1) Introduction: “God’s gift” has been forgotten by many Packers fans after a gruesome knee/leg injury caused Andrew Quarless’ sophomore season to vanish. However with the looming contract situation with Jermichael Finley and the loss of Greg Jennings during the offseason, there were plenty of balls to catch and Quarless’ figured to be one of the guys the Packers wanted to see before they decided on an extension. The stars basically aligned themselves with Quarless, first with mounting injuries to the receiving core and then with a terrible neck injury to Jermichael Finley, and then with Aaron Rodgers being replaced by a spate of quarterbacks that would naturally look to for a tight end as a safety valve. Unfortunately, Quarless did not capitalize on his fortunes and looks to make a fortune probably smaller than he hoped.
2) Profile:
Andrew Christopher Quarless
- Age: 25
- Born: 10/6/1988 in Brooklyn, NY
- Height: 6’4″
- Weight: 252
- College: Penn State
- Rookie Year: 2010
- NFL Experience: 4
3) Expectations coming into the season: Moderately low. On one hand, Quarless suffered a brutal knee injury that was significant enough to cause him to miss the entire 2012 season. Naturally it wasn’t expected for Quarless to immediately return to football shape let alone reintegrate himself back into the offense. On the other hand, Quarless should have been fully healed after taking a year off was considered by many to be the Packers most complete tight end with the ability to both operate as an inline blocker (which is a little bit odd since he’s not a very good blocker), a pass catcher as well as the H-back/fullback that the Packers love to employ. Add to that 2013 was Quarless’s contract year along with fellow tight end Jermichael Finley and the Packers were probably hoping that Quarless would blossom into a tight end that would lessen the blow should Finley find employment elsewhere next year.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Quarless’ best game of the season was undoubtedly against the hapless Falcons in week 14 where he recorded 6 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown on a nice back shoulder throw with Matt Flynn under center. Quarless’ lowlight was also undoubtedly against the Cleveland Browns in week 7 after he was thrusted into the spotlight with Jermichael Finley leaving with a neck injury. Perhaps unready to be “the guy” or shook up over Finley’s injury, Quarless was abysmal in run blocking and failed to record a reception even with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Low. Quarless was given ample opportunity to make a difference on offense, especially after Jermichael Finley suffered a potentially career ending neck injury and failed to cash in. Quarless was terrible in run blocking, his supposed forte and was by and large the same inconsistent pass catcher; it’s likely that if Quarless caught more than 60% of the passes thrown to him (Finley averages about 75% for reference) to him Quarless could be considered a solid #2 tight end, however added to his already poor blocking grades this year likely means that Quarless will find a small market for his services in free agency.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: Quarless played 49 snaps against the 49ers during the wildcard game and caught 1 pass for 8 yards, which is right about his normal average. However, Quarless again was a poor blocker registering a -1.9 according to ProFootballFocus.
Season Report Card:
(C) Level of expectations met during the season
(D) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(D) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade: D
——————Thomas Hobbes is a staff writer for Jersey Al’s AllGreenBayPackers.com.
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Can’t say that I could assess the play of this or any other TE on our team. IMO, Finley has underperformed for most of his career and Quarless has done little to display his talent. Maybe we just don’t use our TEs very effectively in this offense. Whatever the reason, the contributions to overall team success is no better than “C” for this whole position group. As you point out, the least he could do is block and block well for the emerging run game. Like Finley, he has talent. I did see him make some nice catches – just not many.
Bring back Ed West and Keith Jackson please.
Based on what you see from the Packers TE’s, I am convinced that they close the position group meetings with, “Now remember, no matter what, don’t block”.
My main concern is DEFENSE. I think we’ll be fine with the TE we have, including a cheap Quarless. I like Bostick’s size and soft hands. He came from a small college and will benefit the most from a pro weight room and coaching.
A top five blocking TE (according to PFF) gets a D…?
I’m losing faith in PFF.
We don’t throw much to our tight ends (especially with Finley gone), so I’d look for a great blocking talent as the most important feature. there should be someone on the free A. market to fit that bill
Jeez Thomas, I wouldn’t have wanted you for a school teacher. Those grades are tough. I thought quarfess did a pretty good job, especially for someone slotted as a back-up prior to the season. He had some big games when he was targetted. He made some nice catches in big spots, ones I don’t think Finley makes. I think he’s somene to re-sign provided the price is right.