A Tale of Two NFC Teams: Packers Sign Cobb, Lions Lose Suh

Throughout the 2014 season, I wasn't concerned about WR Randall Cobb's impending free agency. He's a Ted guy (great player, great locker room guy) and Ted keeps those players after their rookie contracts. But as it got closer, and closer, to the start of free agency with no deal in place, and a massive amount of free agent dollars looming in the coming week, pessimism set in and I was worried he'd leave. It's looking like the dollars might be too much to keep RT Bryan Bulaga, but they did keep Randall Cobb.

BREAKING (he said, facetiously): Cobb returns to #Packers. Blog: http://t.co/3568PkV5lZ pic.twitter.com/HSzu5Mlpku
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) March 8, 2015

The Packers probably got Cobb to stay for millions less than he would have received had he waited a week and talked to other teams. Making $10 million a year is a lot, but making $12 million (that's $2 extra million per year!) is still a massive chunk of change, if he could have gotten it. He should be set for life anyway, but he's really giving up something that might never come around again for him in his lifetime.

I guess I shouldn't ignore the new contract for QB Scott Tolzien, so here it is! He's not very good, but he's OK which is really all that can be expected from a backup. And at $1.35 million he's cheap relative to a lot of backups. I don't see why it means the end for Matt Flynn, who could be brought back on a similar one-year deal without causing any problems with their salary cap. He's essentially the 53rd man on the roster, which is usually someone the Packers pay the minimum, but after watching the backup disaster of 2013, they do need to pay some type of premium just to make sure they have a competent backup (or two) in place.

On the other hand, the Lions bungled their salary cap and are expected to lose Ndamukong Suh to the Dolphins. While keeping Cobb is a bigger deal, it's still notable that the 2nd best team in the NFC North is losing one of the best players in their franchise's history while he's in the prime of his career. The Lions were offering a serious contract ($17 million per season, $58 million guaranteed) but the Dolphins apparently can and will offer more. The Lions defense last season was their strength, and it's a major blow to lose their best defensive player. Even worse, their other top defensive tackles (Nick Fairley and C.J. Mosley) are also free agents, who might now be overpaid to stay. It's hard to imagine the Lions will be better in 2015 without Suh, while the Packers got better during the 2014 season (Rodgers's calf injury excepted) and could enter 2015 in great shape for a title run.

It's hard enough to win in the NFL, but it's great to see the Packers are well run, unlike some of the other teams (Lions!) in the NFL. They could have survived without Cobb, but I'm a big fan of wide receiver depth and it's very important for their offense.

Why The Packers Might Favor Tolzien Over Flynn

While I'm writing a post about why the Green Bay Packers might want Scott Tolzien instead of Matt Flynn as their No. 2 quarterback in 2014, I'd like to remind everyone that I'm writing about two quarterbacks who were released by other teams in 2013 (twice in Flynn's case). Neither one of them is very good, and neither one should be challenging for a starting job on any NFL team. Both quarterbacks were terrible for the Packers in 2013, and it's not going to matter much whether they choose one over the other.

Having said that, there are a few points in Tolzien's favor. He had a better QPB (ESPN's advanced metric) of 24.3 to Flynn's 19.4 in large part because he didn't fumble, while Flynn had two (including a killer one against the Steelers). Just a reminder, both of their QPBs are terrible, only a score over 50 is acceptable, so it's still the lesser of two evils.

Tolzien also didn't take part in training camp, so by the time he took the field against the Eagles on November 11th, he might have had close to zero snaps with the first team offense because Seneca Wallace probably took all the snaps in practice that week. While Flynn had to shake off the rust, Tolzien was thrown into the fire (to mix my metaphors). Mike McCarthy was impressed with Tolzien after the Eagles game, and he might be bullish on how Tolzien would play in 2014 after a full offseason under his belt.

The first problem for Flynn is that he's a free agent. Obviously he won't need much to re-sign, but GM Ted Thompson isn't exactly known for accommodating free agents. Also, he was incredibly inconsistent last season, mixing a couple of good games (Vikings and Cowboys) in with a couple of absolute horror shows (Lions and Steelers). Depending on the circumstances, that might not be something that's acceptable for McCarthy. Finally, how healthy is Flynn's elbow? The Packers now know a lot more about his health status, and the prognosis might not be good. The injury could be causing a problem with arm strength and accuracy. As a general rule, it's probably better to go with the healthy player.

This isn't a slam-dunk endorsement for Tolzien. My first preference would be that both of them return in 2014 with Flynn as the No. 2 and Tolzien as the emergency quarterback. But if the plan is to chose one over the other, Tolzien could turn out to be the better player.

Packers reportedly favoring Tolzien over Flynn for their 2014 backup QB job

According to Fansided.com, the Packers, despite the fact that Matt Flynn led them to two big wins last season to keep them in the playoff race, are currently favoring Scott Tolzien for their 2014 backup QB job. Tolzien was terrible last year, going 0-2-1 in the three games he played, so why they're doing this is confusing if you ask me. 

On the other hand, Tolzien definitely could improve this offseason, but of course, it's still too early to know that for sure. I personally don't he will, but since I can't guarantee anything I guess we'll just have to watch the preseason.