AJ Hawk will probably be fined for flipping the bird in full view at Lambeau Field Sunday. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

I looked over at my wife and asked, “Did I see what I just thought I saw?”

“Yes” was the answer I quickly heard.

All I could do was giggle a bit and post my tweet about what I saw.

What I and everyone else saw was the single finger salute given by AJ Hawk toward his own sideline.

It wasn’t until after the game when queried about it that it all came clear – it was an inside joke, wasn’t done with malicious intentions and seemingly harmed no one. Remember, these are football fans watching these games. For the most part, these people are immune to gestures like this … at least one would hope.
Will he be fined? Probably. Should he be fined? Probably not.

But if he’s dumb enough to do it in a stadium filled with cameras, well I guess he should pay the price.
“I guess it was on TV,” Hawk said after the game, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I definitely wasn’t mad or upset with anybody. It was kind of a running joke with a couple of my teammates. I got caught up in the emotion of the game.

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Word on the street is that if the shoulder requires major surgery, he will not return. If it doesn’t require surgery, he will return. However, according to Greg Bedard of JS Online, there are some major problems with Favre’s shoulder that could hurt his chances of a come back:

But there is a palpable fear around Favre that there is a more serious injury to the shoulder. One source said, “If you put your finger in (Favre’s) shoulder it goes right through. That’s not a good sign. There’s a reason why he hasn’t picked up a football yet.”

The fear, according to two sources, is that one of three other injuries will be found: additional damage to the rotator cuff; that the biceps tendon has come out of its groove possibly by a rupture in the sheath that surrounds it; or that there is cartilage damage in the shoulder.

Any of the three would likely end Favre’s latest comeback attempt.

The Viking Age’s reaction:

Ew.

I’m not sure Favre realizes that Zygi Wilf and Brad Childress aren’t going to take a chance on damaged goods. If they see Favre’s shoulder like this, they aren’t going to jeopardize a roster spot and team chemistry just so Favre can have one last hurrah and try to stick it to Ted Thompson. What’s the point of having a quarterback that can’t throw the deep ball when that’s the only thing you brought him in for?

TVA also puts another theory out there: Deanna Favre. Apparently the Favre family “likes watching Favre play” and has a “loathing” for Thompson. So now Favre is trying to appease his family? The amount of angles on this story are infinite. Can it just be September 13 already?

Of all the FanSided.com sites, the Atlanta Falcons blog, Blogging Dirty, had the most direct opinion on Favre. It speaks not of a Packers fan being alienated by Favre, but a football fan. Favre is leaving football fans everywhere in an uncomfortable lurch on whether or not this man is worthy of their respect after the stunts he has pulled in the last few years. SideLion Report, everyone’s favorite Detroit Lions blog, also has the cautionary tales of Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, and O.J. Simpson (no, not one involving a white Bronco) to consider when making his decision. Although it might be too late for that.

But now the two teams are in different directions.  Green Bay is breaking in a new quarterback, while San Francisco is still trying to find the successor for Young.  Ironically, Aaron Rodgers could be in San Francisco.  In the days leading up to the 2005 NFL Draft, the 49ers were torn between Rodgers and Alex Smith.  They chose Smith No. 1, letting Rodgers free-fall all the way down to #24 where Ted Thompson snatched him up.  Rodgers got the job of holding the clipboard for Favre for three years before getting his chance.  Smith was thrown into the fire Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Smith has gone through three offensive coordinators in three years and is now on his fourth in Mike Martz.  Rodgers had to deal with the Favre debacle.  Smith is now competing with J.T. O’Sullivan and Shaun Hill for the starting quarterback position.  Rodgers is the man in Green Bay.

Yeah, tough cookies Alex.

Anyway, five things to watch for in tonight’s game:

1. The aforementioned storyline between Smith and Rodgers.  Yes, I know it’s preseason, but I’ll take any storyline not involving Favre I can get.

2. The battle for the backup running back.  As I mentioned yesterday, the battle for third-string running back is heating up.  Ryan Grant is not expected to play, so Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency, and Noah Herron should see the majority of the carries and a chance to show what they can do.

3. The 49ers defense.  They’ve spent loads of cash on this lately, so let’s see if the cash will come through for them.

4. The Packers defense.  The Packers defense is going to have to do more work than they did last season with the offense in transition, so it should be interesting to see how they feast on a pretty weak offense.

5. The battle for backup quarterback.  Brian Brohm was thought to have this job locked up as soon as he was drafted, but fellow rookie Matt Flynn has impressed coaches and is expected to challenge Brohm.  Intriguing.

I’m not going to be able to watch this game, but good luck to the Packers.  I’ll have a report on it tomorrow.