Green Bay limps out of Dallas with cause for concern

Brett Favre struggled badly against the Cowboys before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injured right elbow and separated left shoulder. AP

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After counting myself among the privileged few permitted to watch the NFL's heavily restricted Hostage Bowl, shown to selected viewers, here are the things I'd worry about if I were a Packers fan:

In his biggest game of the season, Brett Favre came up weird, as he used to do in the dark years of 2005 and '06, before his great renaissance of '07. An offense that was precise in its execution, even as overbalanced as it was, pass to run, all of a sudden had no coherence to it.

The first series ended in a hopeless heave deep downfield on third-and-one. The second was a three-and-out, the out caused by a rushed throw when the protection broke down. The third one wasn't a series at all, just one of those quackers into the heart of the coverage that would have people shaking their heads last year and the year before, wondering when Brett was going to retire.

Two series later, after Ryan Grant had burst through a small seam and put six points on the board, Favre was finished, victim of a protection scheme that didn't account for a nickel back coming in free on a blitz.

And that would be the second thing I'd worry about. His health. His arm.

The next thing I'd worry about is the fact that under Aaron Rodgers, the Pack seemed to have more of a chance than under Favre. At least he had the legs to get out of trouble and keep drives alive.

Think those are all the worries? Wait, we've only addressed one side of the ball. The focus of the Packers' defense, the thing that gave it such life and kept it on top in so many games this year, was the deep, eight-man defensive line rotation. Everyone seemed fresh. The pressure never stopped coming. Well, three of the eight were missing Thursday night, one of them Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, the bookend pass rusher from the right side.

KGB and Johnny Jolly might be back in a couple of weeks. Colin Cole is lost for the season. Without them, the D-linemen have to be on the field longer than what they are accustomed to. They hung in tough Thursday for as long as could be expected, but their pressure gradually wilted.

The secondary was a mess, with Charles Woodson out with a toe injury. Tony Romo had his way with it. He made the DBs look foolish. They were swallowing every fake. Terrell Owens ran a crossing pattern left to right, shedding Al Harris, who had only sporadic one-on-one duties on T.O. He broke it off, signaled for a left turn, headed up the seam and walked into the end zone, leaving free safety Nick Collins looking like a nanny who had just lost her baby carriage.

It happened all night, and if you're a Packers fan, you had to wonder when Woodson actually would be back, and how bad that toe injury is.

Were there any uppers out there? Well, yeah. Rodgers, given his most serious action since he joined the club two and a half years ago, was better than anyone had a right to expect. He brought the team back, came up with two long touchdown drives, completed 11 in a row at one point, and then found another field goal drive, which added the three points but turned out to be a strategic blunder.

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