National Football League

Old friends Aaron Rodgers, Joe Philbin set to meet in Miami

Published Oct. 8, 2014 8:30 p.m. ET

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It was February, 2008, and Joe Philbin was helping coach the NFC squad at the Pro Bowl.

While observing some of the sport's elite quarterbacks do their exhibition work in Hawaii, the then-offensive coordinator for the Packers was reminded of one of his own players, a third-year backup out of Cal who hadn't even started an NFL game yet: Aaron Rodgers.

"We were just kind of watching guys throw on both sides, both teams, and I was kind of thinking to myself, 'Geez, the guy we've got that is a backup at that point in time can certainly throw the ball with the same type of velocity and so forth as these guys," said Philbin earlier this week.

On Sunday, the man who orchestrated the offense in which Rodgers thrived for five seasons, will face his former team and quarterback for the first time in a game which could legitimately set the tone for the rest of the Dolphins' season.

While the Dolphins are rested and feeling good about themselves following their smashing of the Raiders in London before their early bye, the Packers are also doing well.

After losing two of their first three games this season, the Packers have racked up 80 points in recent victories over the Bears and Vikings, and thus come into this contest with one of the hottest offenses in the league.

"This is a team that's been to the playoffs five years in a row, that's coming into our stadium and they're a good football team," said Philbin. "This is a great measuring stick for where we are as a team. Personally, it's really no more than that. Obviously, I have great regard for a lot of the people there, but that will kind of happen again later. I will have more regard for them October 13th than I will on the 12th."

And as much regard as Philbin has for the Packers, and especially Rodgers, the quarterback also has plenty of respect for his old offensive coordinator.

"There's a lot to be said for Joe's ability to control the attention of a room," said Rodgers. "We saw how hard he worked, his passion for the game and how he cared for his players. I owe a lot of my success to working under him. He was a great ally and a great friend to bounce football stuff of off."

Rodgers also credits Philbin with his ability to control his body language during games, something he had to work on a lot during his early days as a starter.

"He challenged me as a young player to really think about it a lot," said Rodgers. "I'm very passionate about the game and I'm a competitor, and Joe reminded me often about my body language and that everyone is looking at me as the QB for energy. That really stuck with me and I appreciate him for that."

So, how much does Rodgers think Philbin's history with the Packers will help Miami come Sunday?

"Oh, he has a lot of intel," said Rodgers. "But offenses change and evolve. We're not the same offense we were in 2011. We have a couple of stud backs we try to get involved early and different personnel on the outside, but it's a lot of the same terminology. Joe is, I'm sure, helping out the defense with some of the stuff we do cadence-wise, formations and tendencies. I wouldn't expect him to do any differently."

But Philbin is aware that he can only provide so much information, and that Rodgers is, well, Rodgers.

"He's obviously a very good player, and you only control so much," said Philbin. "We don't control the plays they're going to call or the route they're going to call. He's a big part of their offense, but really it's more about us and what we can do as a defensive football team to slow down a team that's averaged, what 40 points a game the last two weeks? Certainly, it's going to be a challenge."

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