Aaron Rodgers will continue his battle with Craig Nall and J.T. O'Sullivan for the No. 2 quarterback position by taking the snaps after Brett Favre on Friday night versus the New England Patriots.
"He just needs as many reps as he can get," quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell said.
J.T. O'Sullivan will finish the game as quarterback. Similar to the distribution of playing time versus the Chargers, Nall will take little to no snaps at quarterback.
The Packers have observed Nall's performance for three years but need to evaluate O'Sullivan because the team likely will carry three quarterbacks on the roster.
Rodgers' impressive performances during training camp practices have not been reflected in live game action. He has mastered the Packers' offense but needs to focus on adjusting his decision making to the defense.
"He's kind of gotten caught up in what we're doing," Bevell said. "He knows where our guys are going. He knows how to function within the plays, but the defense is going to tell him where to put the ball. He needs to start looking on the other side of the ball now."
Rodgers has completed 6-of-15 passes for 28 yards and one interception during the preseason, but any difficulties have little to do with his mechanics.
"It had to do with his feet, and where his mind was at the time," Bevell said.
The process of becoming comfortable in the offense is challenging for any rookie even one as precocious as Rodgers. He must know the 300 to 400 plays in the playbook, and he has practiced some of those plays against a specific defense only once.
"If I can slow it down in my mind," Rodgers said. "Things will be fine."
The Packers offense will look for more production on Friday. The backups did not score any points against the Buffalo Bills last week. Their first goal, however, is to eliminate the mistakes.
"We want to go out there and be penalty free and have no turnovers. That's the main thing," wide receiver Robert Ferguson said. "We've got take it from there and put some more points on the board."
The Packers will face a challenge in trying to score point against a stout Patriots defense, which allowed 16.3 points per game last year.
Competing against three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, however, will not leave the rookie quarterback in awe.
"Brady's a great quarterback," Rodgers said. "But I've got Brett Favre on my team. I've been paying attention to everything he's been doing for the last three weeks."
