Imig: Giants 'rematch' missing only Favre

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It's hard to imagine that it was only four years ago Brett Favre was preparing to lead the Packers into their NFC Championship Game matchup against Eli Manning and the New York Giants. Since then, Favre has been traded to the New York Jets, played two seasons for Green Bay's division rival in Minnesota, become a grandfather, and retired -- this time, officially. Favre is, however, still real comfortable in his jeans of choice. Favre also found time in his retirement to express surprise that it took the young quarterback who sat behind him for three seasons "so long" to win a Super Bowl despite the fact Aaron Rodgers earned his first championship ring in his third season as a starter. But with the Giants traveling to Green Bay for this weekend's playoff game, it's a reminder of just how similar the circumstances are from the game four years ago . . . with one major exception at quarterback. In that game, the 14-3 Packers were heavy favorites to win and playing at home. The same is true this weekend. Green Bay was a high-scoring, pass-first offense in 2007 (fourth in points, second in yards). This season, the Packers were the league's highest-scoring team and third in total yards. Ryan Grant was the featured running back then -- though he gained only 29 yards against the Giants in the NFC Championship Game -- and, with James Starks not fully recovered from knee and ankle injuries, will likely receive the bulk of the carries again this weekend. Greg Jennings is still catching passes in the green and gold, though in a much larger role. Donald Driver is still around too, albeit in a smaller role. And most important, it's a very similar offense with head coach Mike McCarthy calling the plays. However, defensively, the team is not trending in the direction that will allow Packers fans to rest comfortably in the coming days. Green Bay's 2007 defense was in the top third of the NFL in nearly every statistical category, whereas this season's unit has struggled. But if you take Jennings at his word regarding comments he made earlier this week, the difference of having Rodgers -- whom the Packers' wide receiver said was better than Favre -- can more than make up for any shortcomings. Rodgers was nearly everything during the regular season that Favre wasn't late in his career. Rodgers threw 45 touchdown passes and six interceptions this season. In 2007, Favre's final year in Green Bay, he had 28 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions, which was a marked improvement over his previous two seasons (including a 20-touchdown, 29-interception 2005). Favre was the gunslinger. Rodgers, after three seasons of watching the dos and don'ts of NFL quarterbacking, has been the complete opposite. Favre also never believed his job description included mentoring backup quarterbacks, which left Rodgers to fend for himself early on. Now, with Rodgers in a situation where he could do as his predecessor did, has taken Matt Flynn under his wing, going so far as to say that he hopes Flynn is able to have an even more successful career in the NFL than he does. There were no backhanded compliments from Rodgers after Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns while Rodgers rested during the team's regular-season finale. Rodgers was given the opportunity to be the Packers' starter after Favre's illustrious 16-year career in Green Bay ended with the Giants celebrating at Lambeau Field four years ago. An overtime interception thrown by No. 4 sent New York to the Super Bowl and Favre to the trading block. In the frigid conditions that day, Favre's mind seemed more focused on staying warm in a bulky jacket on the sideline than on his costly error. But without that interception, who knows where Rodgers or the Packers organization would be? It's unlikely the Packers would have traded Favre after his ever-so-brief first retirement if he had led them to the Super Bowl. And don't forget the trade rumors the previous summer in which Rodgers' name reportedly came up as part of a deal to Oakland in exchange for Randy Moss. It's doubtful that a first-round draft pick like Rodgers would have spent his first four seasons in the league on the bench. When the Giants take the field on Sunday, not even they will look much different. Manning is still the quarterback, and the running back duo of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs has remained in place. While the one-sided Plaxico Burress-Al Harris matchup of 2007 won't be on display Sunday, the Packers' shaky secondary mixed with a young, talented group of Giants wide receivers led by Victor Cruz could produce similar results. But with Rodgers efficiently leading Green Bay to a franchise-record 15 wins this seasons, the Giants shouldn't count on an overtime interception to be the difference this time around. Follow Paul Imig on Twitter.