wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
13 years ago
Packers quarterback Harrell solidifies hold on roster spot 


James Jones took the two-second tour of Graham Harrell's place.

One big screen TV, hooked up to a video game. One floor-level rocking chair for gamers. Clothes hung on doorknobs.

An air mattress.

"Yeah, but it's a top-of-the-line air mattress," said Harrell, citing the $200 cost.

That's it.

That's your third-string Green Bay Packers quarterback living large, rolling to work in his 2003 Nissan Altima and coming home to a sparsely furnished basement apartment.

"He needs a good girl to come around," Jones, a veteran receiver, said with a laugh.

Or maybe an indication that he's going to stick around.

With his performance so far, it is possible that Harrell might have a reason to hang up a Home Sweet Home sign in Green Bay.

In limited, late action against Cleveland and Arizona in preseason games, Harrell played very well. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown.

He looked comfortable rolling out in the bootleg or picking up a first down on the run. In a recent practice he wowed everyone with a 50-yard post throw to Tori Gurley.

"He's always thrown a good ball, but he's starting to understand the offense a lot more," said Jones. "It's a 360-degree change from last year to this year, especially when he gets in the shotgun; it's like being back at Texas Tech."

Harrell's teammates say he's at his best when he's in the shotgun, the formation that helped him accrue 134 passing touchdowns and 1,403 completions at Texas Tech - the best in NCAA history - and 15,793 career passing yards, second best in NCAA history. Even behind Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn, Harrell's ability is starting to stand out.

"The third team can be hectic, but when we go in the gun in two-minute, that's how he played at Texas Tech," said rookie receiver Randall Cobb. "That's his bread and butter."

Harrell looked even better against Arizona than he did in Cleveland, where he lost possession a couple of times. Getting sacked three times didn't help - one hit came from Harrell's blind side. Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said Harrell just needed to be more conscious of ball security and that comes with experience.

"We had four balls on the ground when he was in there and I think two were his fault and two were not," said Clements.

Against the Cardinals, the protection was better and so was Harrell. He led a drive that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ryan Taylor, sealing a victory.

It's a thrill for him, especially since Harrell might not be here if it weren't for another NFL coach.

Even with 20 games passing for more than 400 yards with Texas Tech, Harrell wasn't drafted. Just as Rodgers had to debunk some theories about Jeff Tedford-coached quarterbacks, Harrell may have to bypass a stereotype of quarterbacks who thrived in a Mike Leach spread offense.

"So many quarterbacks have come out of that kind of system, Leach's offense in particular at Texas Tech, and all had great numbers," said Harrell. "For one reason or another, they didn't catch on in the league and they were all good quarterbacks."

At the combine, Harrell struck up a conversation with Carl Smith, then the quarterbacks coach in Cleveland who has since moved on to Seattle. Smith brought Harrell to the Browns as a free agent for a minicamp in 2009, but they already had a Brady Quinn-Derek Anderson quarterback battle.

So Harrell headed to the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was on their injured list, the CFL's weird way of keeping players, especially American players, on the payroll so they aren't claimed elsewhere. But he was healthy and practiced all season and said the bigger field helped expand his range.

"It forced you to make bigger throws," said Harrell. "One of the knocks of Texas Tech quarterbacks - me or anyone out of there - is that we don't make big throws, don't want to go deep. You go to Canada with a 65-yard wide field, you have to make the big throw."
EDIT .

JSOnline wrote:


UserPostedImage
RainX
13 years ago
Harrell played well, but I don't necessarily agree he's a lock to make the team. This team is going to have to make a lot of tough decisions and the past few years, Thompson has gone with just two QBs on the opening 53-man roster. That extra roster spot could be useful to keep a guy like a Chastain West or at another position somewhere else. I could easily see the team cutting him and trying to sneak him through waivers onto the practice squad again, but it's hard to say.

Can't blame the guy for not living in the lap of luxury though. The life of a 3rd string QB might require you to move around the country quite a bit. No sense in bringing a ton of crap with you when you might have to pick your crap up and move at the drop of a hat.
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Greg C.
13 years ago
One thing I've noticed in both these games is that Harrell throws the ball with a little more zip than Flynn does. And in the Cardinals game, Harrell looked like he had pretty good command of the offense. I think he might be a better long-term prospect than Flynn, due to his arm strength, even though Flynn is more polished at this point.

It would be a shame to let Harrell go, yet he wouldn't be worth anything in a trade. Flynn, on the other hand, might be worth a mid-round pick. This could be interesting if Harrell continues to play well in the preseason.

By the way, there is an error in the article. The TD pass was caught by Kerry Taylor, not Ryan Taylor. It was a heck of a throw by Harrell.
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wpr
  • wpr
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13 years ago

Harrell played well, but I don't necessarily agree he's a lock to make the team. This team is going to have to make a lot of tough decisions and the past few years, Thompson has gone with just two QBs on the opening 53-man roster. That extra roster spot could be useful to keep a guy like a Chastain West or at another position somewhere else. I could easily see the team cutting him and trying to sneak him through waivers onto the practice squad again, but it's hard to say.

Can't blame the guy for not living in the lap of luxury though. The life of a 3rd string QB might require you to move around the country quite a bit. No sense in bringing a ton of crap with you when you might have to pick your crap up and move at the drop of a hat.

Originally Posted by: RainX 




The question becomes, is Flynn gone at the end of the season. And if so who backs up AR next year? Harrell may stay because of the long term need at QB.

While West is an exciting player the need for a #6 (Maybe #4 next year) WR is not as great as a #3 QB that could be #2 next year. Should West make the team it will be at the expense of another position player. The #2 FB, #4 RB, #5 TE or #10 OL.
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Greg C.
13 years ago

The question becomes, is Flynn gone at the end of the season. And if so who backs up Aaron Rodgers next year? Harrell may stay because of the long term need at QB.

While West is an exciting player the need for a #6 (Maybe #4 next year) WR is not as great as a #3 QB that could be #2 next year. Should West make the team it will be at the expense of another position player. The #2 FB, #4 RB, #5 TE or #10 OL.

Originally Posted by: wpr 



That's exactly what I'm thinking. I don't see any way Flynn will stay. He will want to go to a team where he has a better chance of starting. So if the Packers don't keep Harrell on the roster, they will have to start over at backup QB next season, and I don't think they want to do that.
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Zero2Cool
13 years ago
I think the Packers enter the season with three QB's and try to move Matt Flynn before the deadline. Injuries are part of the game and surely there will be one or two injuries to a team that Matt Flynn would fit in nicely with.

I'm guessing since surely Matt Flynn wants to start, he's gone after '11, but Graham Harrell will be Aaron Rodgers clipboard junkie for '12.

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go.pack.go.
13 years ago
What do y'all think of Flynn in Indianapolis? They're looking for a QB right now and he could be the successor to Peyton...
UserPostedImage
Zero2Cool
13 years ago

What do y'all think of Flynn in Indianapolis? They're looking for a QB right now and he could be the successor to Peyton...

Originally Posted by: go.pack.go. 



Matt Flynn would rather backup Aaron Rodgers than Peyton Manning.


(I am speculating on this...)

Matt knows the Packers offense and if he's going to play backup for a few more years, why not stay where he knows he can succeed?

I think Matt Flynn would be better off going to a team like the 49ers, Seahawks, Dolphins, Broncos, Titans, or Redskins.

UserPostedImage
wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
13 years ago

Matt Flynn would rather backup Aaron Rodgers than Peyton Manning.


(I am speculating on this...)

Matt knows the Packers offense and if he's going to play backup for a few more years, why not stay where he knows he can succeed?

I think Matt Flynn would be better off going to a team like the 49ers, Seahawks, Dolphins, Broncos, Titans, or Redskins.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 



this.
UserPostedImage
wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
13 years ago

I think the Packers enter the season with three QB's and try to move Matt Flynn before the deadline. Injuries are part of the game and surely there will be one or two injuries to a team that Matt Flynn would fit in nicely with.

I'm guessing since surely Matt Flynn wants to start, he's gone after '11, but Graham Harrell will be Aaron Rodgers clipboard junkie for '12.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 



Actually he would most likely not be starting for any team in '13 (outside of an injury replacement) so Harrell wouldn't be looking for another team and GB wouldn't be back in the mix looking for a backup for AR for a few years.
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