Jsonline.com had two stories on the other candidates to backup QB Brett Favre; QB Craig Nall and QB Scott McBride, one day after having a piece on backup QB Tim Couch.

Nall has an injured hamstring and will not start practicing until next week. Nall held off QB Akili Smith in training camp last season, because Smith was too inconsistant, however, Jsonline.com reports that Nall has the same problem as Smith (consistency), and Nall will have a difficult time making the team. It is surprising to read that Nall has not improved much since a promising season with NFL Europe in 2003.

McBride has started off training camp strong, which is not a surprise to his college coach, Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, who thought the Packers got a steal in signing McBride as an undrafted rookie free agent last April. Jsonline.com reported that McBride is throwing well and making good decisions, which is a contrast to what had been reported about Nall and Couch, however jsonline.com was quick to report that McBride is small for NFL QB standards (6'0", 188 lbs.). Both Couch and Nall are over 6' and 200 lbs. McBride did a good job in selecting the Packers as his first NFL team, because he is likely to see a lot of playing time in training camp and preseason while Favre is often sitting out. It will be interesting to see if the Packers give McBride a quarter or more audition in an early preseason game to see if he can make the roster.

I did not mention QB Doug Pederson, who I suspect remains in camp as a tutor for Couch, Nall and McBride, when he is not hanging out with Favre. Pederson does not need to show the coaches what he can do, although I am sure he is practicing in order to stay sharp in case he makes the final roster. The only way Pederson makes the roster is a collapse by Nall and McBride, along with a struggling Couch. If the final roster had to be set today, I would imagine the Packers would release Nall and McBride. It is likely Pederson will remain in camp for a while, and then end up accepting a position to remain with the Packers' coaches or front office for the 2004 season.