"There's a lot of interest in the draft. It's great. But quite frankly, most of the people that are commenting on it don't know anything about what they are talking about."--Ted Thompson
Will you read the link provided? Please.
Now, what about my original post wherein there is the possibility that the Packers pay Tolzien enough to keep him on the practice squad?
It does not have to be an either/or question. The Packers are more creative than that and have the cap space.
http://www.packersnews.com/story/spo...lynn/14483513/
Pete Dougherty doesn't think so much of Tolzien or Flynn, so the Packers should only keep one. He gives the example of the Patriots with better backups, Ryan Mallett and Jimmy Garoppolo, who might be wise to keep three and get some trade value out one of the backups down the road.
Jaguars traded Blaine Gabbert to 49ers for 6th last spring
Raiders got a 7th for Terrelle Pryor from Seattle
There are a lot of trades for unheralded backups, but I can't remember anything during fall season.
I go with Flynn. Tolzien is a decent prospect, but his only production has come against scrubs in the vanilla environment of the preseason. Tolzien may have better measureables and probably has a slightly higher ceiling than Flynn along with being younger, but he's never going to be the starter in GB because Rodgers has another 6-8 years anyway. Keeping a backup who is HUNGRY to get his chance at being a starter someday is foolish IMO for the Packers. It just means you need to find and train a new backup 2 years down the road.
What the Packers need is that Doug Pederson type QB...and I think that is what Flynn is. He had his chance to be a starter in the league and failed. He knows he is a career backup at this point. He has more value to Green Bay than anyone else due to his knowledge of the system and players. He can fill in for 2-4 games and keep the team afloat if need be.
It's such a GOOD feeling...13 TIME WORLD CHAMPIONS!!
Tolzien won the Johnny Unitas Award in college, but he is not the second coming of Johnny Unitas. I think the Packers can find a way to keep his awesomeness in GB for two years as a backup, and that's plenty. Forget ceiling, Tolzien is better than Flynn now.
I agree it would be comforting to have Flynn as a backup for four years. I'd be OK with that. But probably TT will want to replace him with a younger guy before then anyway.
Tolzien had been in Green Bay 10 weeks before he played last year. He had little prep time with the starters, but he had two and a half months to study the playbook and familiarize himself with the Packer system. His overall lack of playing experience was probably more of an issue than his time in GB.
Either one could be kept as Rodger's backup until they find Rodgers' successor. At this point, I am more comfortable with Flynn as that guy than I am with Tolzien because he has done well at it in the past, and his opportunities to be a starter are likely done. Tolzien will probably still look for a chance to compete to be a starter.
The question in my opinion is whether Tolzien has improved enough to be effective in the red zone. He was able to move the team downfield at times last year, but couldn't get them in the end zone from the red zone. He was 5-13 for 25 yards with 1 INT for a passer rating of 14.58.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen
Still torn on this; I bleed Badger Red but I've never been that impressed with Tolzien or enamored with his talent. He was an ok college QB who was brilliantly smart with a fanatical work ethic. I don't buy he's ever a long plan starter for a team. His arm is stronger than Flynn's. The staff likes him because he has some talent but is a work a holic so the attitude is there. I'm fine either way.
I'd be surprised if GB keeps 3 QB's. Both backups are ok but neither is that good. It's not like we're NE who are carrying 3 guys who can probably start some day. Neither of these backups are starters IMO
LIFE IS ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIPS; I JUST REALIZED THIS. The MILWAUKEE BUCKS have won the same number of championships over the past 50 years as the Green Bay Packers. Ten years from now, who will have more championships, and who will be the fart in the wind ?
http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-pa...nn-and-tolzien
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Coach Mike McCarthy should just go ahead and call off the competition for the Green Bay Packers' backup quarterback job and demand that general manager Ted Thompson keep both Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien on the roster.
Tolzien
Flynn
Flynn
Maybe Thompson will feel as though he cannot afford to use three roster spots on quarterbacks. After all, he hasn't done so since 2008, and even then it was only because he wasn't ready to give up on second-round pick Brian Brohm.
But he also hasn’t had three worth keeping like he does now.
Given how close the competition is behind Aaron Rodgers, the safe thing to do would be to find a place for Flynn and Tolzien, especially after what the Packers went through last season when Rodgers broke his collarbone and missed seven starts.
The Packers need three quarterbacks to practice anyway, and since Tolzien has run out of practice squad eligibility, it’s the roster or bust for both backups.
LIFE IS ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIPS; I JUST REALIZED THIS. The MILWAUKEE BUCKS have won the same number of championships over the past 50 years as the Green Bay Packers. Ten years from now, who will have more championships, and who will be the fart in the wind ?
As I understand it, a player can still spend only three years on practice squads. Tolzien has used those up.
They made some changes to practice squad eligibility of players who have been on active rosters, but I don't think that helps Tolzien at all because he has already used up his three years on practice squads.
Flynn has proven himself in pressure situations and actually seems to play better under pressure. Tolzien will crumble under pressure.
It's a tad unclear as I'm reading it but while this is Tolzien's fourth year he was on the Packers active roster the final 8 games, which are the only games he's ever been active. On the one hand he seems to have too many accrued seasons but on the other he has never been active more than 8 games in any season...Second, each club will be permitted to sign a maximum of two Practice Squad players who have earned no more than two accrued seasons of free agency credit. Absent this exception, a player who has earned one or more accrued seasons would not be eligible for a Practice Squad unless the player spent fewer than nine games on a club’s 46-player active list in each of his accrued seasons.
It does read like he'd be PS-eligible but that article summation/interpretation from ESPN may not be worded quite properly...
I think the "no more than 3 years on practice squads" trumps everything. Tolzien has had that.
I think there is zero chance that Tolzien will be cut, he's made the roster. The question is only whether the Packers would keep Flynn if Tolzien beats him out.
LIFE IS ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIPS; I JUST REALIZED THIS. The MILWAUKEE BUCKS have won the same number of championships over the past 50 years as the Green Bay Packers. Ten years from now, who will have more championships, and who will be the fart in the wind ?
Well, the good news is we'll have our answer in six days or sooner. I'd hate to have to wait much longer for that crow to be served. The taste and taunting are more bitter when fresh.