METAIRIE ― Aaron Rodgers admits that he wished at some point during the three years prior to the 2008 season that he would have become the starting quarterback for Green Bay.

But he knows sitting behind Brett Favre was a blessing few will get to do and that it was a learning situation few get the chance to have.

Photo by Jack Dempsey / The Associated Press

Aaron Rodgers (12) sat three years behind Brett Favre in Green Bay. In his first season as the full-time starter, the Packers are 5-5 and in a tie for first in the NFC North.

“As a self-confident quarterback like we all are, obviously you think you could’ve had the same kind of success, but after three years of waiting, I think it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to me,” Rodgers said.

“It definitely prolonged my career, having the opportunity to learn from a first-ballot Hall of Famer, to watch him, to not have any pressure, to get my body in tip-top physical shape, to study the game in the offseason, to hone my fundamentals the that I did in Coach (Mike) McCarthy’s quarterback school.

“I think all those things put together really allowed me to be prepared to have the kind of success that I’ve had this season.”

And that success has propelled the Packers to a 5-5 record and a tie for first in the NFC North heading into Monday night’s 7 o’clock nationally televised game against the Saints (5-5).

Rodgers is completing 64.5 percent of his passed and has 2,351 yards. He has 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, a nearly 3-to-1 ratio. Just as telling – he has the league’s fifth-highest quarterback rating (94.5) behind New Orleans’ Drew Brees (95.4).

All of that Rodgers can control.

More importantly, he has learned to leave the things he can’t control alone, to not let them bother him.

That includes the Brett Favre saga – one good enough to win a Tony Award – this summer when Favre came out of retirement and forced the Packers to trade him.

“The things that I can’t control – no matter how much I worry about them or think about them, they’re not going to change,” Rodgers said. “The situation that happened this offseason was out of my control from day one so I just remained focused on the things that I could control and that was my preparation in the offseason, getting my body in tip-top physical shape, mentally getting ready for a long grind, and what happened, happened.”

McCarthy, in his third season as the Packers head coach, is impressed, though not surprised, with how Rodgers handled the situation.

“I think Aaron handles most things that I’ve been involved with him that way,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think anybody can prepare for that type of situation that he was put through. I think that with him as a person and the strains of his confidence and the way he handled it, it’s really a credit to him.”

Rodgers, for what it’s worth, says he moved on from this past summer’s drama as early as the beginning of the season. The team, too, he said.

“For the guys in the locker room, it has always been about the 2008 Green Bay Packers,” Rodgers said. “That’s stuff that the media gets into and really I’ve been focused on my job and being one of the leaders of this offense and trying to figure out ways to win games.” 

Bradley Handwreger can be reached at bhandwerger@wwltv.com"> or 504-529-6439.