the_idle_threat
07-26-2006, 12:38 AM
Position-by-position: Quarterbacks
Packers believe Favre can regain winning form after dismal campaign
By BOB McGINN
Green Bay - Brett Favre's decision to play another season was one thing. Making it a worthwhile experience will be quite another.
Last year was a nightmare for Favre and the Green Bay Packers. By his standards, he was awful. So was the team.
After months of soul-searching, Favre is back for a 16th season at 36 soon-to-be 37, an age when most other great quarterbacks in National Football League history either were retired, injured or hanging on.
Look for Favre to give every ounce of himself to a franchise that means the world to him. In the end, Favre's decision to return probably came down to one factor: He hadn't had his fill of football.
Unfortunately, these kinds of stories don't always have happy endings. As bad as 2005 was, there's no guarantee that Favre or the team will be any better in 2006. Watching Favre get hurt or go out throwing another ton of interceptions for a club that's out of it by Thanksgiving would be an appalling scenario, not only for Packers fans but millions of Favre followers across the globe.
For the first time this decade, Favre will have a new head coach in Mike McCarthy, a new offensive coordinator in Jeff Jagodzinski and a new quarterbacks coach in Tom Clements.
The fundamental West Coast offense that has been in Green Bay throughout Favre's career remains in place, although there is new terminology. Aside from three new starters in the middle of a leaky offensive line, the personnel essentially is the same.
But this is a far cry from Denver giving John Elway a franchise back in Terrell Davis late in his career. More than likely, if the Packers are to succeed, Favre once more will have to carry them.
"I think he'll be very effective. . . . I don't know about Pro Bowl," Jagodzinski said. "His arm is as good as anybody's in the league. Still. Now he might have lost a step, but so did John Elway. He's still one of the top six quarterbacks in the league, I don't care if he's 37 or not."
Clements, the first of Favre's seven quarterback coaches who even played in the NFL, knows what it's like to go out on top as a pro quarterback. A member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame as a 12-year quarterback, he was 34 in 1987 when he called it quits shortly after being named the CFL's most outstanding player.
"I think he still has a lot of football left in him, no doubt about it," Clements said. "He still moves well. He still has a very good arm. He can make plays. He's seen it all. I think last year, with the team being unsuccessful, it kind of left a bad taste in his mouth and I think he wants to rectify that."
Favre has nothing to prove in terms of his place among the all-time greats, but for the first time since his MVP years he must prove that he still is a winning quarterback. His passer rating over the final 10 games was 58.0 and he went the entire month of December without a touchdown pass.
No team can win, let alone contend, with a quarterback turning the ball over 36 times. Favre's total of seven lost fumbles was his highest since '93. Not only were his 29 interceptions a career high but also the most in the NFL since Vinny Testaverde had 35 in 1988. Favre flung 12 more than anyone else, an astonishing statistic.
McCarthy, who carved out his reputation by developing quarterbacks, somehow must impress upon Favre that possession is a precious thing. The kid-gloves treatment eventually got Mike Sherman, Tom Rossley and Darrell Bevell fired. It cannot happen again.
"McCarthy, that's what he's known for, coaching quarterbacks," Jagodzinski said. "Brett's part of the 11. He's just as accountable as anybody else. Let's not worry about what happened. Let's move on.
"Absolutely not, I don't want it repeated. But I'd like to repeat what he did in the Super Bowl year. Sure, he's got to play (much better), but he's got to have a surrounding cast, too. How many starters did he not have last year? You take four or five starters out of your lineup, no one's going to be any good."
Aside from the interceptions, Favre probably missed more open intermediate and deep receivers than ever before, almost refused to take a sack and delivered just once in six chances to win close games on the final possession.
If Favre can't turn back the clock, it's inevitable that perhaps McCarthy and some fans will want to see Aaron Rodgers. His off-season level of performance was somewhat inconsistent in terms of accuracy and decision-making, said Jagodzinski, but he added that Favre's was, too.
Rodgers' dedicated approach and command of the McCarthy system impressed the staff.
"I think he missed one day because he had to go to a wedding," Clements said. "He has a very strong arm, he's smart and he moves better than people think. He's an excellent prospect."
The previous staff didn't tinker with how high Rodgers was taught to carry the ball in the pocket by California coach Jeff Tedford, and neither will Clements.
"It's not a problem," Clements said. "It doesn't stop him from dropping back quickly. The big bonus where he holds the ball is he gets rid of it very quickly with very little wasted effort. He gets it out of his hand quick, which is important."
The Packers took a flier in the fifth round on Furman's Ingle Martin, who exhibited considerable growing pains this spring and seems destined for No. 3 status all year.
What's interesting about Martin is he's almost a clone of Rodgers. Each player is 6 feet 2 inches and about 220 pounds, each ran 40 yards in 4.71 seconds at the combine, Martin performed slightly better in the vertical (36 inches to 34) and broad jumps (9 feet 3 inches to 9-2) and Rodgers performed slightly better on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test, 35 to 32.
"As far as movement skills and arm strength, they're pretty similar," Clements said. "Aaron is more accurate at this point. Ingle must continue to work on that. He just has to get used to the game on this level."
-----------------------------------
At a Glance
The five quarterbacks on the Green Bay roster entering training camp. Each player is listed with height, weight, age, how acquired and college. Acquisition categories: T means trade, D1 means first-round draft choice and FA means free agent.
Quarterbacks at a Glance (5)
Player Ht. Wt Age Acquired College
BRETT FAVRE 6-2 219 36 T-'92 Southern Mississippi
Needs 25 TD passes to break Dan Marino's all-time record of 420, 7,747 yards to break Marino's all-time record of 61,361, 289 completions to break Marino's all-time record of 4,967 and 23 interceptions to break George Blanda's all-time record of 277.
AARON RODGERS 6-2 223 22 D1-'05 California
Led one scoring drive in 20 full possessions during '05 exhibitions, finishing with passer rating of 53.0. Posted rating of 36.8 at Baltimore in only extended regular-season stint.
INGLE MARTIN 6-2 220 23 D5-'06 Furman
Eighth of 11 QBs drafted in '06. Started four of 16 games at Florida from 2002-'03 (91.6 rating), transferred to Furman and started all 27 in 2004 and '05 (96.3 rating).
TOM ARTH 6-3 227 25 FA-'06 John Carroll
Spent '03 on the Indianapolis Colts' non-football illness list, '04 in their camp before being cut and '05 on their practice squad after being cut again. Completed eight of 12 passes for 77 yards and rating of 84.4 in '05 exhibitions.
BRIAN WROBEL 6-2 197 24 FA-'06 Winona State
Hails from Stoddard, played at De Soto High School and started two seasons at Winona. Played for Berlin in NFL Europe this spring, completing 28 of 60 passes for 297 yards, one TD and three INTs (46.3 rating). Also ran 15 times for 43 yards and one TD.
Packers believe Favre can regain winning form after dismal campaign
By BOB McGINN
Green Bay - Brett Favre's decision to play another season was one thing. Making it a worthwhile experience will be quite another.
Last year was a nightmare for Favre and the Green Bay Packers. By his standards, he was awful. So was the team.
After months of soul-searching, Favre is back for a 16th season at 36 soon-to-be 37, an age when most other great quarterbacks in National Football League history either were retired, injured or hanging on.
Look for Favre to give every ounce of himself to a franchise that means the world to him. In the end, Favre's decision to return probably came down to one factor: He hadn't had his fill of football.
Unfortunately, these kinds of stories don't always have happy endings. As bad as 2005 was, there's no guarantee that Favre or the team will be any better in 2006. Watching Favre get hurt or go out throwing another ton of interceptions for a club that's out of it by Thanksgiving would be an appalling scenario, not only for Packers fans but millions of Favre followers across the globe.
For the first time this decade, Favre will have a new head coach in Mike McCarthy, a new offensive coordinator in Jeff Jagodzinski and a new quarterbacks coach in Tom Clements.
The fundamental West Coast offense that has been in Green Bay throughout Favre's career remains in place, although there is new terminology. Aside from three new starters in the middle of a leaky offensive line, the personnel essentially is the same.
But this is a far cry from Denver giving John Elway a franchise back in Terrell Davis late in his career. More than likely, if the Packers are to succeed, Favre once more will have to carry them.
"I think he'll be very effective. . . . I don't know about Pro Bowl," Jagodzinski said. "His arm is as good as anybody's in the league. Still. Now he might have lost a step, but so did John Elway. He's still one of the top six quarterbacks in the league, I don't care if he's 37 or not."
Clements, the first of Favre's seven quarterback coaches who even played in the NFL, knows what it's like to go out on top as a pro quarterback. A member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame as a 12-year quarterback, he was 34 in 1987 when he called it quits shortly after being named the CFL's most outstanding player.
"I think he still has a lot of football left in him, no doubt about it," Clements said. "He still moves well. He still has a very good arm. He can make plays. He's seen it all. I think last year, with the team being unsuccessful, it kind of left a bad taste in his mouth and I think he wants to rectify that."
Favre has nothing to prove in terms of his place among the all-time greats, but for the first time since his MVP years he must prove that he still is a winning quarterback. His passer rating over the final 10 games was 58.0 and he went the entire month of December without a touchdown pass.
No team can win, let alone contend, with a quarterback turning the ball over 36 times. Favre's total of seven lost fumbles was his highest since '93. Not only were his 29 interceptions a career high but also the most in the NFL since Vinny Testaverde had 35 in 1988. Favre flung 12 more than anyone else, an astonishing statistic.
McCarthy, who carved out his reputation by developing quarterbacks, somehow must impress upon Favre that possession is a precious thing. The kid-gloves treatment eventually got Mike Sherman, Tom Rossley and Darrell Bevell fired. It cannot happen again.
"McCarthy, that's what he's known for, coaching quarterbacks," Jagodzinski said. "Brett's part of the 11. He's just as accountable as anybody else. Let's not worry about what happened. Let's move on.
"Absolutely not, I don't want it repeated. But I'd like to repeat what he did in the Super Bowl year. Sure, he's got to play (much better), but he's got to have a surrounding cast, too. How many starters did he not have last year? You take four or five starters out of your lineup, no one's going to be any good."
Aside from the interceptions, Favre probably missed more open intermediate and deep receivers than ever before, almost refused to take a sack and delivered just once in six chances to win close games on the final possession.
If Favre can't turn back the clock, it's inevitable that perhaps McCarthy and some fans will want to see Aaron Rodgers. His off-season level of performance was somewhat inconsistent in terms of accuracy and decision-making, said Jagodzinski, but he added that Favre's was, too.
Rodgers' dedicated approach and command of the McCarthy system impressed the staff.
"I think he missed one day because he had to go to a wedding," Clements said. "He has a very strong arm, he's smart and he moves better than people think. He's an excellent prospect."
The previous staff didn't tinker with how high Rodgers was taught to carry the ball in the pocket by California coach Jeff Tedford, and neither will Clements.
"It's not a problem," Clements said. "It doesn't stop him from dropping back quickly. The big bonus where he holds the ball is he gets rid of it very quickly with very little wasted effort. He gets it out of his hand quick, which is important."
The Packers took a flier in the fifth round on Furman's Ingle Martin, who exhibited considerable growing pains this spring and seems destined for No. 3 status all year.
What's interesting about Martin is he's almost a clone of Rodgers. Each player is 6 feet 2 inches and about 220 pounds, each ran 40 yards in 4.71 seconds at the combine, Martin performed slightly better in the vertical (36 inches to 34) and broad jumps (9 feet 3 inches to 9-2) and Rodgers performed slightly better on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test, 35 to 32.
"As far as movement skills and arm strength, they're pretty similar," Clements said. "Aaron is more accurate at this point. Ingle must continue to work on that. He just has to get used to the game on this level."
-----------------------------------
At a Glance
The five quarterbacks on the Green Bay roster entering training camp. Each player is listed with height, weight, age, how acquired and college. Acquisition categories: T means trade, D1 means first-round draft choice and FA means free agent.
Quarterbacks at a Glance (5)
Player Ht. Wt Age Acquired College
BRETT FAVRE 6-2 219 36 T-'92 Southern Mississippi
Needs 25 TD passes to break Dan Marino's all-time record of 420, 7,747 yards to break Marino's all-time record of 61,361, 289 completions to break Marino's all-time record of 4,967 and 23 interceptions to break George Blanda's all-time record of 277.
AARON RODGERS 6-2 223 22 D1-'05 California
Led one scoring drive in 20 full possessions during '05 exhibitions, finishing with passer rating of 53.0. Posted rating of 36.8 at Baltimore in only extended regular-season stint.
INGLE MARTIN 6-2 220 23 D5-'06 Furman
Eighth of 11 QBs drafted in '06. Started four of 16 games at Florida from 2002-'03 (91.6 rating), transferred to Furman and started all 27 in 2004 and '05 (96.3 rating).
TOM ARTH 6-3 227 25 FA-'06 John Carroll
Spent '03 on the Indianapolis Colts' non-football illness list, '04 in their camp before being cut and '05 on their practice squad after being cut again. Completed eight of 12 passes for 77 yards and rating of 84.4 in '05 exhibitions.
BRIAN WROBEL 6-2 197 24 FA-'06 Winona State
Hails from Stoddard, played at De Soto High School and started two seasons at Winona. Played for Berlin in NFL Europe this spring, completing 28 of 60 passes for 297 yards, one TD and three INTs (46.3 rating). Also ran 15 times for 43 yards and one TD.