Seneca Wallace

[Pugger]

well, senecca wallace has been available this whole time

why the hell not bring him in at the start of camp? wasn't he in the CFL before san fran called him last week?

Yes, why did they bring in Young instead of Wallace? Young might be the better athlete but Wallace might be the better QB between the ears. Another telling thing is it only took the Jets - of all teams - less than a week to see Harrell isn't an NFL caliber QB. Harrell must have been one of those guys who is great in the lockerroom and at practice but stinks to high heaven in game situations. This has to be the reason why McC stuck with him for almost 3 years.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Yes, why did they bring in Young instead of Wallace?

Was Wallace available? Maybe, I forget, but I thought he was on San Fran in early August.

Really, the management thought that either Harrell or Coleman would take a step forward this year. Harrell was backup for 2012. TT made a bad call, but shit happens, this stuff isn't so predictable.

Packers got lucky in the end when Wallace popped up.

[Joemailman]

Was Wallace available? Maybe, I forget, but I thought he was on San Fran in early August.

Really, the management thought that either Harrell or Coleman would take a step forward this year. Harrell was backup for 2012. TT made a bad call, but shit happens, this stuff isn't so predictable.

Packers got lucky in the end when Wallace popped up.

Wallace was signed by New Orleans on August 15 and released on August 19. 49ers then signed him on August 22. But of course, the Packers had already signed Young by then.

[Harlan Huckleby]

TT must have thought Young is better.

If Young had played in the 4th preseason game like he did in the 3rd, he'd be the backup.

It's unlikely that Seneca is much of an upgrade over Young. I am fine with either.


BTW, I wish there was more respect for the specialty position of career QB backup. Guys like Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien should consider staying with the same team for 5 years in that role, in my opinion. I wish the Packers would find such a guy and stick with them. But of course the player has to accept around $1M per year for five years, and players all dream of the big bucks.

[mraynrand]

TT must have thought Young is better.

If Young had played in the 4th preseason game like he did in the 3rd, he'd be the backup.

It's unlikely that Seneca is much of an upgrade over Young.

At this point, Young is a far better athlete. Live arm, can run effectively. Seneca knows various offenses and can pick up a new one pretty quickly. He is a bright guy on the way downside of his career. He is better than Charlie Batch has been for the last few years for the Steelers, but not by much. If you could put Seneca's brain in Young's skull, you'd have a pretty solid starter.

[Joemailman]

TT must have thought Young is better.

If Young had played in the 4th preseason game like he did in the 3rd, he'd be the backup.

It's unlikely that Seneca is much of an upgrade over Young. I am fine with either.


BTW, I wish there was more respect for the specialty position of career QB backup. Guys like Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien should consider staying with the same team for 5 years in that role, in my opinion. I wish the Packers would find such a guy and stick with them. But of course the player has to accept around $1M per year for five years, and players all dream of the big bucks.

Up to this point, I don't think TT and MM have had any interest in the veteran QB who is content to be a backup. They've preferred to develop the young guys who hope to parlay success in Green Bay into a starting position somewhere else. Wolf did the same thing, although Wolf's young guys (Brunell, Brooks, Hasselbeck) proved to be better than Thompson's. This year they end up with Wallace only because Harrell and Coleman struck out. I think Rodgers might benefit from having a veteran QB to bounce ideas off of when he comes to the sideline. I doubt TT and MM will alter their approach though.

[Smidgeon]

Seneca Wallace played for quite a while in Holmgren's west coast offense. And played rather well I might add. Not spectacular, but well. I know this because I've seen every Chicken-Hawks game he's ever played in. The terminology differences and playbook "learning curve" should actually be quite minimal for him. He should ramp up quickly.

He used to have legs/wheels comparable to say an older VY. My guess is he's still got more than enough to roll out and/or take off occasionally like AR already does. He's been historically more than reasonably accurate, and sometimes completely spot on, throwing the occasional "wow" pass putting it in the only spot a receiver would have a chance. The Packers receiving talent will make him pretty good to better than he may actually be.

I'm actually quite comfortable with Seneca Wallace as our #2 QB. I was worried for a minute, but now I feel like everything has worked out just fine. If he should be needed, I'm confident he won't throw the game away if he needs to appear mid-game. I'm also reasonably confident he could go at least 2 out of 2 for a 4 game stretch should the rest of the team remain reasonable healthy.

Some highlights to chew on:

I was at Iowa State during Seneca's final year. I'm interested to see what he has left. I've always been curious about his pro career.

I was at the game when the third highlight of that clip happened. It was unbelievable live and was voted as the number 2 play of college football that year (the number one "play" was two impossible hail marys to go the entire length of the field to win the game).

In the first half of that season, he was the front-running heisman candidate and single handedly had ISU ranked at #9 nationally, the highest they've ever been ranked. Unfortunately, the second half of the season really demonstrated why one man cannot win everything with a bad football team, and they tanked. He might have been a perfect example in college of how a player stands out just because he's faster than everyone else.

[Upnorth]

What do you think of bringing in TebowÉ
Now that you are done laughing, here is why he maybe worth a look,
In college he was a 67% complition thrower, now he is in the 50`s but with our wr`s route running it might fit.
He has a very low turn over ratio, which MM demands fo his qb`s.

I admit he is limited, but is he worse than Wallace. Can MM coach him upÉ

[mraynrand]

Look, don't get carried away with ol' Seneca. He was backing up Clot McCoy in Cleveland after all - and two spaces behind Clot on the depth chart in SF. This is bottom of the barrel stuff. But he probably won't pull a Rubley or throw into quadruple coverage like Coldman did the other night. Teams will put 8 or 9 in the box and dare him to throw, just like they did when he saw limited action in Cleveland and he won't look good, but he won't give games away. He just won't win them.

[Fritz]

He's worse than everyone. He's Terribow.

[Harlan Huckleby]

They've preferred to develop the young guys who hope to parlay success in Green Bay into a starting position somewhere else. Wolf did the same thing, although Wolf's young guys (Brunell, Brooks, Hasselbeck) proved to be better than Thompson's.

This approach works sometimes. But what is the value, really, to the Packers in training QBs for other teams? The draft picks they might get are pretty trivial.

I think a 30-year-old Doug Peterson is more valuable as a backup than a 25-year-old Brooks with no experience.

What I'm looking for is hard to find. A guy who is good and reliable, but not too good. Maybe that is why it doesn't happen more often.

I don't want to see a high draft pick in GB until Rodgers is about 33.

[Harlan Huckleby]

He's worse than everyone. He's Terribow.

That's worth trademarking. Come to think of it, by me, fuck you. My ship has come in!

[mraynrand]

That's worth trademarking. Come to think of it, by me, fuck you. My ship has come in!

good luck marketing that

[Joemailman]

This approach works sometimes. But what is the value, really, to the Packers in training QBs for other teams? The draft picks they might get are pretty trivial.

I think a 30-year-old Doug Peterson is more valuable as a backup than a 25-year-old Brooks with no experience.

What I'm looking for is hard to find. A guy who is good and reliable, but not too good. Maybe that is why it doesn't happen more often.

I don't want to see a high draft pick in GB until Rodgers is about 33.

I think 49ers have the right guy. Colt McCoy is a young smart QB who probably doesn't have the talent to be a starter. He could be there a while. Maybe Flynn will be available next year. No way Raiders will pay him 5 mil if he's going to be a backup.

[mraynrand]

Flynn is like that classic collector car that the neighbor has. It looks great on a Sunny Saturday with the top down and the engine roaring, so you go out and overpay for it. Now it is clogging up a space in your garage, with a tarp over it. You've started storing 'light' boxes and some lawn tools on it, and every time you try to take it out, you have to put in a bunch of work just to get it started, but it runs rough, and wastes gas. Fortunately, a new neighbor just moved in and he has his eye on it...