood out to you?

RODGERS: I think again you have to wait and see what happens in the game situation and kind of reserve judgment. It's different in practice than it is in a game with the ability to get hit and get hit hard on some of the routes that go over the middle and to be able to get off a press from a guy you don't know very well. In general, I think Tori (Gurley) has had a good start to the camp, he's done some good things for us and can make some good plays in the red zone. Diondre (Borel) is as smart as they come, understands the offense – seeing it through the eyes of a quarterback. Shaky (Smithson) has had some really good moments for us as well, but it's going to be determined during those games. (We'll) see how those guys react to when the lights go on and when it's live, when they have to make quick decisions when we can't be OK with delay-of-game penalties because you didn't line up in the right spot or didn't know what you were doing on a third-down conversion or ran the wrong route. Those are the kind of things you're going to see that's going to separate the guys who are in the hunt from the guys who probably aren't going to make it.

5. Is this as deep as the wide receiver group has ever been?

RODGERS: I think it's a deep receiving core. We've had the luxury of having a lot of guys the last couple years that could play. I think a guy like Chastin West last year. With the kind of preseason he had, I think a lot of us thought he was going to make the team, and then we kept five receivers again. Ruvell Martin was a camp casualty a few years before that, a guy who could really play as well, and is still playing in the league. It's tough. This is going to be the most difficult cuts that Ted (Thompson) and his staff and Mike (McCarthy) have to do because we're deep. Just look at that position group right to my left on the defensive line. There's a lot of guys in that group who are probably going to be playing big minutes for other teams because we don't have the room for them because we're so deep there. It's tough. It's frustrating because you get to know guys and they're getting cut, but I'm excited about this team this year. We have a lot of talent.

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