There has been a recurring theme coming out of 1265 Lombardi this spring, both publicly and in private conversations I've had with a number of people, about the Packers putting a specific emphasis on getting off to a better start in 2015 than the last couple of seasons. 

It's been three straight 1-2 starts for Mike McCarthy and crew since the Green and Gold tore through the league in 2011 with a 15-1 record. Since that season, it's been nothing but sputtering starts for McCarthy and company. There are a plethora of reasons, on both sides of the ball. But when it comes to the Packers' slow starts, there's one constant that would seem easy to address. 

Maybe Aaron Rodgers needs to play more in the preseason. 

Now, before you say all the things you're going to say - I know. Yes, indeed, I know. 

But let me point out that Rodgers played 45 snaps in five offensive series back in the preseason of 2013. In 2014's preseason, he played even less than that. 

I get that the defenses the Packers face in these exhibition games are traditionally quite vanilla. That was certainly the case against the Rams last year. But the following week, against the Raiders, Rodgers didn't exactly light things up against a team that showed a few more looks than is customary for the preseason. On that day, QB1 completed only 45% of his passes, going 9 for 20 on the day. Yes, he threw two touchdown passes before exiting, but the offense as a whole was more than a little disjointed. 

And that was the last time the starting offense saw the field in any kind of live setting until the Thursday night opener two weeks later against the Seahawks. 

Of course, there are lots of reasons for the Packers' slow starts the last few years. I am by no means saying that Rodgers playing a handful more series in the preseason is going to magically fix things in that regard.

However, with an offense as complex as the one the Packers run, coupled with a bevy of young tight ends and receivers, it would seem to make a small amount of sense to want to get the quarterback as many reps in a live situation as possible with his supporting cast. Not to mention the fact that the entire play calling cast will be different this season. Rodgers mentioned at his locker last week that McCarthy has yet to decide who will be where on game day when it comes to the coaching staff. Wherever Tom Clements ends up, Rodgers should get as many reps as possible with whatever set up McCarthy decides on for game days. 

Last year, the Packers needed to figure out who the backup quarterback was going to be. I understand wanting to give as many reps as possible in the preseason to Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien. (Although, even after doing so the coaching staff made the wrong choice on who to make the backup.) 

This year, Tolzien should be the unquestioned backup (though I'm sure they'll try to force some kind of competition) leaving no need for a split of the preseason reps. Perhaps Rodgers could get the lion's share in the first three games.

Yes, I recognize all your fears. I recognize all the reasons Rodgers should play as little as possible and then come out swinging on opening weekend against the Bears. 

But if the last three years have taught us anything it's that Rodgers and the offense can't just "turn it on" when the games start to matter. 

I'm interested to see what fruits McCarthy's philosophical offseason shift ends up bearing. 

But maybe it's just time the first team offense, including the quarterback, got a bit more work prior to opening weekend.