Packers quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers proved yet again how important he is for this team. After missing seven games in 2013, Rodgers was the top gun in the NFL by earning his second MVP trophy.
Where are we now:
Here are the current suspects:
Aaron Rodgers (1st round)
Matt Flynn (7th round)
Scott Tolzien (Undrafted free agent)
Aaron Rodgers: There’s isn’t anything that Rodgers cannot do. And this season Rodgers proved that he could shrug off injury by carving up the Cowboys’ secondary in a NFC Divisional Playoff. However, he looked indecisive and uncomfortable when playing on the road as evidenced by his play at Buffalo and at Seattle in the NFC Championship Game. In those two games he threw two interceptions apiece and had quarterback ratings of 34.3 and 55.8 — easily his worst of the season.
Matt Flynn: He narrowly won the backup job despite getting outplayed in the stat sheet in the preseason. Flynn’s flaws are apparent. He doesn’t have a lot, if any, zip on the ball. He gets nervous and tentative when the pocket begins to collapse and has been known to make poor reads.
Scott Tolzien: The book is still out on Tolzien. He showed off his strong arm when called into action in last year by throwing for 339 yards at the Giants. But he also showed he is very green with three picks. He can be a capable backup soon, but that appears to be his ceiling.
So that’s where we are. Next let’s look at…
Where we want to be: While it might be safe to assume that general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy would be kicking up their heels about now with a quarterback that torched the league, you’d be wrong. Rodgers is 31 and has been nicked up plenty during his career. It’s time for the Packers to start thinking about who’s going to be next in line to replace the future Hall of Famer that replaced the former Hall of Famer.
How do we get there?
The 2015 draft only has two top-flight quarterbacks in Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. And the talent level drops off considerably to guys like Garrett Grayson or Bryce Petty. The only reason Thompson snags a quarterback from this draft is if he is unsure on how Tolzien will perform and hope that a guy like Christian Hackenberg falls to them in 2016.
——————Cory Jennerjohn is from Wisconsin and has been in sports media for over 10 years. To contact Cory e-mail him at jeobs -at- yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter: Cory Jennerjohn
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Cory – agree with your comments. While Rodgers is healthy the Packers have no worries at QB. When Rodgers is hurt, the QB situation is tenuous at best. Quite simply in the current situation the Packers cannot win with their backup QBs. They should probably move on from Flynn, but I’m not sure if Tolzien is actually up to being a #2 in the NFL. A #2 or #3 with a better arm than Flynn and with some actual NFL experience and maybe a few wins in the league may be a good way to go if we can find someone to fit the bill. Thanks, Since ’61
I like the packers drafting either Bridge or Mannion in this upcoming draft.
I like Mannion, too. I think there are shortcomings that you can game plan to cover up. Accuracy really isn’t one of them, and he’s a highly accurate passer.
Hope the Packers don’t draft another late round project to put through McCarthy’s stupid quarterback camp. If they aren’t happy with Flynn or Tolzien, they should sign a free agent who has some starts under his belt like Jake Locker or Colt McCoy.
Waaaaaay too early to look for a heir apparent. Rodgers is 31 and a drafted QB would only be under contract for 4 years. How would that help us if we lose him to FA when Rodgers is still an MVP at 35, 36? Your statement is 3-4 years too early.
I concur!!
Ted
I really like Scott Tolzien. I think lot of you, guys are little to hard to Scott. He started the game at QB position after one month on the team and 1 week of preparation as back up. He made several stupid mistakes, but they may be justified with his lack of Packers play book. What I saw last pre-season showed me that he improved a lot. He was clearly better than Matt. He posted better ratings than Matt while he was playing with back up players and 3rd options. Matt was playing with starters… I think Scott deserves chance…
I agree Croat. I think Tolzein is starter material. The guy was ascending big time last year in the preseason and is light years ahead of where Flynn ever was in his career. The sky is the limit for Tolzein. He’s a gutsy tough son of a bitch with a strong arm and now knows the offense 100%.
The Packers with Rodgers and Tolzein will have the best combo qb’s in the league this year.
Ted
Sucks that Cobb is going to be a Raider…
It’s not the end of the world…
Agree that Flynn has outlived his usefulness to GB. Also agree that Tolzien is likely going to be a career back up if he remains in GB. Drafting and developing a QB is a great idea. If GB goes the same route they did with Rodgers, they probably need to draft a QB in 2016 or 2017. That QB needs to be in a position to play 2-3 seasons as a backup to Rodgers. The one I have my eye on is Baylor’s Seth Russell. He was Bryce Petty’s back up and is supposedly a great athlete.
I agree with Mike Sherman. Way too early to be drafting to replace Rodgers. I am not sure whether Tolzien’s ceiling is limited to being a back-up. Flynn is in MM’s comfort zone, so it doesn’t matter if he stinks up the joint, he is the #2.
Tolzein is definitely starter material. They would be nuts not to try to sign this guy. Starting over with another B.J. Colemen is not a effin option this season. They should have won the damn super bowl and were last year and will be again the best team this season. That’s if Rodgers is healthy but Tolzein NOW is capable of winning games no problem if Rodgers has a short term injury. Flynn’s 9 lives are up. One of the luckiest SOB’s to ever play in the NFL. One game and he made undeserved millions off of moronic desperate GM’s.
Ted
Those games, Seattle and Buffalo, were on the road against much better than average passing defenses…and they still had a chance to win them. I have a hard time faulting ARod in those cases.
The QB class this year seems so weak, that drafting a QB really feels more like a luxury than a need. Some are arguing that the step down from Winston to Mariota is a pretty significant one. The likelihood that they’ll find a diamond in the rough that will beat out Flynn or Tolzien seems pretty low.