QUARTERBACK: Starter -- Aaron Rodgers. Backups -- Matt Flynn, Brian Brohm.

The long wait for Rodgers to take over for the legendary Brett Favre as the starter after being taken in the first round of the 2005 draft was worth it for himself and the team that put its trust in him to lead the offense. Rodgers didn't flinch amid the acrimonious soap opera between team management and Favre during the summer before the three-time league MVP was jettisoned to the New York Jets. Rodgers' auspicious debut as a pro starter featured a lot more good than bad. He completed 63.3 percent of his passes, threw for more than 4,000 yards, had 28 touchdown throws to only 13 interceptions and compiled a passer rating of 93.8. A play-it-safe game plan orchestrated by head coach Mike McCarthy limited Rodgers' throwing miscues, and every once in a while, he was able to show off his strong arm. Rodgers, though, was guilty of holding onto the football too long in the pocket on occasion, a big factor in the 34 sacks he absorbed. Yet, he was savvy and nimble on his feet, ranking third on the team with 207 rushing yards and scoring four touchdowns. Rodgers also proved to be a gamer, a la iron man Favre, by not missing a game after suffering a severely sprained throwing shoulder in Week 4. The biggest knock on Rodgers coming out of the season is he wasn't able to pull out a late-game victory - the Packers were 0-7 in games decided by no more than four points. Flynn, a seventh-round draft pick, leapfrogged fellow rookie Brohm, a second-rounder, in the preseason for the No. 2 job and appears to have a bigger upside than the highly touted Brohm.

RUNNING BACKS: Starters -- RB Ryan Grant, FB Korey Hall. Backups -- RB Brandon Jackson, FB John Kuhn, RB DeShawn Wynn. Injured reserve -- Kregg Lumpkin.

Grant's first full season as a starter didn't have the same pizzazz and punch as his breakthrough second half of the 2007 season. A hamstring injury that he sustained shortly after reporting to training camp late because of an unsettled contract impacted Grant well into the regular season. Although he wound up with a respectable 1,203 rushing yards, Grant's per-carry average dipped greatly from 5.1 yards in 2007 to 3.9. He also had only four rushing touchdowns, down from eight the previous season. Grant's vision in finding running lanes in the Packers' zone-blocking scheme was fuzzy, and he lacked breakaway speed - his longest run was 57 yards. Jackson, the opening-day starter as a rookie in 2007, had limited opportunities to run with the football as the third-down back but often made the most of those 45 touches by averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Wynn, another young prospect with starting experience in 2007, may have turned the corner in the season-finale with a seven-carry, 106-yard effort, including a 73-yard touchdown, after he had been cut in the preseason and then spent five weeks on the practice squad. Hall was hindered by an early-season knee injury. Kuhn emerged as an effective blocker and was mostly reliable as a ball carrier in short-yardage situations.

TIGHT END: Starter -- Donald Lee. Backups -- Jermichael Finley, Tory Humphrey. Injured reserve -- Evan Moore.

With the exception of a couple games when the numbers were up, Lee had a pronounced dropoff in his production as a receiver from his final season with Favre to working with Rodgers. Lee finished with 39 catches for 303 yards and five touchdowns, in contrast to career highs of 48 receptions, 575 yards and six TDs in 2007. As such, his hold on the starting job going into next season is shaky. Finley ended the season on a positive note after he brought on some contentious moments as a rookie earlier in the season, when he pointed the finger not at himself but the coaches and even Rodgers for pass-catching lapses Finley had. The third-round draft pick has tremendous athleticism and should be pushing for the starting job by the start of next season. Humphrey also can't be counted out after getting through a full season for the first time in four years and coming up with some big down-the-field catches.

WIDE RECEIVER: Starters -- Greg Jennings, Donald Driver. Backups -- James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Ruvell Martin. Injured reserve -- Shaun Bodiford.

Jennings busted out early in the season and figured to be a shoo-in for a Pro Bowl invitation. He tailed off down the stretch, however, with numerous dropped passes. Still, Jennings established himself as one of the league's premier young wideouts with team highs of 80 catches, 1,292 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Driver, the most tenured player on the team, had to bide his time until the second half of the season to get in sync with Rodgers after having been Favre's go-to player in previous seasons. Driver, who attained a fifth straight 1,000-yard season with 74 receptions for 1,012 yards, still is a bona fide playmaker in a starting role. A knee injury sustained late in the preseason limited Jones to 10 games, and he was an unproductive player at the No. 3 spot with only 20 catches for 274 yards and a touchdown. Nelson, the team's top draft pick last year as an early second-rounder, was a better complement to Jennings and Driver. Nelson didn't exhibit the breakaway skills he was known for in college at Kansas State, but he caught 33 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns. Martin didn't offer much when the team spread the field in four- and five-receiver formations.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LT Chad Clifton, LG Daryn Colledge, C Scott Wells, RG Jason Spitz, RT Tony Moll. Backups -- G Josh Sitton, G Allen Barbre, T Breno Giacomini, G Nevin McCaskill. Injured reserve -- T Mark Tauscher.

The return of Tauscher, a starter at right tackle since his rookie year in 2000, is up in the air. His value as an impending unrestricted free agent diminished when he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee with three weeks left in the season. Tauscher probably won't be ready for the start of training camp, wherever he winds up, after undergoing surgery this month. So, the Packers could be ready to move on with his spot, and doing the same with the similarly aging and wounded Clifton on the left side also is a possibility. Fortunately for Green Bay, many of their young linemen are well-versed in playing different positions. Moving Colledge to one of the tackle spots is a good possibility. He came on at the end of the season but isn't a polished inside player after primarily being the starter at left guard the last three seasons. The shakeup could further continue between the tackles as the offseason progresses. Sitton, who started at right guard in the season finale, is ready for a full-time shot after his possible starting assignment as a rookie at the outset of the season was derailed by a preseason knee injury. Spitz, the regular starter at right guard, is better suited to play center, which could bump the dependable, but injury-prone Wells from the lineup. Barbre has been billed as starting material, but it hasn't happened, though the spot at left guard could be his for the taking. Depending on what happens with the trio of Tauscher, Clifton and Colledge, Giacomini is a candidate to start at right tackle after a year of development as a rookie.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- DLE Aaron Kampman, NT Ryan Pickett, DT Johnny Jolly, DRE Michael Montgomery. Backups -- DT Colin Cole, DE Jeremy Thompson, DE Jason Hunter, DT Justin Harrell, DT Alfred Malone, DT Anthony Toribio. Injured reserve -- DE/DT Cullen Jenkins, DE Kenny Pettway.

What was hailed as the strongest unit on the defense two seasons ago regressed to being its weakest link. The offseason trade of Corey Williams to the Cleveland Browns and the season-ending loss of similarly versatile but more productive Jenkins to a torn pectoral muscle in Week 4 rendered the line ineffective in pressuring the passer and providing resistance against the run. Jenkins expects to be return to the field before training camp. His conspicuous absence left Kampman, who rarely came to the sideline, to consistently face double teams as the Packers' only formidable pass rusher. It was a credit to Kampman that he posted 9.5 sacks. Montgomery and Thompson, a rookie who battled injuries, did some nice things but not enough as the replacements for Jenkins on the other side. Montgomery and Cole, who might have been the most effective interior lineman even in a part-time role, are due to become unrestricted free agents and probably will be re-signed. Jolly and Pickett each had more than 80 tackles, but they weren't particularly stout in holding up blockers when playing against the run. Hanging over Jolly in the early part of the offseason will be court proceedings for felony drug possession charges he faces. The vulnerability of the interior of the line was magnified by a second straight season of uselessness from Harrell, the team's 2007 first-round draft pick. A magnet to injury, Harrell underwent two surgeries last offseason for a herniated disk in his back and missed the first half of the season. Further complications with his back and hip kept Harrell out the last three games and raised the possibility for more surgery this offseason.

LINEBACKERS: Starters -- SLB Brady Poppinga, MLB A.J. Hawk, WLB Brandon Chillar. Backups -- Desmond Bishop, Spencer Havner, Danny Lansanah. Injured reserve -- Nick Barnett.

The season-ending loss of Barnett to a midseason torn ACL wasn't overcome by the defense and the team as a whole, as it went 2-5 down the stretch. Barnett wasn't having a great season before suffering the injury, but he was the take-charge leader of the defense. In Barnett's absence, Hawk moved inside from his starting weak-side spot, and the results were mixed. Hawk led the team with 121 tackles, but the 2006 first-round draft pick had perhaps the most underwhelming season among the Green Bay players. The zeroes stand out next to Hawk's name for interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. Poppinga also didn't force a turnover, and given his liabilities in pass coverage, he could be the odd man out in the starting lineup next season. Chillar, the team's only notable acquisition last offseason, was effective defending the pass (nine breakups). The hard-hitting Bishop, who led the defense with three forced fumbles, is a starting-caliber player who can play on the outside or in the middle, but he must clean up his play in coverage.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters -- RCB Al Harris, SS Aaron Rouse, FS Nick Collins, LCB Charles Woodson. Backups -- CB Tramon Williams, CB Will Blackmon, CB/S Jarrett Bush, S Charlie Peprah, CB Joe Porter. Injured reserve -- S Atari Bigby, CB Pat Lee.

The unit flourished as bandits, particularly in the first half of the season. All 22 of the team's interceptions were by the hands of the defensive backs. Leading the way with a co-NFC-high seven apiece were the team's lone Pro Bowl choices, Woodson and Collins. Woodson, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, is forgoing the trip to Hawaii after enduring a full season in which he played with a broken toe. He played magnificently, breaking up a team-best 20 passes. Two of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns, but Collins trumped him with three picks for scores a year after having zero interceptions. Collins struggled down the stretch with his help coverage and pursuit, yet the breakout fulfilled the high expectations the team had for him when it took him in the second round in 2005. The Packers had a franchise-record-tying six touchdowns on interception returns, highlighted by Rouse's 99-yard pick of a pass by the Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning and dash to the opposite end zone. Rouse, though, was erratic in the opportunities he had to start for an injured Bigby, who was plagued by a bum ankle all season and ultimately went on injured reserve near the end because of a shoulder injury. Bigby underwent surgery for the ankle and figures to be OK by training camp. Harris is under contract but not a given to be back. He suffered a career-threatening spleen injury in Week 3 but missed only four games. Harris' coverage skills in the final weeks of the season left a lot to be desired. Williams did a satisfactory job as the starting fill-in for Harris but was exploited frequently in downfield coverage back as the nickel back the second half of the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: K Mason Crosby, P Jeremy Kapinos, LS Brett Goode, KOR
Will Blackmon, KR Jordy Nelson. Injured reserve -- LS J.J. Jansen.

A multitude of coverage breakdowns, including missed tackles, and diminished returns the second half of the season by primarily Blackmon were critical in the Packers' losing steam and plummeting to the 6-10 record. Blackmon lit a spark early on with two punt returns for touchdowns. Crosby was a culprit in the second-half slide. Two of his seven field-goal misses, out of 34 attempts, came in potential game-winning situations - at Minnesota and at Chicago, the latter a block on a low kick. Crosby had his usual strong leg on kickoffs, but he also punched three out of bounds as now-retired special teams coordinator Mike Stock employed more directional kicking. Kapinos saved some face for general manager Ted Thompson, McCarthy and Stock by coming in with four games left in the season and doing a much better job, in inclement conditions no less, than free-agent signee Derrick Frost did in the first 12 contests. Goode replaced Rob Davis, who retired, at long snapper and was Davis-like in not having a bad snap.