Live after Favre has been in the back of the Green Bay Packers minds for the last several offseasons but this week the reality game shattering down. When Brett Favre retired earlier this week, the Packers moved suddenly into the Aaron Rodgers era.

Make no mistake about the cupboard is anything but bare in Green Bay. The offense is still very young but with the emergence of running back Ryan Grant, receivers Greg Jennings, and James Jones, veteran Donald Driver and Tight End Donald Lee, the offense has a ton of skill. The Defense will still be strong led by, AJ Hawk and Nick Barnett and Aaron Kampman. So the question is how a 13-3 team will rebound the loss of their leader? Favre as mentioned in a great post by Dave was the leader of this club. They were rallied by a timeless veteran who willed this young group to gel much quicker than anyone expected.

The retiring of legends usually takes its toll on teams. The Denver Broncos have only won 4 playoff games since Elway retired, the 49′ers have been struggling and are just now getting on track since Steve Young retired, The Dallas Cowboys have had 11 QB’s before seemingly finding the next heir apparent in Tony Romo. So can a team that has so much promise lose their Hall of Fame QB and still make the playoffs?

Fortunately the NFC North is wide open. Chicago is still trying to figure out what happened to them last year, but lest we not forget they are only one year removed from making the Super Bowl. The Lions, well, they are the Lions, and the Vikings seem to have found their spark in running back Adrian Peterson, but they too are still figuring things out.

The Packers certainly make it back to the playoffs it will all depend on how quickly the team and Aaron Rodgers take to each other and learn to trust each other. So, will the Packers make the playoffs next year? Let us know in the comments below.