Former Packers QB Young to work out for Browns

I guess the Packers weren't so crazy last year after all. 

According to NFL.com Around the League Writer Dan Hanzus, the AFC North's Cleveland Browns, a team currently without a QB after getting rid of Brandon Weeden earlier this offseason, will give Free Agent veteran Vince Young a chance to work out during a minicamp session this week. Young, as you may or may not remember, briefly played for Green Bay during last year's preseason, nearly making the roster as the club's backup hurler before a week 4, 14 of 30 for 144 yards disaster in Kansas City made him get released.

Now since this guy hasn't played in a meaningful game since 2012 (when he uncontributively backed up for the "dream team" 8-8 Eagles before spending the 2012 preseason in Buffalo for some reason) and I was kind of routing for him last year, I'll go ahead and say I support him here. At age 30, the odds of him making the Browns, or any NFL or Canadien Football League team for that matter, are obviously pretty stacked against him, but still, it could definitely happen. I guess that's enough of a reason to pay attention to this.

Bears workout QB Josh Freeman

Free Agent QB Josh Freeman (42.9 Completion Percentage in 2013) worked out for the Bears yesterday, CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reports. Last season, Freeman split time between the Buccaneers and Vikings, looking pretty awful with both. 

Now while I personally wouldn't go after this guy, I guess it's reasonable for at least one team to kinda give him a look. I mean, the Packers basically did this exact same thing last year with former-Titan Vince Young, so really, there's nothing wrong with it. The guy could be good and he could be bad. Let's hope he's the latter.

Vince Young Sinks As The Packers Lose In Kansas City

With the exception of 2010 and 2011, when it was clear that QB Matt Flynn would do a good job when needed, there's been a concern that the Green Bay Packers offense would stink without QB Aaron Rodgers. But I can't think of a time when it's been this bad, and Bob McGinn confirms that it hasn't been this bad in a long while.

Vince Young could be in jeopardy following poor performance last night, depending on who becomes available as final rosters made #packers
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) August 30, 2013

As Werder says, it is "depending on who becomes available." I don't think they'll make another change for the sake of making a change, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them kick the tires on a couple QBs. It really was that bad for Young.

His fumbles are the big problem. If he can throw the ball a little and give the running game some teeth with the occasional scramble, then the Packers could play a field position game and let their defense shoulder more of the burden. That's not a successful formula, but it can give them the chance to win some close games. However, they can't win the field position battle when they're turning the ball over. A team with no offense and a lot of turnovers will lose games by a score of 30-8.

The other stat that stood out was their awful 3rd down efficiency: 2 for 15. However, most of those happened on third and long, so it wasn't a matter of them struggled on third down, but that their offense was so bad that they kept finding themselves in third and long. It's a sign of a bigger problem and not a problem in itself.

I still don't think they missed the boat with QB Graham Harrell. He was committing turnovers and unable to throw the ball downfield just as badly as Young. GM Ted Thompson is fantastic at assembling a roster through the draft and with rookie free agents, but he should have done more this offseason than sign undrafted free agent QB Matt Brown (since released). Here's to hoping someone good appears on the waiver wire in the next few days.

Vince Young Defeats Graham Harrell

Based on their performances on Friday night, this news should come as no surprise.

Looks as if Vince Young has won Packers backup QB job. Packers are releasing QB Graham Harrell.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 24, 2013

Vince Young was more effective, he led them on a touchdown drive and was their leading rusher for the game, but what really stood out was Harrell's 3.8 yards per attempt. Among quarterbacks last season who attempted over 224 passes, the worst yards per attempt belonged to Blaine Gabbert at 5.98, and Harrell wasn't anywhere near that good. The best thing I can say is that at least he didn't turn the ball over.

And Harrell played that poorly with the first team offense. Granted, it was against Seattle's first team defense and Harrell was without Cobb and Nelson at receiver. Phil Simms gave Harrell some cover by noting that none of the receivers were getting open. However, injuries are part of the NFL (especially for the Packers) and that can't be an excuse.

This also is another example of how GM Ted Thompson operates. He doesn't value experience over potential. Harrell knows Mike McCarthy's offense while Young barely knows it, but that didn't save his roster spot after three poor to awful preseason games. Thompson wasn't going to keep a lesser player just because he has a comfort level with him.

Young was the better quarterback, though he's still very much a work in progress. He did complete six of seven attempts (that one incompletion should have been intercepted) but his yards per attempt was only 5.9, which means he completed only a lot of short passes. However, he did look more comfortable against the Seahawks than the Rams, having a full week of practice under his belt obviously helped, and the coaches are far from opening up the entire playbook for him. So it wasn't perfect, but he made it look like he could actually do something in a regular season game while Harrell hasn't shown anything.

Unfortunately I think this means the end of Harrell's NFL career. If he couldn't beat out Young in this situation, which was as close to an ideal one as any player could ask for, I don't see how he could make it on another team.

Young is now the unquestioned backup. B.J. Coleman is no competition, he had the same number of sacks as completions (two) against the Seahawks, but he can hide on the practice squad, unlike either Young or Harrell. They still need three quarterbacks but they've rarely kept them all on the 53-man roster in recent years. Releasing Harrell now probably opens up a lot of playing time for Young against the Chiefs (and in practice too), which he'll need to get ready for the regular season.

Preseason Recap: Packers Shutout By Cardinals, 17-0

The Green Bay Packers hadn't been shut out in a preseason game since the dark ages (a.k.a. when Forrest Gregg was the head coach in the 1980s) but that really wasn't a big surprise after they needed to add QB Vince Young to the backup quarterback battle. This game was really a sign that they'd be in trouble if anything happened to QB Aaron Rodgers. The good news is that on Rodgers' only series, he drove them 86 yards before they got stuffed at the one-yard line on 4th down.

The only injury was rookie 1st round DE Datone Jones, but it wasn't clear if his ankle injury was serious.

For Arizona, DB Tyrann Mathieu was deemed impressive but he was the highlight maker from a game without many of them. His sack of QB Graham Harrell was Harrell's fault, he completely ignored a blitzing DB which earned Harrell an exasperated stare from Mike McCarthy. Mathieu's other big play was a 24 yard punt return.

So without focusing on what the team did, here's how some individual players performed.

LT David Bakhtiari. Breathe a sigh of relief: he was solid. He looked a little off-balance on the first drive, his momentum carried him too far forward on one early run play, but he looked nearly perfect thereafter. He certainly looked better than Marshall Newhouse, who was beaten on a speed rush by DE John Abraham which led to a sack-fumble of Harrell.

WR Tyrone Walker. After the first drive, when Rodgers and WR James Jones took a seat, the undrafted rookie out of Illinois State was basically their entire offense. The Packers' backups only generated 137 yards of offense and 41 yards was from Walker. He's looked great in practice, in last weekend's scrimmage, and he did it again in his first game.

The defensive backs. Yes, CB Davon House was burnt early and often, but the guys behind him on the depth chart were awful too. Rookie 5th round CB Micah Hyde gave up a touchdown. The worst play was made by CB Brandon Smith, who was completely fooled on a comeback route and ended up running out of bounds. The good news is that none of these guys are expected to start, and since it was only one game, hopefully they bounce back next week.

The running backs. None of them made plays, but rookie RB Johnathan Franklin looked the best to me (Eddie Lacy was held out due to a hamstring injury). I need to see the rest of the preseason games before deciding.

QB Graham Harrell. It would have been a bad game even if he hadn't fumbled (see above) and telegraphed an easy interception (though WR Jeremy Ross seemed lost on the route). The only good news for him is that B.J. Coleman and Vince Young looked worse, though Young only knew about six plays. This isn't something GM Ted Thompson can fix this year, so the coaches will have to make due with the backup quarterbacks they've got.

DE Johnny Jolly. The defense didn't provide much of a pass rush, but Jolly got loose in the backfield on a couple plays. He looked almost as good as ever, despite the nearly four year absence from football. He's still got to prove himself over the remaining preseason games, however, after the first game, he looks like he should be part of the defensive line rotation.

The Packers Signed Vince Young?

Apparently all the game film from QB Vince Young's disastrous 2011 season with the Eagles has been destroyed. Now the Green Bay Packers can relive it as they watch his inaccuracy this preseason.

League source confirms Vince Young has signed a one year with #Packers to compete for backup QB job
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) August 5, 2013

B.J. Coleman had a very bad Saturday night at the Family Night scrimmage, but I didn't realize it was that bad. Or maybe this is the end for Graham Harrell because Young could take his backup job while Coleman could spend another year on the practice squad.

While I hate this signing, unless Harrell and Coleman are just that bad (I haven't watched them yet in 2013), at least Young was once a decent starting QB. Over 21 games (18 starts) in 2009 and 2010, his QBB was a respectable 70.3 and 70.6. Of course, that's only good news if you ignore his turnover filled 2011 season.

On the downside, Young had a mega-feud with his head coach, Jeff Fisher, back in 2010, so he doesn't seem like the type of guy you want in the locker room. For what it's worth, Young apologized this year.

Overall, this hasn't been the best day to be a Packer fan. First they lose their starting left tackle, and now they signed a former (almost) Heisman winner that no NFL team has wanted for over a year. I should feel worse about Bryan Bulaga's injury (he's a starter while Young will be paid to hold a clipboard) but Young's signing feels worse in my stomach. I don't want them to have anything to do with him, even if he makes them a slightly better team.