Thursday, July 11, 2013

Position Review: Quarterback

With the countdown to training camp underway, it's time for me to wrap up my position reviews for the Green Bay Packers. Here's what I wrote previously:

Position Review: Offensive Line Guards and Tackles
Position Review: Offensive Line-Center
Position Review: Wide Receivers

This one is probably the easiest position to write about but it does involve some speculation about the backups who I've rarely gotten to see play.

QB Aaron Rodgers. As a bonus, he's showing aptitude as a career counselor, so he's got that to fall back on once his playing days are over.

QB Graham Harrell. I'd like to see more from him this preseason. In 2012, he only had a preseason QB rating of 78.2 which was heavily padded by a blowout final game against the worst team in the NFL (Chiefs). Supposedly he's "really improved" but right now I wouldn't trust him to provide even average production if he had to take over.

QB B.J. Coleman. The hope that he's ready to compete against Harrell is really a long shot. He's got an NFL arm, but he has so much to learn that he should focus on keeping ahead of the last guy on the depth chart. Last preseason, Coleman only completed 7 of 18 pass attempts of mostly the dump off variety (4.3 yards per attempt), so he's shown nothing promising so far. He should look better than last year, but that's a really low bar to clear.

QB Matt Brown. The undrafted free agent was a small school guy who was lightly regarded. Sometimes a player like him turns into Tony Romo, but usually he's released during the preseason. He's got his chance, but the odds are very much against him.

3 comments:

NorthStarr said...

Hey, Brandon,

Prior to the lockout, Coach McCarthy held his QB school before the draft.
Do you know if the current CBA forced himto change that to a later date?

Just a general piece of knowledge that I'd like to have, but I'm asking now mainly because I'm wondering if Coleman has gone through the school once, or twice, at this point.

Brandon said...

It was Coleman's first time last March-April. Even under the new CBA, the Packers start their offseason program in March, which is mostly players lifting and working out, but I think that's when McCarthy puts his quarterbacks through school. McCarthy is intentionally vague about it. The CBA has reduced the number of offseason days, but it doesn't seem to have mixed up the overall schedule too much so I think the timing of McCarthy's QB school is unchanged.

It would seem more beneficial to have it after the draft, so it could include rookies, but there might not be time to include it as part of the OTAs. I wonder if McCarthy prefers going through a season with a QB before going back to the basics in his QB school anyway. It might be more helpful to use the school as a time to look back at last season.

NorthStarr said...

I think you might have hit the nail on the head with those last two sentences.
I was thinking pretty much the same thing, that that could be the reason for holding it before the draft.
More of a review, and building on what the QBs already know, with OTAs being the time for installing the basics in the rookies.